The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 16, 1918, Page 4

- | P 2 80 i | { “Milk the Big Ones,” Says This Pair - Sensational Revelations as to Anti-League Methods in a Letter Written by an “Industrial Expert” to a Fellow Agitator of the Great Interests 4 | F. G. R. GORDON, INDUSTRIAL EXPERT Haverhill, Mass., August 17. My dear Van: ~ Your two letters of the 14th just at hand. I° have just talked with Hovey. He says it will cost from a cent to one and a half cents to take off old cover and put new on the M. O. books, but we will do that without cost to any buyer. That is we will sell the books for the regular price we have always sold them at, 156 cents each, and will give you a commission on the sale. Of course it would not be worth bothering with, if we were to sell but a few. We have just about 4000 books on hand. Will put any name you wish on the cover, but I had thought that “The Truth About Public Ownerx ship” would be a fine name; indeed, I intended to have that name on a new edition of the book. Let me know®what you wish in the matter and it will be executed. Hovey says he thinks it would take a week on account of being almost impossible to get any new. help. I am sending you some more matter and please note on the back of this an editorial on' the packers’ case. If there are any men in this nation that ought to be interested in the success of the magazine, it is the packers. That Irishman’s name is Joe Mahoney. Mayor Hodgson knows him well and can give you his address. I am sending in separate cover marked “manuscript” a lot more editorial and special articles, and also some hundreds of names of men-connected with the electric light biz., in- cluding the officials of the asso. for last year. They are about the same this year except that there is a new Pres., William Wells, Brooklyn Edison Co., N. Y. City (Brooklyn, N. Y.) but his name is in list of ex-beard anyhow. There are about 3700 electric light companies and firms not counting those that are owned by municipalities; there are some 1300 street railways and about as many gas plants in this country. But there are nearly 16,000 members feet if they were interested enough. In Chicago there is Samuel Insull and Roger Sullivan. What- ever these two say will go in Chicago. Mr. Cowdry of the Peoples Gas Co., Chicago, knows me and my work. But I think he does what the other two tell him to do. i : Now most of the gas and electric companies have a local organization, like. the St. Paul Gas Co. association, largely made up of the salaried officials and the staff. These men are loyal to . their companies for the success of the company means their personal success. Suppose now that the American L. & T. Co. should indorse over their name the magazine and commend it to the attention of their respective companies; even urging them to do whatever they could to make it 8 success; why that would mean-that forty or fifty per cent of the entire staff would subscribe . for it. But most of this kind of work must be done by personal contact, i. e. a letter half the . time will never reach the high man, or men, and if it did it’s likely to be put aside for future action and then that future never arriving. Of course the magazine would be on a safe basis if we had an organization, The National Anti-Socialist Union for instance, and it was their official organ. That would discourage any competitors from entering the field with a rival publication. And of course the minute we make a success there will be some rivals who will try to duplicate that success. But getting in on the ground floor is the big thing after all. ‘The Manufacturers Asso. have about 4000 members, everyone of them should be vitally « - interested. All the banking and commercial or- ganizations likewise and so on. There are a million manufacturers, more than a million mer- chants, 700,000 owners of R. R. Shares and as many more owning bonds. Surely the field is wide! Arthur Huey is the general manager of the H. M. Byllesby Co., Chicago. I have worked for them. They gave me $100 a month for a year once just to have the first call on me in case they got into trouble. And Mr. Huey said only for the war this arrangement would con- tinue all the time. They gave me in addition to this $100 a month, $25 a day for all the work that I did for them. They are one of the very big companies of the nation too, but I am not so sure that they would aid in the magazine be- cause, between you and I, they are a bit ex- clusive, i. e., they want the whole thing for them- selves; but maybe you can fetch ’em. In St. Paul I met “Dick” O’Conner, the big Democratic Boss, and he has very close connec- tion with the financial interests of that city. Also met favorably Geo. Prince of the Mer- chants Nat’l Bank, a fine fellow and one who I think would be interested. Met a number of politicians and Chas. Patterson are about all the real big financial men I met. vl In Minneapolis I met F. H. Carpenter, 838 McKnight Bldg.,, who owns lumber yards all over the northwest. He. is interested. I also met Horace Lowry, pres. street railway, and Secre- postmaster is an anti-socialist. I am not sure |} that he is still alive, but if so you should see him. F. W. Job, 832 Marquette Building, Chicago, is - or has been Sec. of the Ill. Manufacturers Asso., good man for you to see. He knows me. R. C.. \ Lanphier, Gen. Manager Sangamon electric L. Co., Springfield, Ill., is interested. Chas. Al Stone of Stone and Webster, now in City Bank Building, N. Y. Cify, and head of. the national Expert. Asso. is a great man if we could only land him. Mr. W. Phillips, manager, Winnipeg electric Light, Winnipeg, Canada, is good man too; think he is interested. Please read the inc. .relating to British Anti-socialist - organization. I have already sent.you for publication account ~-of Swedish Anti-soc. org. in “Minn. Doing,” ete. You can put this thing over old man if you can get the first starf. The field is here and you are the first to ‘occupy it on a national scope. Go to it. Go to : ~Sincerely,” . Begarde foall. | PAGE FQUR SENSATIONAL letter- has fallen into the hands of the Nonpartisan Leader. It is re- produced in full on this page as evidence of the methods used to fight the -organized farmers. It also shows how the big interests are roped