The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 24, 1919, Page 4

e tarmers and labor are completely or- ganized and enter politics to get a just deal for themselves,” he said. Mr. Drennen re- peatedly made it plain that the only reason why the unprecedent- ed step of declaring a truce in North Dako- ta while every other organized miner in the country was on strike was because in North Dakota the or- ganized farmers have shown not only fair- ness but willingness to give the laboring man a square deal; and that here there is a government of the people upon whom the workers could depend for just action; that here the big interests did not control and it was to the interest of any forward move- ment of labor and the farmers that they should co-operate. Immediately upon hearing from Mr. Lewis and before he started for Bismarck, Mr. Drennen had de- clared the strike order The proclamation which the governor issued reads: ] “When a strike in the lignite coal fields was threatened on November 1, 1919, I, Lynn J. Frazier, as governor, immediately called upon the officials of the United Mine Workers of America for a mod- ification of the strike order so far as it affected the lignite coal miners of the state. I pointed out to them the seriousness of the situation, owing .to the unusually severe cold weather at this time, the prospect of a long and cold winter, and the immi- nent danger of loss of life and extreme suffering of the innocent public if the strike takes place, “The officials of the United Mine Workers of America responded promptly, modifying the strike order by suspending the strike. They suggested a conference with me, which I granted, and follow- ing which I also invited the mine operators for a conference. At the conference the mine workers made certain proposals, which under the circum- stances in this crisis appeared reasonable to me, and I presented them to the mine operators who seemed fairly disposed and apparently were ready to accept them; but later there developed among apparently a majority of the operators, principally through the agitation of one of their number and an attorney, an indifferent attitude and an admis- sion on the part of one of the operators that all his company was after was profits. The public welfare or the suffering of the people seemed to be a secondary consideration. “It may become apparent that there were certain forces at work to prevent the operators from reach- ing a conclusion and that delay had become the sole purpose of the ruling factors. Who and what these forces were the public may judge as well as I. It is an interesting commentary upon the atti- tude of the mine operators that the proposals which were presented to them, if ‘accepted, would have caused them no financial loss. : “Since the breaking off of these negotiations, the United Mine Workers have gone out and most of the coal production of the state has ceased. A serious crisis confronts us; loss of life and severe suffering await thousands of families. I have re- ceived numerous messages and telephone calls of which this is a fair sample: “ ‘Severe blizzard. With three retail coal dealers here there is not a pound of coal or stick of wood. Many consumers have only a week’s supply of fuel. Do your best. ARTHUR COMMUNITY CLUB. “In addition, I have received telephone calls and messages suggesting that the state take over and operate the mines pending the outcome of this strike, and thereby avoiding the calamity which is imminent. “Now, therefore, since there is no other com- petent and expedient method by which the threat- ened danger can be averted, I, Lynn J. Frazier, by virtue of the authority vested in me as governor of the state of North Dakota, do hereby direct and command that you, the mine operators and mine workers, reach an agreement by which the mines may be reopened and that said agreement be reach- ed before 6 p. m. Tuesday, November 11, 1919, or upon your failure to do so it shall be taken as con- clusive evidence that you are unable to operate the mines so as to protect the public; and in which event the mines will be taken over by the state and will be operated for and in behalf of the public, with justice and fairness to all, until the present emergency shall have passed. “I respectfully request that all public-spirited men and women who put human life and the wel- fare of the people above their profits, to uphold my hands regardless of their political affiliations.” DaKota dna une men remained at - work, pending the outcome: of the governor's negotiations. They remained at work un- til the operators final- ly confessed they were playing a dilatory game, waiting, as did the immortal Micaw- ber, for something to turn up, and had no intention of granting the men’s demands even on the condition that none of _their pfiofits would be touch- ed. In North Dakota it was the same reac- tion as. that wherein the mnational opera- tors, obeying the man- date of the interlock- ing directorate which is to be traced back to the House of Mor- gan and Gary of the ‘steel trust, has de- creed “thumbs down” to organized labor. The system was as- serting itself, and here in North Dakota the tentacles of big business reach out to make its puppets dance. Even though the people were