The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 31, 1919, Page 8

Indlans on the Warpath—Look Out! Self-Styled “Montana Loyalty League” Uncovers Weird Plot of Farmers to Destroy the United States ’ NDIANS!! Look out for them! They are abroad in the land, particularly in the state of Montana, and are ready to kill, burn and destroy every- thing and every one in sight. Residents of the Northwest who have had peace and quiet for 25 years, many of whom have never seen an Indian except when a “medicine show” happened to come to town, may doubt that the redskins are on the warpath again, but Will A. Campbell of Helena, Mont., tells all about it in a pamphlet which he is circulating broadcast, es- pecially among members of the Nonpartisan league. The pamphlet is entitled: THE GREAT CONSPIRACY . How a Group of Radical Socialists and Revo- lutionists Planned and Are Working Out a Campaign to Unite Three Great Classes of Our Citizenship With the Socialist Party; Con- fiscate All Property; Destroy the Existing Po- litical, Social and Industrial Systems by Ac- tually Calling for and Bringing About a REVO- LUTION in America. The capitals and black type are Mr. Campbell’s. The heading, taken by itself, might be classed, as " General Grant classed reports that originated dur- ing the Civil war, to the effect that the Confeder- ates were winning everywhere. General Grant listed them as “Important, if true.” But Mr. Campbell does not leave his readers only the heading to judge from. He goes on to give “details” of “the Great Conspiracy.” After you read a while you find -that it is all about the Nonpartisan léague, and its “plot” against the whites. There are eight steps in the plot, says Mr. Campbell. Under the heading of “Un- folding the Plot” (black type again) Mr. Campbell gives these eight steps as follows: 1. Co-operative ownership of elevators and markets. 2. Public ownership of pub- lic utilities. 3. Public ownership of all means of distribution and pro- duction. 4. Public ownership of land. 5. Confiscation of all pri- First step in the great plot, according to Mr. Campbell, public ownership. I vately owned property of whatever description; B T . seizure of the wealth of the banks, destruction of all records of titles and burning of all deeds to land. 6. Repudiation of all laws and destruction of all governmental agencies for administering the laws. 7. Anarchy, with bloodshed if necessary, to ac- “eomplish the destruction of the existing social, in- dustrial and governmental systems. 8. Establishment of the Bolshevist reign * * * without responsibility of any kind except as assum- ed by the various soviets or councils of workmen who will merely meet like a tribe of Indians and determine on the policy of the tribe from time to time. The idea of 250,000 Northwestern farmers burn- ing the deeds to their own farms, destroying the government which they are coming to control, as they do in North Dakota, wiping out laws which they have made themselves and, finally, after Kkill- ing off President Wilson, Governor Frazier and all other public officials, meeting around a campfire, with blankets wrapped around them like a bunch of Indians, suggests that Mr. Campbell missed his real calling in life. - ROMANCER “EXPOSES” GREAT CONSPIRACY . Numbering our suggestlons, like Mr. Campbell numbers the steps in his “plot,” the Leader would suggest that he should either have become— 1. The writer of Indian stories, like James Fen- nimore Cooper; 2. The writer of novels of adventure, like Dia- mond Dick, Nick Carter and Old Sleuth, or, 3. A professlonal humorist, like Mark Twain, Bill Nye or Irvin S. Cobb. As a matter of fact, however, Mr. Campbell is none of these but is the editor of a daily paper at Helena, known as one of the principal organs of the copper trust of Montana. Mr. Campbell’s pamphlet does not stop with un- ,Lenine, Trotzky, Debs, O’Hare folding, in words, the great conspiracy for an up- rising of the Indians against the settlers. He goes on to “prove” his case with a diagram. In this diagram the Nonpartisan league farmers are changed, mysteriously, from Indians to soldiers under “Captain Townley.” Members of labor unions are shown as soldiers under “Captain F. P. Walsh,” and members of the Socialist party as soldiers under “Captain V. Berger.” These “captains” are under “Colonels A. LeSueur and William Haywood,” ac- cording to Mr. Campbell’s diagram, and these ‘“colonels” in turn are under “Generals FILET HER GO and Dunn.” Mr. Campbell devotes sev- eral thousand more words of the English language to “ex- plaining” his diagram and “proving” how the farmers, la- bor union members and Social- ists are delivered by “Cap- g tains” Townley, Walsh and Fifth, stes; burning Berger to “Colonels” LeSueur own farm. and Haywood and then to “Gen- erals” Lenine, Trotzky, Debs, O’Hare and Dunn. For the benefit of readers of the Leader who may not know some of the military men referred to by Mr. Campbell, it may be explained that “Captain” The Nonpartisan league and the North Dakota legislature were recently ¢ vestigated” by a representative of one of the largest and most conservative of the eastern newspapers—a newspaper that is against any radical reform. But the investigator was a man of some in- telligence. “What are you going to tell the people in the East?”’ he was asked as he left Bismarck. “I am going to tell them this,” he said. “They are not going to make any