The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 7, 1918, Page 6

P St ,, | i : i f ! ~when it is taken in connection with the fact that the chamber of %’% > /,,,,% s v, onparfi¥an Teader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week Entered as second-class matter September 8, 1915, at the postoffice at St. Paul, Minnesota, under the Act of March 8, 1879. OLIVER 8. MORRIS, Editor A. B. GILBERT, Associate Editor B. 0. FOSS, Art Editor . Advertising r;tes on application. Subscription, one year, in_advance, $2.50; six months, $1.560. lease do not make checks, drafts nor money orders payable to indi- viduals. Address all letters and make all remittances to The Nonpartisan 'Leader, Box 575, St. Paul, Minn. MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS THE S. C. BECKWITH SPECIAL AGENCY, Advertising Representatives, New' York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City. Quack, fraudulent and irresponsible firms are not knowingly advertised, and we will take it as a favor if any readers will advise us promptly should they have occasion to doubt or question the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns. A REMARKABLE CONFESSION OME political enemies of the organized farmers at Beach, S N. D., have formed an association, or rather assumed the name of an association. They call themselves “The ‘Farmers’’ Publicity association,” the word “farmers’” being a camouflage. They have published an anti-League pamphlet and are trying to make some money out of it by selling it in wholesale lots to interests fighting the organized farmers. Their circular letter, offering to furnish the pamphlets, is addressed to “Banks, merchants, political committees - and commercial clubs.” Here is the remarkable con- fession these anti-farmer agitators make in their circular: = Attenltign banks, merchants, political committees and commercial clubs: 3 ___ 'The business men of North Dakota have battled with Townleyism for two years. Subscriptions to anti-Townley newspapers for farmers were paid for by banks and commercial clubs at a cost of $1.560 per subscription, and pamphlets were also used. Farmers who received the newspapers ordered them stopped after receiving the first copy and if any. more were received they were returned or thrown away. The pamphlets had little effect and the money spent was lost. Speakers were employed, but the Nonpartisan farmers would not attend the meetings. ; It became apparent that the farmer followers of Townley would not accept the facts in a natural raw state, and that they should be mixed with something pleasant and made easy to take. And this idea is embodied in the book, “Townley & Co.” The reader becomes interested in a novel story which holds his attention from the start, and while he is being entertained and amused the facts are introduced in a logical, reasonable and humorous manner which impresses and convinces. This effort to sell a new anti-League pamphlet scarcely needs any comment. The anti-League newspapers will doubtless be in- terested in the statement that their dope hasn’t been “easy to take” and has not done the anti-League cause any good. Likewise, Jerry Bacon and other pamphleteers will feel keenly this severe criticism of their crude methods. As for the farmers, they will be interested in how they are to be fed poison with a new kind of “pleasant’ sugar-coating, in the shape of the “entertainment,” “amusement” _and “humor,” which is to disguise this new anti-farmer propaganda. N EVERY- M — GIVE T/ BP‘%‘SR_N | o “PIE”Y FUNDS AND SENATORS so-called “pié” fund, contributed by big interests to pay for: big business propaganda to influence congress, brought out THE fact that the United States Chamber of Commerce had a_ " in recent congressional hearings, in itself is interesting. It becomes ‘more interesting when it is learned that the big packers were sub- stantial contributors to the “pie” pot. It is even mote interesting - praise of the . garding his letter the same circulation that it gave th commerce recently made a bitter attack on President Wilson’s fed- eral trade commission, on account of the commission’s packers’ report, and demanded the removal of the trade commissioners re- sponsible for suggesting government ownership of packing plants, and for pointing out the profiteerings by the packers and other _big special interests. ? But it has not been disclosed what connection, if any, Senator Sherman and other senators who are fighting President Wilson and the federal trade commission, have with the “pie” fund. Senator Sherman will be remembered as the statesman who made an attack in congress, in the same speech, on President Wilson of the United States and President Townley of the Nonpartisan league. As we remember it he called both of these men “bolsheviki,” whatever that is. After the report on the packers Senator Sherman relieved. himself of the following, in reference to the president’s trade com- missioners: . There is not one who isn’t a radical, a bolsheviki and an economic firebrand. They are younger brothers of the I. W. W.—all of them. They’re poor excuses for public officers. They’re a disgrace to the ad- ministration. They’re a menace to business. They're a discredit to the country. : If all these charges of “I. W. W.ism,” “bolshevism,” ‘“‘economic fire-brandism,” etc., etc., etc., are true, then the Nonpartisan league, the president, the federal trade commissioners and a majority of the citizens of the United States are in the same boat, because these charges are freely used against all of them. A DANGEROUS WEAPON HE Minnesota Public Safety commission maintains a publicity department at the expense of the taxpayers of the state. This department was established on the pretense that it was necessary to circulate loyalty literature among citizens and aid the state’s newspapers in publicity work concerning war activities at TH' BEST ON - TH' FARM _ SOME SELECT YOUR SEED CORN i EFOLLY . PND e BE A FARMES NS home. No one will object to é publicity department honestly fcoh—V ducted to promote purely patriotic work. The Minnesota commis- sion, however, is a creature of Governor Burnquist, and Governor Burnquist is making a desperate campaign for re-election. The governor could not resist the temptation to use the commission’s publicity department to aid his campaign. : : ; Literature issued by the commission has contained fulsome S overnor and freely misrepresented the facts con- cerning his activities. - The commission has sought to prove with public funds that the governor was doing many things which he was not doing for the benefit of the people. This is bad enough. But the commission has gone further. A large amount of the tax- payers’ money was spent to circulate the governor’s announcement (5 2 -Se_ - - S~ fo { - LS 3 ¥ ) ) 28 L Lell o A e ~8% ¥ L g ¥ £} Bl ¢ l*éf‘: bt g : e e of his candidacy for re-election and to circulate a letter he wrote | to the Nonpartisan lea, less element.” The letter was a campaign document, intended to ‘discr.edit labor and farmer organizations which were backing a ~ candidate for governor in opposition to Mr. Burnquist.” - e More recently the publicity department of the commission has -used the public funds to send out broadcast over the state a letter written by Arthur LeSueur. before the war and hefore his connec- * tion with the legal staff of the League. The letter concerned cases = in court in which Mr. LeSueur was appearing as lawyer for mem-’ bers of the . W. W. The commission asked Minnesota newspapers ° to publish this letter, together with a “news” item which inferred - by inuendo that Mr. LeSueur, and indirectly the Nonpartisan league, - were anti-war, pro-German, allied with th _ ous.” The commission thus attempted to ruin the reputation of a citizen by casting suspicion ugon him. The commission withheld . the real facts and refused to give a statement by Mr. LeSueur e commissio SIX e I. W. W--and “danger- : 1e N e refusing to speak at a farmer-labor con- = ‘. | vention in St. Paul under the auspices of the League and organized. - - labor. -In that letter the governor intimated that the organized - = : farmers were “disloyalists” and that organized laber was a “law- -