The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 24, 1919, Page 7

have under consideration - happened to hay a lazy " . No, other reasons must be sought to explain > suspension. Doctor Levine’s book contains facts +the Montana mine taxation case. His book shows what taxes Mon- tana mines pay, what taxes other property in Montana pays, and what taxes are paid by mines in more advanced states. The Anaconda Copper Mining company objects to the people of Montana learning the facts about mine taxation. Governor Stewart and Chancellor Elliott-'of Montana apparently share in this objection. ' O Hays of the national Republican committee, the Minneapo- lis Tribune, League hater and one of the pillars of the Re- publican party, published the following admission in its discussion of the political situation: Minnesota Republicans are realizing the necessity for organiza- © tion. It must be admitted that if it had not been for the uniting of " Republicans and Democrats in the last campaign Governor Burnquist would not have been re-elected. In the primaries the Democrats came to the aid of Burnquist. Together, Republicans and Democrats, helped to defeat the Nonpartisan league candidate. .It wasn’t because there was any real effective state-wide organization. 4 7 Again in the election the Democrats deserted their candidate, Fred E. Wheaton, to vote for Burnquist as against the League candidate. Minnesota needs a Republican organization. ' It_hasn’t one now. There are some county chairmen at work. In some counties there “are-the skeletons of real organizations. But on the whole Minnesota is_ not organized as is Indiana, Mr. Hays’ own state, for instance. What is true of Minnesota is true of South Dakota. There loyal Republicans, under the leadership of William H. King of Mitchell and others, have been fighting the Nonpartisan league tooth and: nail. They won out in the last election. But the menace has not been stamped out. Continual, organized work is necessary. 3 This from a staunch Republican organ, a defender of the in- famous Burnquist regime in Minnesota, is significant. It fully Doctor Levine’s: \ REPUBLICAN PARTY SCARED : N THE occasion of the visit to Minnesota of Chairman admits the growing power of the League and gives the lie to the puerile statements of the politicians that the League was licked once for all at the last election and is not an element to be seriously reckoned with. But most significant.of all is the frank confession CTHE N.P. LEAGUE of the bipartisan character of the League oppositibri—bf the co- operation of Republicans and Democrats in the last election and the necessity of such co-operation if the politicians are to continue in power and defeat the powerful but peaceful uprising of the - masses against present conditions. = ; ‘ g ‘METHODS OF WARFARE = HE Montana “Loyalty” league was organized during the war . to prevent Montana'(so it was announced) from going over I body and soul to the kaiser. It is being continued, under the management of:a copper trust editor, to fight the Nonpartisan ‘league. The organized farmers have a deep-laid plot, according to" the “loyalty” league’s literature. The first step, co-operative ele- vators and warehouses owned by farmers’ societies, has been taken. The next step is public ownership of railroads, telegraphs-and tele- phones, which will be realized soon. The next successjve steps in - the plot are public ownership of land, confiscation of all private property, repudiation of all laws and governments, anarchy and the destruction of all existing social and industrial institutions, and ~ lastly—the final step in the “great conspiracy”’—BOLSHEVISM! This is seriously advanced by the Montana Loyalty league as the program of the organized farmers. It has all been discussed and planned in advance by the Nonpartisan league, say. these patriots. ~ Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to circulate this propaganda against the farmers of Montana through the mails and otherwise. A Miles City daily paper published the pamphlet in full under a screaming headline. We are informed by H. J. Foote of Bakef, Mont., that copies of the pamphlet are being handed out to customers of banks throughout the state. - ey Even if Mr. Campbell of the Helena Independent, manager of . the “loyalty” league and doubtless author of the pamphlet, wants to make it as strong as possible to scare the copper and waterpower trusts out-of their boots and out of big sums of money for Mr. ‘ Campbell to spend, how can bankers and other supposedly sane - citizens imagine they are injuring the League by circulating such a document? It is beyond us. = . ! S . For those who may prove skeptical about the-“great: conspir- acy” above-outlined, the “loyalty’”’ league has a lesser pamphlet containing a milder form of poison. In that there is a long ac- - count about a North Dakota state official