The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 11, 1919, Page 5

ested business men, and as soon at the very most before I shall have made a start sufficient enough as to make an intelligent and forceful presentation of its merits to an audience of inter- as that time arrives I shall do as you suggest—‘give immediate and vigorous action.’ “Should you come to St. Paul, you can reach me either at the St. Francis hotel or at my office, the telephone numbers of which are N. W. Cedar 5370 and Auto- matic 23275. “The League has now launch- ed a movement to curry favor with the business men; that is, to capture them on their polit- ical schemes so as to nullify their hostility by throwing them a ‘sugar-coated sop’ through get-together meetings of the farmers and commercial clubs. No doubt such a movement will be attempted in your community and it will not come direct from the League but in the form of overtures from: League mem- bers, sympathizers and support- ers. Should they succeed in ‘bull-dozing’ the merchants and business men generally, the re- - sult would be to induce the busi- ness men of the state to act as their own executioners by as- sisting the League in its efforts to overthrow present business institutions and inaugurating socialism amid the ruins.” Here is another letter, written in Teigen’s best style: : “June 9, 1918. “Mr. E. H. Nicholas, _“County Attorney, “Jackson, Minn. “Dear Sir: In compliance of the suggestions of yourself and others I have signed the little book which we are putting out and stand ready to defend it at any time and place so far as its truthfulness is concerned. “I would appreciate very much to learn from you what you think of it as it now stands.- “I am sending you by parcel post 100 copies of the same and if you are able to use more to good advantage in your county I shall be” very glad to supply them.” MADE SUGGESTIONS ON BOOK TO TEIGEN It will be noted in the above that Mr. Nicholas, who swore on the witness stand that he had “nothing to do with that book,” had suggested that Teigen bring it out under his own- name. Here is still another Teigen-to-Nicholas letter _ which is illuminating: \ “June 21, 1918. “Mr. E. H. Nicholas, : 2 “County Attorney, “Jackson, Minn. “Dear Mr. Nicholas: Upon my return, I find yours of the 13th at hand. to the voters of your own county.” At Adrian, Minn., which is located in Nobles county, the book has been circulated amongst the voters, as it has been throughout all of Nobles county. “I am much pleased to learn that with the bona fide author the book is stronger than it otherwise would be. “The victory, or rather the defeat, of Mr. Lind- bergh at the polls has, I trust, given you a feeling and sense of reward and satisfaction that more than compensates you for the sacrifice and effort put forth in your extensive and effective campaign against him; but in the first flush of victory, Mr. Nicholas, I am unable to hold the optimistic views held by others, for I find that while Burnquist defeated Lindbergh by 45,000-votes, the Democrats of the state failed to cast within 40,000 of their normal vote, and I further find there was a vulner- able place of attack in Mr. Lindbergh’s congres- sional record that it is safe to say cost him 25,000 votes as a result of the attack that was directed I wish to state relative to., those books that they wére sent to you not with the idea of selling them, but of giving them away "Here is another letter from Mr. Nicholas, further convicting him of having lied on the stand. He said he had nothing to do with Mr. Teigen’s book. Yet he ap- peared before - business men in the interests of the volume. against this particular part of his congressxonal record. “I now refer to the resolutlon introduced by him calling for an investigation of Catholic institutions and the presentation of the fact through the Irish Standard, the Catholic Bulletin and the Hibernian, which were placed in the hands of every Catholic voter in the state of Minnésota, and also through the - Catholic priests of the state, including the German, on the last Sunday before the election, making a speech directed against Mr. Lindbergh:’ “Should the Nonpartisan league retain its grip on North Dakota, which according to my opinion and information seems certain, and in event they run an' independent candidate by petition or by indorsing the candidate of the National party, which already has a place upon the ballot, and the Democrats and Republicans insist upon running their respective candidates, or, in other words, fail to fuse as they did in this campaign, the same orgies, dlssenslons, Jawléssness and sedition that has prevailed in _Minnesota during the last three months will be repeated with the difference that the actors may not be as susceptible or as vulnerable to attack as Mr. Lindbergh. : “I am calling your attention to this as a prob- ability, for I am confident that the efforts of the League are not ended nor its treasury ex- hausted.” - Other letters as mtlmate went from Teigen to PAGE FIVE Nicholas. But it is over his own signature that Nicholas is con- victed of having lied on the wit- ness stand and of having vio- lated his oath of office. Mr. Nicholas also was chary of admitting, in open court, that he had ever had relations with Charles Patterson, head of the anti-League ring in St. Paul. Patterson, who was the “angel” for the ill-fated “On the Square” magazine and for Tom Parker Junkms later venture, “Amer- ica First,” was the head of the antx-farmer offices in St. Paul. He hired several persons to work against the League and spent money lavishly in a futile effort to defeat the farmers in Minnesota. PATTERSON PAID FOR MAXWELL BOOK Patterson also was respon- sible for paying a huge sum of money for “Rev.” Maxwell’s book against the League, and hired Teigen after his discharge from the League and his indict- ment by a federal grand jury on a charge of disloyalty. Nicholas indignantly denied that he had ever had anything to do with the millionaire propa- gandist of St. Paul. The prose- cution, however, was more than anxious to protect Patterson’s name and on one occasion de- manded that the name of the anti-farmer chief be kept out of the questions of the attorney for the defense. Indeed, so solicitous was the . prosecution of Mr. Patterson’s fair name, that when the attor- ney for the defense asked one of the talesmen being examined for jury duty whether he knew of the organization in St. Paul which had as its aim the defeat of the Nonpartisan league, J. E. Markham, assistant attorney general and special prosecutor to aid Nicholas, interposed an objection, saying: “I object. There is no such organization there; there is no organization other than that of all loyal citizens who combat se- dition and disloyalty.” Mr. Markham knew better than this. He knew that Patter- son headed the anti-League ring, and he knew also that it - was not entirely an organiza- tion to combat “sedition and dis- loyalty.” Patterson made a point of meeting various county attor- neys, particularly where there were cases against Leaguers pending. Albert R. Allen of Martin county, it will be recalled, was seen on one occasion in Mr. Patterson’s office by Clar- * ence F. Johnson, one-time employe of the Patter- son ring. Mr. Nicholas however, congratulating himself on his shrewdness for evading admission, " boasted to newspaper reporters during a recess that while he had never looked Mr. Patterson up, Mr. Patterson had sought him out. He declared that he had met Mr. Patterson at a dinner at a St. Paul club, while he was the guest of Ambrose Tighe, member of the Minnesota Pub- lic Safety commission. “Mr. Tighe introduced me to Mr. Patterson. Mr. Patterson said he had heard I was active in the loyalty speaking campaign in the southern part of the state, and that he had wanted to meet me,” Nicholas told the reporters. . Mr. Patterson always seemed anxious to meet men, and particularly officials who were active in “loyalty” work. The work, it seems, from Mr. -Nicholas’ records, consisted in helping Teigen, in- dicted for disloyalty, in disposing of his anti- League book, helping Teigen, who was the tool of Charles Patterson Mr. Nicholas was introduced to Mr. Patterson. Mr. Nicholas helped Patterson’s tool. Mr. Nicholas played the Patterson game when he testified to a lie on the witness stand in the court at Jackson. And yet they say there was no outside mfluence" in the Jackson frameup! PRI IR NES W, RO