The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 4, 1918, Page 5

.banker’s point of view, in con- - is kindly protecting the pocket- . ing interest rates—no, no, we A Banker s Letter and What It Means Sample of Interference in Farmers’ Affairs Practiced by Small-Town Financiers —Are Bankers Guardians of Votes and Economic Beliefs of Farmers? fighting legitimate bankers. They are not fighting ANY legitimate business. So far as the banking business is con- cerned, all the farmers are ask- ing are conditions that will en- able BOTH BANKERS AND FARMERS to do business more efficxently The small-town banks suffer from op- pression from -above the same as farmers. Why should small-town bankers side in with the money trust against the farmers? They do not, unless they are bitter and prejudiced, unless they resent the farmers standing up for their rights, and re- sent their backing political or economic measures without the advice of bankers. It is about one of these bit- ter, prejudiced “guardians of the farmers” that this article is written. His name is Ed- ward S. Risley and he is cash- ier of the First National bank at Las Animas, Col. He wrote a letter to W. F. Ebright of Caddea, Col. The letter is. photegraphically reproduced on this page. Read it in full. It is very interesting. Yeu will see that Banker Risley has “taken the liberty” of refusing to pay a check written by this farmer. This banker—this superior person whe does not believe that a mere farmer knows what he is deing when he writes and signs a check—admits he has. “taken a liberty.” As “guard- jan” of the political and eco- nomic views of the farmers, he refuses payment on a check for League dues. The banker is ngkt This IS “taking a llberty —to put it mildly it 1s a piece of unmitigated “gall” that it weuld be hard to du- plicate. FARMERS NEED NO GUARDIANS New, this farmers’ “guard- ian” says thatehe is stopping payment of this check “believ- ing that of late months you have found out enough about this organization (the League) to make you approve our ac- tion.” In other words, stating it - plainly instead of in nice- sounding words, the banker says that Farmer Ebright has been a fool and a chump—a poor ignorant person, and he (Mr. Banker), out of the kind- ness of his heart, is willing to - admit that of “late months” the : farmer has changed his mind and come around to the sideration of which Mr. Banker book of Mr. Farmer.by reduc- got mixed up! We mean by refusing to let Mr. Farmer pay dues into his own organization. As it happened, however, Mr. ; S Ebright did not fall for this” He is only a farmer, but he has “horse sense.” He sent the “letter to the Nonpartisan Leader to print, so other “peer ignorant rubes” could see what “fools” they are teo stand up for their rights—according to this type of banker. In other ds, Mr. Ebright had not believed the damnable lies and misrepresenta- tions about the Nonpartisan league thdt Banker " Risley and his kind had eirculated. . “Quardian” Risley goes on to say that he has done this same thing ih a number of cases. Maybe he has. Maybe he has been such a fool. This may be true, but, so far as the League knows, the. rest of his watement is NOT true. That is, the League . ‘knows of no farmers in the district where this bank - ‘ .‘opeum who ha.u ‘rdnsed to pay their checks o HE organized farmers are not + E THOMPSON, Passicany JONN MEINTOSH Vice Presicans check paid we will comply with your " the League is “a dangerous organization.” Mr. Banker merely included this statement in his letter to deceive Mr. Ebright into the belief that lots of League members were going back on the organization. He was looking for precedent for his “liberty.” Far from this, the League is grow- ing by leaps and bounds and universally where a “guardian of the farmers” butts in he is told by League members to mind his own business and PAY CHECKS SIGNED BY PATRONS OF HIS BANK WHO HAVE DEPOSITS. SOME BANKERS NEED EDUCAT}ON What if Mr. Farmer had the power and stopped payment on Mr. Banker’s check to the bankers’ as- . sociation? What would Mr, Banker say then? 82-1m-10 ) G CAPITAL & SURPLUS $55,000.00 ’ LAS ANIMAS,COLORADO - Pty " September,19th,1918 Mr.W.F.Ebright, : ' Caddoa,Colorado. Dear Sir:- - We received in today's mail a check for $16.00 given by you sometime ego to the Non-Partisan League. We have taken the liberty of refusing payment on this check believing that you have of late months ‘found out enough about this organ- ization to make you approve of our a.ction. We have done this in a number of cases for our customers and without exception we ha\;e found every one of bthem were very much Pleased that We haniled the metter in this mé.nner. and trust that you also# will agree with us when we say this is a dangerous organization and thz;,t you will get nothing for your giying. However, if you desire this - que ste ESR.DAT Mr. Banker Risley’s letter to Mr. Farmer Ebright. See article on this pnge/re- /garding this remarkable transaction. What if Mr. Farmer set himself up as a “guardian” of bankers? God knows some of them NEED GUARDIANS; but the farmers are willing to let- the bankers conduct their own business. They wouldn’t stop bankers’ checks to bankers’ organi- zations, even if they had the power, because farm- " ers believe in ORGANIZATION, FOR THEM- SELVES AS WELL AS OTHERS. 5 Banker Risley goes on to say in the letter that, Now. Farmer Ebright is probably willing to admit that: ~Tt is dangerous to moneopolists, unscrupulous poH- ticians and. CROOKED, SELF-APPOINTED "GUARDIANS of farmers’ affairs.” But it’s not dangétous to FARMERS, Mr. Banke!-—not much! X S PAGI m : EDW S RISLEY.Canmian V A HAGAMAN,Ags'r Casrian Ask the over 200,000 farmers who belong and who know that they-have GOT THEIR MONEY’S WORTH ALREADY. Just a word to Mr. Risley in parting: The farm- - ers only pity you, hate-filled and prejudiced that you are. They want to EDUCATE you. That's all. They won’t hurt your business, as long as it is conducted legitimately. They won’t take” any honest dollars out of your pocket. But—get this, Mr. Risley—they won’t work and vote for YOUR politicians nor adopt YOUR political and economic views any more, unless they think they are RIGHT! The day is past when farmers need “guardians.” This is 1918, Mr. Risley, and ORGANIZATION’S the word! See" MOSTLY “LEAGUE” NEWS Minden, Neb. Edltor Nonpartisan Leader: Inclosed find some chppmgs from the Aberdeen Weekly News, which you may, of course, have received before. Mostly all League news—going some, eh? * We'll stick anyhow. OSCAR M. NELSON. The clippings Mr. Nelson sends contain a report of an “Rev.” Maxwell and a number of the kept press lies and dis- tortions which the little ’uns copy from the big ’uns. The ed; so the News is naturally somewhat hysterical. T. R. IN TAX STATEMENT Highwood, Mont. ' Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I received my statement of taxes by mail recently from the Choteau county treasurer and in the same envelope I found part of T. R.s Billings speech, which is inclosed. It makes a man’s American blood boil when he knows what T. R. has done and will do for the farmer and workingman. out stuff like that he must have something up his sleeve,’ and if he has we will make him swallow it on November 5. At least we will if T. R.’s speech affects the other farm- ers as it does me. The old Fort Benton crowd must go down and out. © We will stick. L. H. BAUER. INDUSTRIAL AUTOCRACY The traveler standing amid the ruins of ancient cities and trate walls, asks why did these cities crumble? And the ghosts " of the past, the wisdom of the: ages, answer: “These tem- Dles, these palaces, those cities, the ruins which you stand upon, were built by tyranny and injustice. . The hands that built them were unpaid. The backs that bore the burden also bore the marks of the: - lash. They were built by slaves to satisfy the For: these reasons they are dust. Their civilization: vanity and ambition of thieves and robbers. was a lie. Their laws merely regulated ,robbery" and established theft. They bought and sold the bodies of men, and the mournful ‘wind of desola- tlon, sighing around their crumbling ruins, is a voice of prophetic warning to those who would re- peat the infamous experiment, uttering the great truth, that no nation founded upon slavery, Robert G. elther of body or mmd, can stand.”— Ingersoll. KRR LIS, T “jlluminating” address by the, When a county official sends } old anti-farmer gang around - 7| Aberdeen, S. D., is badly scar- | i ( i empires, seeing on every side - i the fallen pillars and the pros- - §