The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 14, 1918, Page 16

Montana Farm Paper Back of League = Market Thieves Worse Than Blackbirds Scientific Soil Culture Should Be Supplemented b Scientific Marketing, Editor Sees OR 11 years fighting the against adverse natural conditions in Montana, Campbell’s Scientific -~ Farmer, a farmers’ monthly magazine, has lifted up its voice against unnatural marketing conditions in defense of the organized farmer of the Northwest. Campbell’s Scientific Farmer, which is published at Mossmain, Mont., is one of the oldest farmers’ papers in the state. Throughout its existence it has helped the farmers get the best out of their land through scientific advice on farm problems. It has backed the farmer against nature and has spent thousands of dollars de- veloping the semi-arid sections of the West, including the eastern part of Montana. Knowing the size of the fight the farmers now have on hand with market conditions the Scientific Farmer has again taken up the pro- ducers’ battle in the political and eco- nomic field. It has indorsed the Non- partisan league. . With a protest against the disgust- ing tactics of the kept press in slan- “dering .the leaders of the Nonpartisan league and grossly misrepresenting the movement with every rotten trick known to journalism this honest pa- per presents the truth of the matter to its readers. In a recent issue it told of the farm- ers’ picnic held at Billings July 17, at which Governor Lynn J. Frazier of North Dakota, Congresswoman Rankin, A. C. Townley and others spoke. After reporting the size of the crowd as about 3,000, most of whom were farmers, the Scientific Farmer says: “A few business men from Billings were scattered among <the farmers, and some who came to scoff remained to pray. : “Those who had been absorbing the poison gas from the junker press and had come to believe that farmers of Montana were pro-German and dis- loyal were surprised to find that the audience seemed to be 100 per cent American and that the speakers were native born and used the English lan- guage with ease and precision and without a trace of German accent. “While we are on the subject of the picnic we desire to express our dis- approval of the attempts made to stir up and foster bad blood between the interests of the. town and the farm- ers. * * * We. can not wunder- stand the logic that prompts some "of the merchants to deliberately bait. the farmer by accusing him of sedition and disloyalty at a time when such accusations are resented as mor- tal insults. * * * One of the leading implement firms in Billings issues a monthly advertising sl}eet which is claimed to be for the benefit and enlightenment of the farmers of the Midland empire. The latest issue of this sheet- contained a scurrilous and mendacious attack on the Non- partisan league. This is the same sheet that denounced the farmers of Yellowstone county who refused to raise sugar beets, at the reqiest of the sugar trust, as slackers, traitors and ‘murderers.” . T This same issue of this great farmer paper. helps : explode the disloyalty charges ' lodged against the League and its leaders by publishing a'com- prehensive account of the action of the Minnesota supreme court in throwing the trumped-up cases out of court, a thing. none of the c¢opper-controlled papers of the state were fair enough to give prominence equal to that they gave the political charges: - The editor in his editorial' columns takes occasion to lay before Montana farmers and business men the motive fight of the farmers behind Jerry Bacon’s mew “publicity campaign” against the League in Montana as backed up by the copper trust’s Employers’ association. Re- ferring to Bacon as a member of the old gang in North Dakota he says: “Bacon ' climbed on the bandwagon, but fajling to secure the driver’s seat he jumped off at the first stop ‘and since then has been trying to punc- ture the tires.” Campbell’s Scientific Farmer does not go its way taking the side of the farmers unpunished. Already big business, through its tools, is begin- ning to show its hand. Recently the paper received a letter from a banker —one of the sort that have fought the League in Minnesota, North Dakota and elsewhere, repudiating his obli- gation to a year’s subscription to the paper, and_giving as his reason the space used in upholding the No tisan league. RS Liberal ¥ gaZzines * Not the'1dast to the Nonpar Republic, the common peapl WOMEN AT THE POLLS Isabel, S. D. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I was interested in the letter writ- ten by Mrs. Thornton. In regard to the reason why women are not vot- ing, she wonders how much longer the - weaker sex will be held down. “In re- ply and in my mind, they are not held down. They have held themselves down because they haven’t got busy -and organized the same as all.others. Generally speaking, it has been the women’s, fault they aren’t voting, be- cause of their lack of interest in politics. I think hundreds and hundreds of women are more capable of voting than men. Only a few days ago, be- fore the primary election, my husband and I were talking to a man and he asked my husband if he was coming down to vote. He told him that he was not-and that he was going to wait till fall and vote his own ticket. He didn’t seem to like it and said we belonged in North Dakota. I told him that we belonged right here. Well, he thought we ought to come and: vote, said it showed up bad for his precinct. We discussed politics _for a while and I-told him about ‘this Gregory dounty mob affair, and how Governor Norbeck failed to do a thing.’ And right there in-my mind was where I said he had lost hundreds of wvotes.’ If he had been for the people he would have made his re-election sure. This one failure to serve the people has lost him the respect of hundreds Back of the League ot Ofeinie surprising developments of the day is the strong support the liberal magazines free from special interest control are giving igan” league development. e Public and the Dial are behind the new idea of the Je-taking an active part-in politics. The New Republic, for instance, the largest of these four in circulation, recently carried a splendid article under the title, “Common Sense Adjourned,” showing up the opposition to the League in a very effective way. In the monthly class, the Review of Reviews, the National Municipal Review, the World Tomorrow, the Forward and the State Service Magazine of New York state have recently run long articles explaining and in favor of the League. Many of the labor papers and magazines through- out the country are using favorable material on the League. The real farm papers, such as the Iowa Homestead, the Southland Farmer and Scientific Farming, are also behind it. : The reason for this trend of liberal opinion outside the territory in which the League is organized, is not difficult to find. The liberals every- where realize that the old-line politics and politicians are not equal to the responsibilities of the present crisis and that they are ‘wholly unprepared for the reconstruction period to follow the end of the war.. They see that. the only ‘way out is for the common people to take a controlling hand. Hence the liberal magazines are looking to the British Labor party, the Australian Labor party, the organization of our western farmers, and the political awakening of American labor as the guaranties of a democratic peace and democratic reconstruction. realize even niore than the western farmers, what an important step their organization will be to the rest of the country and the world. : “about it: California Raisin Grower Speaks of Big and Little Enemies of Farmers From Experience HAT particularly scares f| the special interests is the fact that the farm- ers are doing their own " thinking. That is why they are joining the Nonpartisan league. Here is a letter from a California man who follows the good plan of letting the kept press know what he is thinking about: . Sacramento, Cal. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I inclose herewith a copy of a let- ter to the Pacific Rural Press in an- swer to an editorial on the League. Yours truly, A. E. BRIGGS. Editor Pacific Rural Press: I must reintroduce myself, because I have been on a long vacation from agri- culture. E. J. Wickson may remem- ber me as the active member of the firm of Briggs Bros., raisin growers, in.the early '80s. C. G. Briggs, my In the weekly class the New Perhaps those Eastern magazines of voters. I don’t think he is for the péople and he acts as if he were for the old gang. If he were not, why did he surrender to mob rule? . Well, this man said this wasn’t right, but you uncle, was probably the largest of the pioneer fruit growers of the state and, when he died, owned over 1,000 acres of raisin grapes. Last year I bought a farm and am having it improved and when the League is_organized in California I propose to devote the rest of my days to farming. As you devote 80 much space to the attack you must regard it of much importance to present the truth concerning the matter and will, no doubt, see the justice of allow- - ing my reply. 5 / couldn’t prove anything by him, he _ hadn’t time to read a bit this spring, He didn’t know a thing of what was .going on and yet he went and voted. For whom? Why? Nobody knows. Maybe he has voted for the men that will cut his throat. I think women should vote. But we should know for whom to vote and why. To attain this right we've got to get to work and read, act and do. MRS. JENNIE M. PILLER. ADDRESSED TO A YELLOW: Mr. McGilvra, a loyal Leaguei=bf . -Danzig, N. D.; has received one of those anonymous letters and the fol- lowing reply shows the way he. feels Editor Nonpartisan Leader; : I am sending ‘you a letfer that I received “from some pro-German in Minnesota. . At least, I think he is Danzig, N. D. that, as he does not sign his name. If - there is anything detestable to me it is to receive a letter from some yel- in the right in one way, for if his name . Jow cur whois too yellow to sign- _his name.” .G g - 'The party that wrote this letter is was -at the bottom of his four-page letter, I ‘would: like nothing ‘better- | than to meet him face to face. = The farmer is beset with pests from the time his seed goes into the ground ' until his product has been exchanged for cash. 'The blackbirds take 2 per cent of the seed before it starts. The cutworms take 4 per cent as soon as it comes through the ground until the product is cut down to 80, 60, 40 or 26 per cent. Then comes the most deadly pest of the farmer—the “deal- er.” He is on hand eyery year. The organization and strategy and assault of the dealers are unlike anything that besets them (the farmers). They stand together like a German army and have their mode of attack fully agreed upon in advance. They appor- tion to one another their feudal sub- jects and gas the whole farming fra- ternity, through the papers they con- trol, as merciless]y as. would a’ Hun brigade. ; 2 Big business 'is the “big pest” and is not satisfied with the 2 per cent of the blackbirds, but through their false grading, depressing of the mar- ket by their lies as to crops, ete., they take 50 per cent of the year’s prod- uct of the farmer, and in the years past that has left the farmers “kold- ing the sack”—actually holding an empty pouch! I have made my defense too brief to do justice to the League, whose members agree with me almost to a man that we will get out of this war ° the greatest good that has ever come to the world in so short a time and they have shown their faith by de- voting a part of each meeting to the work of raising funds to conduct the ‘war. Then, after the individuals had given fully, the League subscribed $5,000. What other political organi- zation is doing this? Mr. Editor, is your editorial association doing’ this? Is your lodge doing it? Is your church doing it? If not, who are the pro- Germans and disloyalists? - Yours very truly, ? " A. E. BRIGGS. EVOLUTION NEEDS FREEDOM 2 Stanford, Mont. Editor Nonpartisan Leader:: = . . Personal liberty as well as freedom for the masses lies in our power of idealism, and its practical expression, which begins with individuals work- ing outward toward the mass. Man, the highest form of life, has the power of helping 6r hindering in the great .scheme of life called ‘evolution. - It is when selfishness: is the keynote-of any dominating group as demonstrated in Germany “that armed reyolution be- comes necessary. In the face of these facts, why shouldn’t the Nonpartisan ~league be given a fair, square hear- ing, inasmuch as it advocates- the sane and orderly method, namely, the ballot. route. EMORY C. NELSON: MY/ who has to sirag- il | ¢/ 12 lhe midst-of plenlylo eep/rom staromg lo deall: