The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 21, 1921, Page 3

IN THE INTEREST OF A SQUARE : DEAL FOR THE FARMERS g Entered as_second-class matter at the postoffice at Minneapolis, Minn., under the act of March 3, 1879. Publication address, 427 Sixth avenue 8., Minneapolis, Minn. ddress all remittances_to The Nonpartisan Leader, Box 2075, Minneapolis, Minn, . VOL. 12, NO. 4 Tonarfigin Teader R 8. MORRIS, Editor. "MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, FEBRUARY 21, 1921 A MAGAZINE THAT DARES TO PRINT THE TRUTH d rat One year, in udvance.ogz.fio; six months, $1.50, Clas- sified rates on classified page;.other advertising rates on Eppllcuflan. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations, 8. C.” Be th: encsy, advertising represen- tatives, New York, Chicago, St. Louls, Kansas City. WHOLE NUMBER 266 ‘Tryinig‘ to Wreck the North Dakota Program out that the League has had semething to do with the closing of banks in North Dakota. They are not making this claim in North Dakota, where the facts in the matter are too well known, but in other states, especially those distant from North Dakota, : where j;hey think they can get away with a bare- Why Banks in faced lie. ENEMIES of the Nonpartisan league are attempting to make The -Leader has therefore written 0. E. North Dakota Lofthus, state bank examiner of North Dakota, Wel'e_Closed_ for a statement of the situation. Under date of February 2 we received the following statement: Number of banks closed in North Dakota, 33. Number reopened, 1. ) Number that probably will be reopened; 10 to 15. Effect of the League in the closing of these banks, none. Going on to. discuss the effect of the initiated laws, backed by . League opponents, it is pointed out that while these laws had little * direct effect in forcing the closing of the banks, they rendered it im- possible for the Bank of North Dakota to help banks that were threat- ened and might have been saved. i ‘ 2 Following is the statement of the bank examiner as to the reasons for the closing: » The chief cause for the clos- ~ing of these banks is slowness of liquidation on the part of borrow- ers. This slowness of liquidation is due to the following causes: 1. The holding of farm prod- ucts for better prices. 2. The inability of farmers to pay their - obligations, even by selling the entire crop, on account - of successive years of crop losses and a shimp of from 40 to 60 per cent in farm prices. > . 8. Slow movements of prod- ucts other than agricultural, on account of the reluctance of busi- / y ness men to take losses. - N NORTH DAKOTA the enemies of the League are making an al- together different sort of a fight. The anti-League politicians of that state are saying as little as possible about the 83 private “Kill State banks: that have Industries” closed their doors. . What they are say- Is the Aim ing as much as possi- : ble about is the Bank of North Dakota. : The Bank of North Dakota, owned and operated by the state of North Dakota, is the largest bank in the state. Is it bankrupt? Has it closed its doors? Has a receiver been appointed for it? / 3 No. That is just the trouble. While 33 private banks have been compelled to suspend operations, temporarily or permanently, the Bank of North Dakota shows a profit and has more liquid assets than the largest private bank in the state. A The talk, outside of North Dakota, about the 33 banks that have closed, and the fight, in North Dakota, against the biggest bank of the state, which is in sound condition, are both directed towards the same end. . The Bank of North Dakota.has been financing other state in- dustries—the Drake mill and the Home Building association. It is necessary, however, that state bonds be sold to outside investors to complete the financing of these state industries, which have been ‘helped temporarily by the Bank of North Dakota. - . : - By picturing North Dakota as a bankrupt state the anti-League interests outside the state hope to prevent investors from buying North Dakota bonds. R If the Bank of North Dakota can be put out of business by the anti-Leaguers of North Dakota, the other state industries can be put out of business also. ! | “KEEP AWAY” l attack upon the Bank of North Dakota. The attack started immediately after the election. Attorney General Langer and Auditor Kositzky, both defeated by the voters and about to g0 out of office, employed Bishop, Brissman & Co., a firm of St. Paul accountants, to make an audit of the Bank of North l EAGUE enemies in North Dakcta are now engaging in a bitter == Dakota. "1“})' mf 3: Langer and Kositzky ordered this audit in spite reck the ,¢ the fact that they had no state funds available to State Bank pay the accountants. A group of anti-League poli- : ticians and business to pay for the audit. Bishop, Brissman & Co., the auditors hired with this fund, re- cently made their report. Although its tone is distinctly unfriendly (as indicated by a bitter criticism of North Dakota laws, a matter of no concern to a firm of Minnesota accountants) they were compelled to admit that the Bank of North Dakota was in sound condition and showed a profit instead of a deficit. The Bishop, Brissman & Co. report having failed to wreck the Bank of North Dakota, anti-League politicians are now making another “investigation” intended to put the bank out of business, if that is pos- sible, if not, to spread poison throughout the country against the stzitge so that state bonds can not be sold. ! The new investigation is being made by a committee of nine legis- lators, of whom six, including the chairman, are bitter anti-Leaguers. The committee has two anti-League lawyers, one of whom was the law- yver who handled the so-called Town- ley bankruptey case. The three Leaguers allowed on the investigat- ing committee were not to be al- lowed to have legal advice nor could they question witnesses except by permission - of the chairman. Wit- nesses were. not to be allowed to be men raised $12,000 privately The anti-League North. Dakota politician: this child will get food from me only, and as little as possible.” represented by counsel and state of- ficers, including the attorney gen- eral, the legal representative of the industrial officials who were called as witnesses, were to be excluded. Such an “investigation” could prove nothing but a mockery and it is not surprising that the three League members, after sitting with the committee a few days, declared it to be such and withdrew. HE refusal of the anti-League forces in the legislature to give Attorney General Lemke . a $12,000 emergency appropriation ; to fight the railroad rate cases is an instance of the “rule or ruin” tactics adopted by the opposition. Attorney General Langer, given the largest appropriation ever made for that office, succeeded in spending before January 1 prac- . ~ tically the entire sum appropriated to last until next summer. Mr. Lemke, after taking office, E‘.) = ’ /NpusTR ‘“Keep away from here; “Rule or Ruin” Is Policy of . collected for the state $1,233,880 in back taxes S rolicy . due the state from the railroads. He asked the . Anti-Leaguers legislature for $12,000, less than $1 out of every $100 he had collected, to prosecute a fight that promised to save millions more for the taxpayers and shippers of the state. : ‘The creation of the deficit by Langer and the refusal of the anti-League forces to provide Mr. Lemke the needed funds appear to be part of a well-laid plot to embarrass the League administration. Failure of the state to have its interests properly protected in lhe railroad rate case may cost shippers and taxpayers millions of - dollars. This, apparently, is a matter- of no consequence to the small-minded politicians who have decreed that the League must be destroyed at any cost. ; Ze : : Sy PAGE THREE ; L N, A e N A S et 54 s S s M e