elected by the farmers, said to have turned in an expense account once for a $3.25 meal! 1t is also “‘proved” that the North Dakota State Council of Defense ~ which netted only 91 cen on both sides of - - (consisting of League farmers) gnce gave a Red Cross benefit A _ THE MISTAKE OF THE CONSERVATIVES THE.conservatives of America—those who have set themselves to defeat radical political and economic proposals—are mak- ing a serious mistake in their inability to distinguish between the varicus groups opposed to them. The conservative war-cry is now “down with bolshevism and I. W. W.ism,” and with this slogan they seek to rout all forces which are not exactly of their-opiriion. They would outlaw every person and organization which proposes any kind of reform, moderate or extreme, in the belief, apparently, that even a little progress, even slight concessions to allay unrest and discontent, will be an opening for a wedge that the extreme rad- icals will be quick to insert and pound upon to obtain greater con- cessions. - Thus we find the mouthpieces of conservatism classifying in CONSERVATIVE f ANORCHY v ol 2ESTROCTION. < .......... " one group, as “un-American and disloyal,” all persons who hold that there is need for reform, whether such persons are I. W. W.s and extreme Socialists, seeking the complete abolition of capitalism by immediate revolution, or whether they are reformers like Non- partisan leaguers, seeking enactment of a comparatively moderate political and economic program, and seeking it, not by revolution, direct action or violence, but by lawful and constitutional methods —discussion, education and the ballot box. There are two theories adopted by conservatives in dealing - with abuses and grievances which cause widespread agitation and unrest such as exist at this time in America and throughout the world. ,One theory adopts suppression. Under that theory, abuses -are denied and grievances ignored. Laws are passed aiming at sup- pression or restriction of speech and assemblage, so that existing evils can not be discussed, or can be discussed only in peril of pun- ishment or under other great difficulties. An effort is made to -make reformers and reform measures look like treason, and to outlaw individuals and organizations proposing any kind of change in the established order. This method is often successful for a time, but it universally results in a reaction in favor of the ultra- radicals. The dam eventually breaks and the conservatives find themselves much worse off than if they had made concessions in the first place. K The other method of conservatives is that of concession.. Un- der this theory of dealing with public abuses and unrest, the justice of the cause of the moderate reformers is recognized ; at least there is no attempt at suppression. Liberals are congulted by conser- vatives. Concessions are made on both sides. The conservative, realizing that a complete victory for him is impossible, gives way just enough to cut the ground out from under the radical agitators “—just enough to make it appear that progress against evils is being made. This policy heads off indefinitely the more extreme and radical proposals and gives the conservatives time to reorganize to withstand another encounter when the time comes. It seems unnecessary to point out which of these two methods is the wisest from the point: of view of conservatives in times like these. The suppression method ‘is welcomed by extremists and revolutionists, because they know what a continued policy of that kind means. On the other hand, the extremists are disconcerted and rendered impotent by the concession method. 3 Already the wise conservatives are seeing the light. A group of Illinois manufacturers recently wired congress, asking the re- eal ‘of the sedition law and other laws suppressing minorities dur- ing the war, and favoring amnesty for political prisoners. A Pa- -cific coast newspaper, opposed to the League, recently advised tol- eration of the organized farmers, because they are seeking reforms by constitutional means, and because the recognition of a move- ment of that kind would put conservatives in a stronger position in' dealing with radical revolutionists and: direct actionists. '~ An eastern conservative paper took much the same position recently, when it pointed out that the big propertied classes had much better make concessions to an organization of conservative, land-owning farmers like the League, than to risk being forced to make greater concessions to nonland-owning and much more radical elements, which will gain ascendancy sooner or later through a purblind pol- icy of suppression by conservatives now . in power. e v Téxe Leader gives this tip to conservatives for what it is worth. . rea ind " the task of damming back the tide of liberalism and who hope . of some good history might 'help them to make up their