The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 19, 1918, Page 9

to furnish advertisers information about the wants of farmers in the material and supply line. This plan was expected to gain the patronage of adver- tisers for “On the Square” and for the country pa- pers in each county which co-operated in the ad- . vertising deal. An emissary was to be appointed in each locality, several in a county, to spy on farmers, reporting the amount and kind of their farm machinery and other equipment, their usual requirements each year in groceries, needles and pins, automobiles and, in fact, everything a farmer buys and uses. Several of these spies were ap- pointed before the whole thing blew up with a loud explosion. The facts about what the farmers owned and what they needed or could be influenced +1 3 - a ile 2 . - Al = 7 to buy, as reported by the emissaries, were to be compiled at the St. Paul office and given adver- tisers as a part of the service “On the Square” was to give advertisers, besides space in the paper. The advertisers were, of course, to use this infor- mation to exploit the farmers by selling propo- sitions. “On the Square” had no standing in the mails as a publication, as it had no paid subscription list. It did not even apply for admission to the mails as a publication, and the two issues that were got- ten out were mailed free to the list of 200,000 under third class rates, at 2 cents per copy, eight times the rate charged to mail legitimate publica- tions that have second class privileges. But the =0 {/ L e ) .?, - I, el ]" 3 " A lot of big interests now shudder and run whenever the farmers’ bull dog, the National Nonpartisan lea \ " and speculaters to be honest now that some one is watchin ‘ ‘ press, the farmer is at last fully infor: e med, and with:his League organization, he is fully from thefts that used to be so easily pulled off. . PAGE NINE % £ ALY I/ Iy :4/ 7 promoters thought they had a bottomless sock— they thought that if the farmers and advertisers failed to come through with money on subscrip- tions and advertising as rapidly as expected, the contributors of the original slush fund would come through with more. In this they were evidently mistaken, for when it developed that neither ad- vertisers or farmers would patronize the paper the big business backers quit it cold and pocketed their losses, charging it probably to “political con- tributions.” After the first issue was mailed out the pro- moters waited for the instant and enthusiastic response expected. It did not come. They got (Continued on page 15) 3 : IT WAS NOT LIKE THIS IN THE OLDEN DAYS , e8] el VA U il ,/ | —Drawn especially for the Leader by W. C, Morris gue, growls. It’s going to be easier for the monopolists g them. With the Nonpartisan publications to tell him the truth that is left out of the corporqtion able to protect himself and his family e i o e