headway by calling - the farmers Socialists, anarchists and Bolsheviki. “They are getting nowhere by such tactics. There is one way to beat the League, and .just one way that I see—that is to submit some better method of settling the farmers’ griev- ances than the League has submitted.” The Nonpartisan Leader believes this man is correct. This is a good way of beating the League. But in suggest- ing this method we have no fear that - the copper trust of Montana, whose -rough work is shown on this page, will adopt any such plan. « F. P. Walsh was a co-worker with former Presi- dent Taft on the war labor board. “General Dunn” is a labor member of the leglslature in Montana, who has aroused the particu- lar ire of the Anaconda Cop- &5 per Mining company. . oREsiBENT 2 The whole purpose of Mr. Wi §J Campbell’s romantic literature sy seems to be to carry the im- pression that in some way the Nonpartisan league and labor . unions are allied with the So- cialist party and the Bolshe- viki. It is unnecessary to tell Non- partisan league members that the Socialist party is virtually as active against the Nonpar- tisan league as are the politi- cians in charge of the Repub- lican and Democratic parties. The Socialist Year Book has a large section devoted to an attack upon the League. The Socialist party is against the Nonpartisan league because the League means the Seventh_ step, accord- ing to Mr. Campbell, anarchy and as- sassination. breaking down of the old parties as they are at. present administered. While the Socialist party has been preaching a theory of benefiting the work- ers, the Nonpartisan league has gone ahead and . gotten them real benefits. PAGE nm A B A R R T LR e SR oo S S mWw e As far as the Bolsheviki are concemed, that term has come to mean practically nothing in the United States, for the press uses it to include all who ‘oppose special-interest control, even those who defend the initiative and referendum and President Wilson. The Nonpartisan league, by working for reforms in an orderly way to evolution with ballots, is doing more than any other agency to prevent a revolution with bullets. So much for what the Montana Loyalty league is trying to do. Now a few words about what it is. The European war was ended, for all practical purposes, by the signing of the armistice of No- vember 11, 1918. Four months after the signing of the armistice the so-called “Montana Loyalty league” has launch- ed its real campaign. It explains in its own litera- ture that now that the European war is over it is “continued to fight against forces which are seek- ing to destroy this government, which the mili- tary machine of the Huns failed to destroy,” and to “stamp out discontent.” JUST A DISGUISE FOR FIGHTING LEAGUE The facts are that Mr. Campbell is trying to use the so-called “Loyalty league” to destroy the Non- partisan league. Mr. Campbell, as was explained, is editor of one of the principal defenders of the copper trust in Montana. His “league” is well supplied with funds by someone. It is circular- izing all known members of the Nonpartisan league in Montana and other states with its pamphlet and a letter seeking to turn members against the Nonpartisan league, telling them that “it is not necessary to overthrow the present form of government in order to secure for the farm- ers a fair deal and equal ad- vantages with every other line of business. Corrective legis- lation is needed and it is com- ing as the farmers take more interest in politics, but this does not necessitate the turn- ing over of our state govern- ment to a group of Socialist adventurers nor the establish- ment of a socialistic common- wealth in Montana.” Many members of the Non- Mr. C partisan league are sending the Leader letters they have Campbell, and their answers. Eighth and final step in the great conspir- acy, as exposed by ampbell. received from Mr. Here is a typical .answer from a farmer: “Meadow, S. D. “Mr. Will A. Campbell, Montana Loyalty League. “Dear Sir: Your literature received and care- fully read. “First of all I wish to know who you people are " and what your business is. “I also wish to know what you people have done to better the conditions for the common’ people of Montana. “As.to the big bugaboo that you call soclallsm, it puts me in mind of the poor, ignorant sailors that started with Columbus and were frightened at big sea monsters that did not exist. “In reply to the wording on your letterhead, will’ say that if you are sincere in helping to stamp out the discontent you will advise joining the Nonpar- tisan league and cleaning house and giving the . people of Montana just legislation. : ; ) “R. E.. STOWMAN.” So far as the Leader is informed, Mr. Campbell has not yet told Mr. Stowman who the “Loyalty” leaguers are and what their real business is. But considering Mr. Campbell’s business and af- filiations and the scare that the Nonpartisan league has thrown into the copper trust in Montana, it is not hard to guess. “Since Armistice Day,” says a letter written by Mr. Campbell to members, “the Montana Loyalty league has been working with organizations in other states to put out the flames of discontent and to patriotically oppose radical socialism.” Mr. Campbell regards as “radical socialism” any organized movement of either farmers or city workers. Is it patriotism to use his organization, ,supposed to be a patnotlc one, to defeat organ- ized workers? R .‘“