will- ineffective for North (Continued on page 1) A New -Home and Several New Features for the Leader PRECEDENTED growth of the Nonpartisan Leader, making more modern and efficient ma- chinery and equipment an im- mediate necessity, is responsible for the fact that about January 1 the Leader will be located in ‘a new, modern publication N building, equipped with new presses and machinery, now being erected for it in Minneapolis on the corner of Fifth street and Sixth avenue south. e : This means big things for the readers of the Leader. The paper is to be en- larged. Several new features and de- partments will be added. Besides cov- ering more efficiently the field we have been covering, we expect to go more and more into general agricultural news and - features, making the Leader eventually all that any farm paper published in the United States now is, and, in ad- dition, the only farmers’ magazine deal- ing from a liberal point of view with political and economic questions affect- ing agriculture. The Leader, besides remaining the official publication of the Nonpartisan league and one of the lead- ing liberal magazines discussing politi- cal and economic questions, will report and discuss new discoveries and methods in agricultural production, new inven- tions and improvements in farm ma- chinery, with special articles from time to time on poultry and livestock rais- ing, bee culture, dry farming, beet growing and every other branch of ag- riculture. The new building the Leader will move into will be the most up-to-date and complete publication plant in the Northwest. Besides hous- ing the editorial, business, circulation and mechan- ical departments of the Nonpartisan Leader and Minnesota Leader, with a combined circulation of over 310,000, the building will also accommodate the big modern plant of the Minnesota Daily Star, the new farmer-labor paper which will start publi- cation some time in January. The entire top floor will be occupied by the national and Min- nesota state headquarters of the Nonpartisan league. The building is four stories, of the most ad- vanced fireproof concrete construction. The base- ment will be occupied by the big presses of the new daily, a new magazine press for the Leader of the largest and most efficient type and the press of the Minnesota Leader, the weekly news- paper of the League in Minnesota. The first and second floors will be devoted to the business and editorial offices of the Daily Star and the entire third floor will be occupied by the business, edi- torial, circulation and advertising departments and composing room of the Nonpartisan and Minne- sota Leaders. The building is being erected by the Northwest Publishing company, a co-operative organization, stock in which is held by farmer and labor or- ganizations and their members. This is the com- R Foay Above—The building-which will house the Leader. Below-—The Leader’s new Jnagazine press. PAGE FOUR pany that will publish the Minnesota Daily Star. As an instance of the efficiency of this new pub- lication plant, it can be pointed out that the paper consumed by the three big publications which will occupy the building, amounting to many carloads a week, will be unloaded, ‘weighed, stored and handled, from the time the truck carrying it from the railroad backs up to the door until it is on the press, by gravity, with a minimum of labor. The building is specially designed in every feature and department for the publication business. The Leader’s new press, now being set up in the basement of the byilding, is a monster —a mechanical marvel of-the latest type. The press is 15 feet 3 inches high, 28 feet 10% inches long and 7 feet 4% inches wide. 000 pounds and will deliver 12,000 printed, folded, cut and bound papers an hour, all in one operation. Our present press will deliver only about 5,000 an hour and the paper has to be folded, cut and pasted by other machin- ery, as a separate process. . The new press will print in four colors ‘when desired. In its four years of existence the Nonpartisan Leader has been forced to move no less than. four - times, to keep wup with the constantly increasing growth of the paper. Every time we have moved we have, as a matter of course, estimated our re- quirements ahead, allowing for even more growth than could be reasonably expected, but each time we have been too conservative and have had to move again, add new machin- ery or additional mechanical ° units. While publishing at Fargo' we moved three times, each time into larger quarters and to get better mechanical service. We were then forced to move to St. Paul, a more central distributing point, using in St. Paul a new and larger press which, when we moved here in December, 1917, we thought would do for at least five years. Yet in two years we have found it necessary to move to Minneapolis to get larger quarters and to make room for the installation of larger and more effi- cient presses. ; The Tieader.is the wonder of the publication world. e doubt if any other publication, in a little over four years, grew from nothing to a paid circulation of over 250,000, with seéven state edi- tions, published in as many states, totaling an additional 200,000 circulation, It weighs 130,- - T "'J"fir;'fiie&-%m'";"‘"”" -