in . to furnish the money for such methods. This remarkable letter speaks for itself. It will astonish Leader readers, familiar as they are with the methods used to fight people’s reform movements. A brief explanation is necessary as to who wrote the letter and who it was written to, and as to what the “magazine” spoken about in the letter is. : The letter was written by F. G. R. Gordon, who styles himself an “industrial expert,” but who is, as his letter indicates and as other kmown facis show, an agent employed by big corporations to fight municipal ownership, government control of industry and people’s reform movements generally. He is a professional agitator who interests heads of great industrial enterprises in fighting pro- gressive men and measures, raises' money from them for the purpose and writes books, pamphlets, handbills .and newspaper and magazine articles which favor the classes against the masses. Mr. Gordon was associate editor of the now defunct “On the Square,” a big business “farm” magazine started in St. Paul to fight the League, financed by a group of big business men, for whom Charles Patterson of ‘the Patterson Street Lighting com- pany and other large énterprises acted -as pay- master. Gordon came fo Minnesota during the recent primary campaign and did some work for the big interests againdt the League. For the per- sons he met in connection with this work and his opinion of them, see his letter.. A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME EXPOSED The man to whom the letter was written is H. M. Van Hoesen, a promoter of much experience, who was editor and manager of “On the Square” and to oppose the organized farmers. ¥ makes the usual weak attempt to show that the League pro- gram is “socialistic” and ignorantly proceeds to ~ denounce the League and Socialists as one and the same thing. . 2 THE CHICAGO TENTACLE OF THE OCTOPUS The first issue of the new magazine, out since this Gordon-Van Hoesen letter = was written, contains ‘an attack on-the Nonpartisan _ league on every page. But it has this difference when compared with “On the Square”: The ‘latter was supposed to ‘circulate among farmers, but . the “Anti-Socialist” is to circulate only among op- ponents of the League and to feed their hate of the ‘organization. You will see by. the letter the men and interests these two promoters expect to “in- terest” in the matter. It is expected, as you will also see on reading the letter, that big - buginess ~ men. will subscribe for the maghzine, influence’ ;. -their employes. to- subscribe £ A for it and buy large € who is interested. in’an advertising ageney which of the Nat’l Electric Light Asso., 80 you see how t2ry Robertson, the latter a fine fellow who will has offices at St. Paul and Chicagg angg is known impossible it would be to give all of these. But gladly post you up on who to see. As for the as Van Hoesen & Collins, Inc. In getting out two ! a good commercial directory would give your Twin Cities; you know several times as many as beautifully printed and profusely illustrated issues { full lists, officials, etc., etc. And of course every I do. Of course you are right about the publi- of “On the Square”—the only two issues hefore i | B last one of these should be vitally interested in Ccation of books, pamphlets, ete. against Social- the promotion blew up—Van Hoesen spent a sum 1o the success of an anti-socialist publication. ism; they should be pub. by the anti-soc. maga- estimated at several hundred thousand dollars, fur- 8 1B There is of course the American Light and Trac- zine. And I agree fully with you on' that score. nished by a group of big business men of Minne- i 1 tion company, 120 Broadway; the Electric Share ~We can turn out books enough if we can find sota, of whom Charles Patterson, hitherto men- i & Bond Co., 71-Broadway; the Consolidated Gas anyone to buy them. ‘tioned, was spokesman. “On the Square” failed 5 18 Co., Irving Place and 15th St., the New York I have copy all made up now, or rather pretty because the farmers would not subscribe for a i Edison Co., same address; Francis Homer, con- = nearly made up, for a new edition of my book on ' magazine gotten out by big business to “help” 120 nected with Bretram Griscom Co., 40 Wall ‘St., M. O. but which would really be a new book be- farmers. The two issues that were published were i _.who is interested. (This latter control the elec- .. cause I have cut out some of the matter in the mailed free at third class postage rates—2 cents E | tric and street railways in New Orleans, Bir- old one and added a lot of new stuff. I have a copy—to 200,000 Minnesota farmers. To compile- g i B mingham and a number of southern cities); material on hand for two books on the R. R. the list of farmers to whom it-was sent alone cost . ; vt Henry L. Doherty, 60 Wall St., controlling problem and one on the telephone and tel. sys- the big fellows who put up the money around sl $200,000,000 worth of wutility plants, all of the tems. We could turn out a book once a month $50,000. s ATy ; B k1 above N. Y. City. ‘for that matter if there was a demand for them. These, then, are the men between whom this very A. B. Tenney of the C. R. Tenney Co., 20 Dev- I think Hovey and I would have made a much remarkable letter passed. Now, as to what ‘they onshire St., Boston; Stone & Webster, Boston; greater success’of the books if he had been at were talking about in the letter. Van Hoesen, after : Edison Co. and Consolidated Gas Co., Boston. = liberty to devote his' time partly to the sale of the failure of “On the Square,” with Gordon, The United Gas Improvement Co., Philadel- them, but he had Postage on his hands ahd could planned a new magazine, which has since been. phia, is the largest gas company in the world; ' not give any time to the other. A book on public started. Plans for ‘the new magaszine were under they probably own from 100 to 200 gas plants ownership of R. R. for instance, should have a way. when the letter was written. The new maga- 3 all over the nation. They are rich and prosper- sale of 5,000,000 the first year. el zine is known as the “Pan-American Anti-Social- “4' ous, they alone could put the magazine on its Capt. Henry A. Castle of St. Paul, formerly a - ist,” but in reality it is issued, like “On the Square,”