The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 16, 1919, Page 4

;system of publicly owned: ter- : minal elevators and flour mills. ..of North Dakota is in readiness In the interest * of a square deal for the farmers Tlonpartisan Teader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League VOL. 8, NO. 24 y ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, JUNE 16, 1919 L¢ague Foes Align for Decisive Battle A magazine that dares to print the truth WHOLE NUMBER 195 ‘How Insurance Trust Raised Million-Dollar Fund to Fight Organized Farmers Told by California Professor in Affidavit Bis;l;arck Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader. HAT shall a state do that-it may be born again? Just as nations are not born in a day but are things of slow growth, await- ing the rise of-a common aim among the people, so must a state bide its time, build up the intelligence and spirit of its citizens until they know what they want to do and then move ‘forward in solid ranks to do it. For 20 years the farmers of North Dakota have - desired reforms, and now at last they are enter- ing on the realization of their plans. In the day .of their victory they have discovered the strength of their enemies, who are using every corrupt means known in-the vain effort to foil progress. The people of North Dakota stand incorruptible ! before the onslaughts of newspapers, hireling ora- . tors from the East, bribery and intimidation. ‘A manager has been chosen ‘for'its Qe Already he is at work on the problem of buying two - flour mills to grind part of this year’s crop. The great central Bank to open its business of provid- ing farm loans at cost to the farmers of . the state. As a working fund it has reached out for the public funds that have been scattered through the pri- vate banks of the state. Twenty million dollars of this money belonging to the counties, town- ships, school districts and state have been uncovered. This money, so long used for private purposes, will now be mobilized by the Bank of North Dakota to aid the people of the state. FARMERS NOW GETTING MONEY FOR DOCKAGE Under the new law farmers .have _already- recovered thou- :sands of dollars in payment for dockage which formerly was ap- propnated without pay by the grain monopoly. o There are forces in the state that - still fight against these laws. Yet they are as helpless as the grass- hoppers that are beginning to make their appear- ance in the Slope country of the Missouri river. The farmer legislature at its recent session did not -even .overlook these small enemies of the state. This law provxdes for levy of a tax by county com- natures. missioners for the purpose of creating a fund to exterminate the grasshopper pest, when petitioned . to do so by 10 per cent of the voters of the county to-lay a levy not in excess of 1% mills to purchase poison. This measure is already being brought into play to save the crops. - The-law makes it the duty of every owner, renter and lessee of land in the county to come in ‘furnished . by ‘the .com it in his fields., T}us \nd ‘to ‘distribute id nothing. designed for- the up- building of the ‘state and ~its emancipation from exploitation has its enemies __stronger than the in Treasurer, Obert Olson. get a supply of the poison e way :North Da-’ uld be useless - None. mrhnps, ‘are ; the hail insurance law. This will reduce the pre- mium rates of 75 cents or $1 to between 20 and 25 cents, and will cut away almost $600,000 in profits each year. According to the last report of the commissioner of insurance there were 19 com- panies in the state doing a hail insurance business. They wrote policies for $16,000,000. They received in premiums $1,280,000 and paid out only $703,616, leaving a margin of profit of $576,384. In addition to this form of cheap state insurance, North Dakota also is establishing what is known as ‘workmen’s compensation insurance. Whenever any city worker is injured, the state will pay acci- dent insurance amounting to 60 per cent of his pay. This is automatic and is provided by means of low fees collected regularly from the employers. No workman will have to go to law to recover damages for injury.- as the result of his employment. No widow will have to hire an attorney to get justice for the loss of her husband in an industrial acci- dent. The state has a schedule arranged which will provide for the support of women or children SIGNING THE BANK BONDS ; —Photo by Lorentz O. Rudser. Two million dollars’ worth of state bonds, which will constitute the capital of the Bank of North Dakota, were signed recently by Governor Lynn J. Frazier and State left alone in the world by the death of a wage- earner. This compensation insurance is a great deal cheaper than that furnished by private com- panies, since it is not conducted for profit, and has not the heavy overhead of numerous agents and solicitors. 'It is automatic. Every employer pays an_ assessment based on his payroll and must come in. A California newspaper man and college professor, who had been employed by insur- ance interests to fight a proposed system of health insurance, recently made the following affidavit that the insurance companies had _ raised a $1,000,000 slush fund te fight the Non- partlsan league. o To Whom It Muy Concern. = 1, Ernest Jerome Hopkins, £ormerly professor of jour- * nalism of the University of Sonthern:California: and. now . mewspaper man. employed pose and swear as follows: Prior, to: the California state elections of November 6, . 1918, on recommendation of Doctor Milbank Johnsom, “medical - director ‘and ‘brother of the president of the Pa- cific Mutual Life, Insurance company, I was engaged as publicity’ man’ in" Los_A! " the ‘California Research Society:of Soc Snn Francmco. The photographer caught them as they were affixing their sig- Left to right, those in the picture are Governor Frazier, State Treas- urer Olson and Secretary Oliver S. Morris of the industrial commission. in San”Francisco, Cal,,"do de- ngeles’ for an. organization ealled the ballot, drawn in such form that it was opposed by man)ifsincere friends of progressive legislation, including myself. The secretary and organizer of the California Research society was Carleton D. Babcock of Detroit. Mr. Babeock, in several conversations, gave me information bearing upon the plan of the big insurance corporations of the United States to engage in a campaign this year to kill the Non- partisan league of North Dakota and other states where it had taken root. Babcock apprised me of the existence of an organization called the Insurance Economics Society of America, with headquarters at Detroit, which, he stated, was suppo: by the insurance corporations for the purpose of putting down such radical legislation a‘d political movements as were displeasing to the insuraice interests. Especially, he stated, it was opposed to state health insurance, the single tax and the Nonpartisan league. Babcock informed me that he had been sent to California by the Insurance Economics society, though he repeatedly cautioned me against mentioning that organization in con- nection{ with the California Research Society of Social Economics. He explained that the usual method was for the Insurance Economics Society of America to send one of its regular staff members, of whom he was one, into the given state, to align local interests, secure funds form a list of vice presidents, and wage .the campaign f)y the ordinary methods of press publicity, printed pamphlets, and a bureau of paid orators. .The Insurance Economics society contributed the organizer and in some cases, part of the funds, keeping its connection with the state or- ganization a secret. In a conversation held on or about October 25, 1918, Babcock mentioned the Nonpartisan league, calling it a “dangerous socialistic movement,” and stated that the Insurance Eco- nomics Society of America had de- cided to go into North- Dakota and Montana this“spring and summer and wage a campaign to drive the League out of existence. One of his definite statements was as follows: MILLION PLEDGED TO FIGHT STATE PLAN That in the summer of 1918 seven of the largest insurance men in the United States, representing the prin- cipal corporations, had sat down to- gether around a table in Detroit and had pledged one million dollars (Sl- 000,000). for the campaign to kill the Nonpartisan league, Babcock expressed satisfaction with my work against the California com- pulsory health insurance measure, and said” that if I desired he could no doubt secure me a position on the Insurance Economics society staff, to go into North Dakota or Montana and do publicity work against the League. Such a position, he said, would pay as_high as $5,000 a year. I did not accept the offer and noth- ing further .was said along that line. Babcock referred to this coming campaign as the most important fight at the Insurance Economics Society of America would have -engaged in/ He stated he was particularly anxious to do well in the California eampaign, because it would mean one of “the better-paid positions in the Nonpar- tisan league fight, and othet writers and organizers. on the staff of the Insurance Economics society were al- so trying to make a showing before the insurance heads. Immediately after the November election Babcock left California and the California Research Society of Social Economics ceased to exist. This mame was purely a camouflage, since the activities included neither research nor economic study, and the *“society” consisted solely in a list of vice presidents on a letterhead, with Babcock as secretary, and an_honorary president. In witness to the truth of the above statements I here- by affix my hand and seal. ERNEST JEROME HOPKINS. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 23rd day of May, 1919. FRANK L. OWEN, Notary Public, in and for the city and county of - San Francisco, state of California. S. A. Olsness, commissioner of insurance for North Dakota, says this slush fund is a reality and is being spent with a liberal hand." The newspapers representing the interests that have been . plun- dering the state are foremost in the fight. - They are conducting .a: ~campaign to induce farmers. to withdraw from the protection of the hail insurance lawand ‘forged. the. official blanks on which with- drawal ‘notices must”be ‘made. 'Their agents take them about the. country. - County assessors and .~ auditors-have been detected time and again falsify- _mg about the costs of the state insurance, and even (Contmued ‘on pagex 13) ‘law.~: Stories are printed of whole townships that ! -are said:to hav’e irejected the profl’ered aid of the state fund. ‘Insurance:companies have violated the