The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 25, 1919, Page 11

5 Edltor Nonpartlsan Leader: "‘What Farmers Thlnk of J ackson Frameup Létters Offer Help to League President Convicted on Trumped-Up Charge HE Leader is constantly receiving letters from readers giving their opin- ion of the trial at Jack- son, Minn., which result- ed in the conviction of Mr. Townley and Mr. Gilbert on a trumped-up charge of conspiracy. The flimsy structure of falsehood rear- - ed by Nicholas and Teigen has not deceived the farmers of the North and Middle West. Here, are some letters which show the attitude of-the farm- ers on the conviction: Savage, Mont. A. C. Townley, * - St. Paul, ‘Minn. Dear Sir: Your friends everywhere are well aware of the fact that no matter how much pluck and energy you may possess, nevertheless you’re only human. I must admit beyond the shadow of a doubt you have proven a real leader in a righteous cause. I say this without any flattery, because to all thinking men and -women .of America you have proven yourself worthy -of any and all respect and hornors: they may wish to bestow on you. You have just gone.through an or- deal of painful mockery at Jackson, . Minn., and let me say, Mr. Townley, that the name of that little hypocrit- ical town will blacken the future his- tory of the great state of Minnesota, and that Judge: Dean, with Nicholas and Markham, have opened the eyes of the true and faithful citizens who love justice and freedom above all. Their names are written in sand, and ‘ the first wave of public opinion is al- . ready blowing them away. You were tried in Jackson, Minn., by conspira- tors of the ringleaders of the two existing parties and they succeeded in getting a conviction. - Let me assure you- that you. shall make no sacrifice ‘for the cause of the farmers and .workers and-make it alone; there are - thousands and thousands here in Mon- -tana who will go with you as far as_ you want them to go. We are going - to find out if you can be made to suffer for the good you are doing to human- ity because the political conspirators can corrupt the courts. No, you shall not suffer alone; we are going to stand by you through thick and thin, if ‘you. let us know how best to help in the matter. Mr. Gilbert and yourself have surely withstood the greatest amount of in- sult in an American institution. The czar of Russia would not have permit- ted the dignity of his court to be low- ered as the court of Jackson has been. But the day is approaching when all such’ trickery will be put to shame; the day when justice once more will _prevail is very near at hand. Let nothing disturb your course. Know you that we are all with you and noth- ing' shall ‘hinder the carrying out of our well chosen motto: “We’ll Stick, Well Win.” _E. L. FISHER. St. Francis, Ark.” detor Nonpartisan Leader: I have watched with a great deal of interest the trial of Mr. Townley. I - - on the vine, growth will be hindered and no more cucumbers will form, ac- | see they have convicted him. I ex- pected they would order the disorgan- izing of the League, but they did not do that. I have read Mr. Townley’s .. St.. Paul speech, made in September, . 1918, a dozen times, and if he said no more than what’s in that speech, then he said no more than the Demo- crat and Republican speakers have . been saying about each other." GEORGE M. JACKSON. Kearney, Neb. ' I have seen. ‘m Cappe);’s Weekly a of the jury - wluch conwcted_ Mr. Townley and Mr. Gilbert at Jack- son. It seemed to me that the evi- dence in the case was one-sided; that is, that the judge didn’t want any evi- dence except that which would help convict them. It was a shrewd trick of the county attorney at Jackson to make himself sure of getting-a farmer jury to convict, so that the case would give the League leader a black eye among the farmers. But the trial was so unfair that it can not hold. 2 G. W. MUELLER. As the facts travel east regarding the trial and conviction of Arthur C. Townley, president of the largest and -most discussed organization of farm- ers in the United States, it becomes more and more difficult to rate the outcome as discreditable to the leader of the Nonpartisan league or credit- able to his foes. We hold no brief for Mr. Townley. We have our doubts as to the program of his League. But he is entitled to fair play, and at this distance certain phases of hls trial have a sinister look. A writer of the Nation who was present at the trial says that the prosecution “took isolated sentences helter-skelter from those two docu- ments (the war resolutions and the statement of principles, by John M. Baer), and patched them together in an attempt to produce a connected statement against the war.” The court did not*allow the jury to be informed that the Minnesota su- preme court had held this pamphlet not disloyal, nor did the jury learn that these resolutions had not béen prepared by Townley. Witnesses for the state testified at length as to the disloyalty of speeches which they heard him deliver. The defense had ready a number of witnesses and a quantity of documents to show that he had supported the war, and argued that his loyalty must be estimated by the whole body of his speeches during the whole war period. Neither wit- nesses nor documents were admitted. The Great Task of Construction With the coming of peace the Bell System faced an enormous con- struction program. arising from war resulted in the wiping out of the reserve equip- ment normally maintained, and necessary to give prompt connec- tion to new subscribers. The re- lease of industry and accumulated growth of population now makes telephone demands almost over- whelming. Telephone construction, includ-- ing buildings, switchboards, con- duits, cables and toll lines, must, from its inherent nature, be under- taken in large units. A metropol- itan switchboard, with its tens of thousands of parts, may. require from two to three years to con- struct and install. Only great extension can meet the The judge ruled the “defendants would | not be permitted to prove their loy- alty, but must limit themselves to a denial of the specific charge of disloy- al ”» At the very end of the trial Town- ley was denied what, as he reminded the judge, had been granted to Near- ing, Eastman, Debs and the Chicago. I. W. W. He arose, gsaid he had dis- missed his attorneys and would ad- dress the jury in his own behalf. The judge refused permission, the case went to the jury without argument for the defense and in two hours the jury brought in a verdict of “guilty.” The place of trial was an obscure - little county seat, difficult of access, and the events concerned took place a year or more before. And today, so the writer in the Na-_ tion states, the farmers of Minnesota are joining the League at the rate of 1,500 a week and at $16 each.—BOS- TON HERALD. KEEP CUCUMBERS PICKED If cucumbers are allowed to ripen cording to A. F. Yeager of the North Dakota Agricultural college. He states that the same applies to string beans and to flowermg plants, as sweet peas and pansies. HILLING POTATOES , Potatoes ~given level ' cultivation averaged 124% bushels per acre; .- hilled once, 118%%; hilled twice, 90, . and. hilled three times, 53%. These ~ are the results of an experiment.made at the North Dakota expenment sta- 4 txon m 1918 L TR T A 2 o St One Policy Pendergast Fence Book Just off the press—a complete treatise on selecting, buying’ and erecting wire fence. Sent free upon request. We sell full gauge heavy . galvanized fence and barbed wire direct from factory at first cost. Why pay more? United Fence Company OF STILLWATER ¢ 306 Main S8t., Stillwater, Minn, 257 Front 8t., Fort Madison, Ia. RECORDS H Send_for my hi, Postpaid FREE §end for,my kg EDISON RECORDS, (dlu or oyllndnr) Mon than 5,000 to choose The the worl und. clmtru Von colnlo-aum wor Bostnge \vondertul collection o( records | Foreign Languages Write today. 3 hunnee H.. Lucker, Edison Dlmlhuhr. 80 8 Street. Conditions One System present excess burden of traffic and provide for future requirements. Extension which cares for imme- diate demand, only, is uneconom- “ical and calls for continuous work of such a character as to be fre- quently detrimental to the service. During the war the Bell System devoted all its margin to the needs of the Government. The great task of getting back to normal pre- war excellence of operation re- quires the reestablishment of an economic operating margin capa- ble of taking care of a largergrowth than has ever before confronted the Bell System. Construction isbeing pushed to the limit of men and materials; while every effort is being made to pro- vide the best, present service. AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY; AND ASSOCIATED COMPANIES Universal Service Rawhide Shoes Cut Out the Shoe Profiteer On Approval—No Money in Advance Why we actually DO cut BLACK OR TAN out the PROFITEERING 2 MIDDLEMAN: We sell direct to you, the CON- SUMER, C. O. D. APPROVAL. No baek number styles but only ‘one standard RAWHIDE work shoe, something that will outwear anything you_ have hi Double a real price. Sent on approval. 'Send Your Size, Not Your Money. Sizes 6 to12 EQUITY SHOE COMPANY Boston Block Minneapolis, Minn. RELIABLE advertisers, with reliable wares, advertise in the Leader. . Patronize them —and mention the _Leader. i 'Nenfion the Luder When wrmng Adverunen