The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 2, 1920, Page 5

S e e B P . e £3E Y ] v b 4 oy B S [ L ! [ J.s“t l e A - (] A% | i ~ uary 13, 1920. “the attitude in the past toward the . Where Merchants and Farmers Agree The Story of How the Grand Forks Commercial Club Is Co-Operating /7 2 BY HERBERT E. GASTON ; EDITOR’S NOTE: Mr. Gaston is president of the North- west Publishing company and author of a book entitled - “The Nonpartisan League,” soon to be issued by Harcourt, Brace & Howe, New York publishers. It is a history of the® League since its origin. Mr. Gaston was formerly editor of the Leader. : the dawn of a millennium has come about in one portion of North Dakota. One of the principal commercial clubs of the :state has come out for the ; League program—most of it, at least. Men who only a few months ago were bitterly op- posing every step of the “Townley gang” toward democracy and free markets now have their coats off working to make the first state-owned industry _a success. And the man who for four years has been the leader of the North Dakota opposition to the League is actually trying to help to put across the first unit of the League’s state-ownership program! Seems like a dream, doesn’t it? That’s just what President Townley said when he addressed a meeting of 500 stockholders of the Grand Forks - American in the assembly hall of the American building in the city of Grand Forks, N. D., on Tuesday, Jan- At that meeting four men sent as representatives of the Grand Forks Commercial club addressed the farm- ers. Leaguers who know what hag_been League program among many of the city leaders of Grand Forks would have to guess many. times to explain for. what purpose these men address- ed this gathering of League farmers. Were they asking them to contrib- ute to the Red Cross? No. . Were they asking foretheir support of some charitable enterprise? No. Were they telling them - how “to’ make two blades of grass grow where only one grew before? No. Were they telling them that town and country should co-operate and that the merchants are the friends of the farmers? Not just exactly that. It was put differently. ' ‘" What these four representatives of the Grand Forks Commercial club had been sent before this gathering of farmers to do was to sell state of North Dakota mill and elevator bonds, so as to get the first unit of the state- owned industries accomplished through the League program located in Grand Forks. BACK UP PROGRAM OF THE FARMERS What they actually were doing was speaking in support of the League program of state ownership of these big market facilities. Of the four men one was the prin- cipal merchant of Grand Forks, an- other was a leading lawyer, a third was a representative of the International Harvester company and the fourth was the local agent of a big Minnesota lumber company. Were these men a chosen few who happened to be favorable to the League program? -Two of them were friends of the League, but it seems to Realize Farmers’ Program Z]HAT looks to Leaguers very much like’ . flour and mill feeds. their arguments on proving that what North Dako- ta needs most of all is a state-owned grain elevator and flour mill, such as has been authorized by the legislature and the people and planned by the state industrial commission. ; “Farmers can haul their wheat here and have it cleaned. They will get paid for all the dockage. They will get thé benefit 6f freight both ways on They can bring in wet wheat and have it dried at very small expense.” All these arguments were ably presented by Mr. McClernan. W. E. Small, the lumber dealer, made a pdint of the excellence and thoroughness of the plans pre- pared under the direction of the industrial com- mission—that “bunch of hayseeds” that was going to play ducks and drakes with the people’s money! “These plans,” said Mr. Small, “have been pre- .pared by the ablest firm of elévator and flour mill engineers and with the best experts to be had in the country. Our mill and elevator will possess | THE TRUE PICTURE | / RESPECTING SELF-~ —Drawn expressly for the Leader by Congressman John M. Baer. features that no others possess. Théy will be the most medern in existence and will be more efficient in their operation even than those of the biggest ‘flour companies.” the League has a lot of friends in Grand Forks now. ¢ “I want to assure you that there is no division of sentiment in the Grand Forks Commercial club on this project,” said Lawyer McClernan, one of the speakers. “The members of the Commercial *club are absolutely a unit behind the plan of sell- ing these bonds and bringing the state mill and elevator to Grand Forks.” y Then they went on—McClernan and the other speakers—to” enumerate the benefits of a state- owned grain elevator and mill system. Nothing . much was said about the special and unique ad- vantages of Grand Forks for a state-owned mill— if there must be a state-owned mill. To the con- trary, the Commercial club speakers concentrated . It was Mr. Small, also, who brought out another argument for the League program.