The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 1, 1919, Page 9

A + - - PO BN e Y P Y \ > - » s "@%3 g . N A Pastor on the Nonpartisan League Rev..N ewton Ben Knapp of Davenport, Iowa, Praises Farmer Rule in North Dakota HE thriving agrarian movement expanding over the vast agricultural areas of the West strikes one as nothing less than immense. Consider it how you please. Intellectually, eco- nomically, politically, morally .it has set tremendous forces at work. As a part of the nation-wide attempt at re- construction one may question whether there is another organized body in America meeting the foremost issues of the moment so effectually and on such a gigantic scale. It is the farm- ers’ interpretation of the new day; their vehicle for carrying their ideas into action.” The foregoing is the estimate of the Nonpartisan league by Rev. Newton Ben Knapp, former pastor of the First Unitarian church of Davenport, Iowa, in a letter to the Davenport Democrat-Leader. The letter is writ- ten from Fargo after a study of the League program and its accomplish- ments. Portions of it follow: “The recent adverse decision at Jackson, Minn., in the trial of A. C. Townley, president of the Nonparti- san league, * * * tends strongly to obscure the real status of the move- ment of which he is the leader. In North Dakota one is abruptly led to appreciate how little the trial this far has counted against the leader’s in- fluence and how manifestly it has functioned in the interests of the League. z “For nearly five years the public has been kept aflame with vital dis- cussion of the deepest social impli- cations. The political alignment of today is sharply drawn between the supporters and opponents of the League. The opposition is unprecedent- edly acrimonious, unscrupulous and downright dishonest. Throughout the war no stone was left unturned to en- snare members of the League in a faint whisper of disloyalty. Even to- day the attack is eagerly pursued. Yet the state of North Dakota, governed by the Nonpartisan league, has a rec- ord se¢ond to none in all the war un- dertakings. No leader of a rising movement has ever beén more un- justly, more relentlessly assailed than has Mr. Townley. It is marvelous how firmly he stands through it all and how staunchly true the North Dakota farmer remains to the new faith. FARMER IS KEEN FOR LOGIC AND FACTS “There is something of the same in- .'tellectual atmosphere developing here which one finds in the metropolitan labor meetings. The time has appar- ently passed when the farmer can be won by an appeal to prejudice. He has become keen for logic and facts. “When the Minnesota crowd is do- ing its utmost to ruin Mr. Townley’s influence; while the metropolitan Twin Cities press is stretching its power to discredit him before the public at large, events of far-reaching magni- tude are taking place behind the scenes. The measures passed by the farmers’ legislature last winter are beginning to function. Men out on the harvest fields who have little time to follow the sensational side of af- fairs are beginning to reap the bene- fits of the legislation Mr. Townley’s hard-fought battle won for them. In the end, the thousands of farmers of the Northwest constitute the real court that will pass on Mr. Townley’s brand of patriotism. “Three thousand of these farmers were hailed opt recently. Almost simultaneous with this comes the an- nouncement in the state press reports that adjustments have begun under the new hail insuranee law. The vic- S ity previously unattainable. tims of the hail who remained within the act are forthwith to receive $7 an acre insurance, the first time in the history of the state that such a thing has been made possible. “The Bank of North Dakota has likewise just opened its doors. It han- dles all the state funds and will short- ly have available for the farmers $30,000,000 for Iloaning purposes. Loans will be extended at a low rate, an arrangement that will save the people many thousands of dollars. HOME BUILDING PLAN IS PRAISED BY WRITER “An elaborate statement of a home building boom was printed in the Fargo dailies several days ago. The enthusiasm for homes is explained by the provisions of the home building association measure. An individual is placed in the position to buy his house or farm if he has one-fifth of the cost to pay in cash. The remainder is loaned him by the state to be paid on installments at a rate cheaper than rent would be. “As a sort of climax to the farmers’ League legislation and also of special significance at this moment is the 16000 35 inch Tires per Daq That is the productmn capacity of Firestone Plant No. 2, devoted solely unique provision made for returning soldiers. The last legislature passed a measure which will pay each soldier from this state $25 for each month he has been in the service, to be applied on his education or buying a city home or a farm. Returned soldiers feel grateful and proud that they are from North Dakota. They do not harbor any misgivings against Mr. Townley. “Such is the situation one finds to- day upon a glimpse behind the cur- tain. The reform movement is sweep- ing from victory to victory. While standpatters exclaim the thing can not be done—in North Dakota it has taken place. Such is the nature of actual events in the land of the Non- partisan league. They reveal the League as a movement of great good, meriting the encouragement and sup- port of every right-thinking citizen. These factors beneath the surface ex- plain why the verdict of guilty has hardly won more than a passing com- ment from the North Dakota farm- ers. They also presage the near fu- ture when business men’s organiza- tions in neighboring states, which make it a business to fight the League, will be given the supreme contest of their rather petty lives.” Knowledge is the only foundation both of love and the principles of human liberty. — DANIEL WEB- STER. ADVERTISEMENTS NEW WHEAT DISEASES Indications are that two dreaded foreign foes of wheat, flag smut and take-all, will not become widespread in the United States. The United States department of agriculture an- nounces that the two ustates where these diseases appeared, Indiana and Illinois, have taken steps that will pre- vent the spread of the diseases from the infected fields and that should wipe out in a few years the infection in fields where it exists. Indiana officials came to the recent hearing in Washington with adequate safeguards already placed. Shortly after the hearing, Illinois established similar safeguards. All the infected wheat in both states is under control and will be disinfected before any use whatever is made of it. All straw and stubble are to be burned, threshing machines are to be thoroughly disin- . fected, and no wheat is to be grown in infected areas for several years. WHEN TO CUT CORN FOR SILO Corn makes the most and best si- lage when the kernels are glazed, ac- cording to trials made at the North- Dakota experiment station. Ex- periments at the South Dakota ex- periment station in the feeding of silage to beef cattle, show that the greatest gains were made when kernels are glazed and dented. to this size—the size used by more than half the car owners of America The true value of the Firestone No. 2 Fac- tory lies in the kind of 3%-in. tiresit turnsout. - All the floor acreage, the batteries of special tire machines, the carefully . chosenand organized work- ers express themselves in one thing: A better 3%-inch tire. The reception given “the new Firestone 3%-inch tire proves that Firestone could and did unite resources and volume to produce a qual- The above are the boiled- down facts of a tire made n quantity so that every This is the At These Prices 30x3% »31 8 32x3%% $2 1 00 Tivestonie 3%-inch Special Molded Tire Non-Skid Gray Tube 332 one of its mile-giving qhal- ities can be offered at the prices mentioned. Look at the cross sec- Firestone dealer’s. From bead to tread, you find sound, enduring con- struction, You can see the extra rub- ber between fabric layers. You can feel the resilience in the tread. And you sense toughness there, too, in the spring and vigor of the live rubber. f Cushion, breaker-strip and sidewall are generous in size and in the quality of rubber. Equip your car with “these new 3%-in. tires, the lat- est example of most miles pet dollar, tion of this tire at your - Mention the Leader When Writing Advertisers R S e S S ———————— S T T