The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 4, 1918, Page 10

Scrambled Politics in South Dakota - - How to Be a Gangster and Yet Appear Not to Be, a Terrible Problem for the Governor—Influenza Finally Relieves Strain ' BY FRED A. HARDING HEN the armed Hun gangsters that inhabit Britton, S. D., drove A. C. Townley and the farmer- labor candidate for governor out of the state, they started something. They started the farmers 'and all decent citizens by such zeal as Mr. Wright exhibits, would mean about this: “Any meeting where statements are made which you wish to class as disloyal should he stopped immediately. No speaker whom it suits your fancy or political interest to ciass as disloyal should be permitted to held meetings.” home town, Mark P. Bates said in the course of his address: 5 “If I am elected governor of South Dakota and Peter Norbeck chooses to be a candidate for any office two years from now, I will see that he is protected in his meetings. If it should become necessary I will accompany Mr. a - thinking for one thing. The natural result was the other League rally held just outside of Britton on Octo- ber 6, which was attended by 5,000 farmers. Lincoln Steffens, the noted writer, came from New York to attend the meeting. Farm- ers drove 150 miles to hear Townley and the South Dakota candidates and to rebuke the gangsters who had presumed to make the Constitution of the United States a scrap of paper. Steffens declared after the meeting that he had never seen such a wonderful spirit as was exhibited by the farm- ers present. ! E. J. McDougal, mayor of Britton, former lieutenant gov- ernor, tool of the plunderbund in the state 'legislature during the Standard Oil and railroad regime, and the man who .in- stigated the mob outrage at Britton, had no comments to make, that are fit to print. A “hoss doctor” who had taken an active part in the Britton mob outrage also was bitterly silent in the same fashion. The Britton “incident,” as Peter Norbeck prefers to call it, resulted in columns of news- paper publicity. Governor Nor- beck smarted under it. George Wright, secretary of the state . council of defense, attempted to furnish-an alibi for the state administration and made pub- lic the copy of his telegram to the notorious McDougal. STATEMENT WITH A HOLE IN .IT This telegram was sent after McDougal had dsked the sec- retary of the state council if there wasn’t some way of pre- venting the Bates-Townley meeting at Britton on Septem- ber 24. The telegram read as fol- lows: : “It is your duty to protect meetings held for the discus- sion of political questions. Any meeting where disloyal statements are made should be stopped immediately. NO SPEAKER KNOWN TO BE DISLOYAL should be meetings.” As the Sioux City (Iowa) Tribune said in com- menting on this telegram: “The instructions sent to the county chairman, as interpreted by the average local official moved T —————————————————————————————————————————————— The anti-farmer gang in South Dajkota is second to none in r : things. The gang there has been clever enough to adopt nearly all the League program as a means of throwing dust in the voters’ eyes. But the idea of “let the gang do it” hasn’t made a hit with the farmers, ‘“The governor has made pretenses of keeping law and order and on one occasion showed that he could do so. the mobs of silk-hat anarchists have somehow gotten beyond his control. establish the pretense that the raw meat eaters in Gregory county and e derstand why they should not act as openly as the mobs do in Minnesota. A ods and in the wobbling around the governor has shown his hand so clearly that none can fail to see it. The League | : and labor candidates, running independently, will clean up the state on November 5. The voters of =~ / of South Dakota are swinging into the League camp in an unusual way. ~ permitted to—-hold “the small cities The business men of Britton had occasion in the I CASTING OUT THE QUACK DOCTOR l The spoon-fed public in the Northwest has waked up to the fact that kept press poison and the tender care of old Doctor Gang are bad for the health. The.doctor could not take a hint, so the public has to throw him out bodily and his bad medicine ofter him. Accord- ing to news reports the German people are beginning to suspect their self-appointed doc- tor and his brand of soothing syrup. Weakened by his reverses on the west front and by the capitulation of his confederates, the kaiser may soon be cast out by the much-abused patient. The whole world is weary of the quacks. The story of recent events in South Dakota given on this page is a” good illustration of old-gang quackery here. next few days to regret the action of the mob. They had amplew"time to reflect, for the farmers showed a strange disinclination to trade with them. In the meantime Townley and Bates continued their tour. They were rotten-egged at Watertown and one of the automobiles in their party was painted yellow at Webster. When they reached Redfield, Governqr Nort;eck’s i esourceful trickery.A It easily leads the field _But the governor has done so much to Isewhere are displeased. They can’t un- The gang is thus quarreling over meth- “Norbeck and sit on the platform with him, in .order that his constitu- tional right of free speech shall not be denied.. There will be no more mob out- rages in South Dakota if I am elected governor.” Governor Norbeck heard of Mr. Bates’ statement. The people of the state heard of it. Governor- Norbeck thereupon decided that mob law was be- coming unpopular. Goaded on by the fear of disaster at the polls on November 5, he deter- mined to “try” his hand at up- holding the Constitution and guaranteeing lawful assem- blage and free speech. NORBECK SHOWS WHAT COULD BE DONE Bates was scheduled to speak in Bonesteel, in the heart of Gregory county, on October 9. Nonpartisan league meetings had been forbidden in Gregory county since last March, when six League men. had been beat- en, robbed and deported from the state. : South Dakota’s “great - war governor” made a spe- cial trip to Bonesteel to see if he could uphold the majesty of the law. He succeeded. He succeeded the first time he tried. He succeeded again at Dix- . on, another Gregory county town, where a League rally was held on the evening of October 9. When a mob gath- ered about the hall, the sheriff, - obeying. Norbeck’s orders, swore in every man in the audience as a deputy sheriff. -As soon as.the Huns outside heard the news; they made a strategic retreat. ~ The Gregory County Council of Defense resigned two days later as a protest against the governor’s interference. The governor: of South Da- kota at this time' faced a most complex situation. His .old henchmen were deserting” him. Others viewed his sudden eon- version to the side of law and order as an eleventh- hour conversion, which probably ‘would not- last - - after election. Leaguers in-South Dakota saw only = hypocrisy in the governor’s “reformation.” 1In desperation, therefore, Peter wrote a circular - letter to the chairmen of all the county councils of defense, suggesting that they should prevent (Continued on page 14) in some ' On other occasions .