™ 3 “These state industries,” he said, “will bring other industries here to Grand Forks, privately owned industries which will come to compete with the state-owned mill and elevator and to take ad- vantage of the new market created. This building up of an industrial center here could scarcely have, been brought about in any other way.” R. B. Griffith, leading merchant, said that while the state mill and elevator certainly would be a great thing for Grand Forks—he has himself pre- sented the state a site for the mill and elevator, besides buying heavily of the mill and elevator bonds—it would be even a greater thing for the farmers of the territory surrounding Grand Forks. He asked the farmers to subscribe for the bonds and told them that the banks of Grand Forks had PAGE FIVE- % agreed to lend to any one who would buy the mill and elevator bonds the face value of the bonds pur- chased for a period of six months, at 5 per cent interest, the same as borne by the bonds. John McManus of the International Harvester company paid a high tribute to Governor Frazier as his personal friend and a man for whom he had the utmost admiration and respect, which brought all the farmers to their feet with a burst of cheer- ing. / Mr. McManus also said that it was time for the people of North Dakota, of farms and cities alike, to unite to stop the campaign of vilification of North Dakota that has been going on in other states and which, he said, is unfair and untrue. He told of having been asked by an acquaintance in the East, “How are things out in that Bolshevik state?” and of having made a warm reply to the questioner. : “I resent that sort of thing, he said, “and I think all of us should resent it. We have one of the best states in the Union and one of the best of populations. We can be proud of our state. We have nothing to be ashamed of.” 'PRESIDENT TOWNLEY HAS GREAT DAY . The meeting at which all these things were said was just a stock- holders’ meeting, the annual meeting . of the farmer-owned daily newspaper of Grand Forks, which has a list of more than a thousand stockholders: At the invitation of the board of di- League was on hand to address the stockholders. His presence increased the attendance and offered the oppor- tunity, of which the Commercial club was quick to take advantage, for their speakers to come before the farmers. President Townley ‘had spoken be- fore the addresses by the Commercial club men at the afternoon session and he spoke again after they had been on the platform at an adjourned session held in the evening. Three League farmers, Arny Grundyson of Fisher, Minn., O. K. Lageson of Grand Forks county and C. O. enson of North- wood also spoke in the evening and expressed their appreciation of the turn of affairs, and Peter Morgan, president of the Trades and Labor as- sembly, told what the union men were doing to assist in selling the bonds. - “It all seems a good deal like a dream to me,” said President Town- ley. “Will some of you please tell me whether you hear the same things I hear?” “I feel,” "he continued, “as. if my work was nearly done. This is a great day for me, cne of the greatest in my life. It is worth many years of effort to see this spirit of co-operation between business men and farmers in bringing about the realization of the farmers’ program, which they feel sure, just as these men now assert, will be for the best interests of all of us. We should be grateful for their co-operation, because I am willing to confess that without their aid the League program could not be expected to have the same success or to succeed so -quickly as it will succeed with their help.” : All this happened at Grand Forks, home of Jerry Bacon, pioneer opponent of the farmers. Bacon, it is said, has been “muzzled” by the busi- ness men. He is doing nothing to interfere with locating the mill and elevator in Grand Forks and is: even saying some kind words for the plan. “If Jerry. Bacon and the other leaders of the opposition will agree now to do all they can to pro- mote and carry on the League program I'll be “willing to turn it over t6 them,” said President Townley. *“If they’ll do this I'll to stay out of the state.” ‘When I left Grand Forks some were even talking of an effort to get Townley and Jerry Bacon to- gether on the same platform, both to speak in be- half of the mill and elevator for Grand Forks. éven sign a bond i rectors President Townley of tha: