The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, April 18, 1921, Page 4

H ] Start Winning Fight in North Dakota Nation-Wide Bond Selling Campaign Is Launched—Opposition Abandons INCE publication of the last issue of the Leader developments have come thick and fast' in the North Dakota battle, and in every case have added encouragement to the organized farm- ers who are fighting to save the in- dustrial program for which they have voted, with big majorities, at nine successive elections. This is what has happened in the pioneer League state: 1. A nation-wide campaign has been launched to sell $6,000,000 of North Dakota state bonds and to secure individual deposits in the Bank of North Da- kota. Wall street bankers refused to buy these bonds, thinking that in this manner they could pre- vent the, industrial program from going into effect, but the farmers of North Dakota are now carrying their case direct to the people of the United States. 2. Usher L. Burdick, president of the North Da- kota Farm Bureau federation and heretofore con- sidered one of the leaders of the anti-League fac- tion, has refused to stand for the “wreck or ruin” policy of the League opposition and has issued a statement, urging citizens, regardless of their polit- ical affiliations, to boost the sale of the state bonds and immediate completion of the state terminal elevator and flour mill at Grand Forks. 3. The plan of League opponents to hold a recall election in June has been aban- doned, a canvass of the state showing them that they would be snowed under if they attempted such tactics. A state conven- tion of the I. V. A. held March 30 and 31 repudiated the action of a previous con- vention, which had decided upon a June election, and decided to make no attempt to force an election before next fall. Un- less the I. V. A.s can succeed, between now and fall, in offsetting the tide of sentiment which is now sweeping strongly toward the League, it is possible that this election will also be abandoned. Governor Lynn J. Frazier, Attorney General Willian Lemke and other League officials are now engaged actively in car- rying to the people of the United States the story of how, after citizens of North Dakota had voted year after year for their industrial program and had been upheld in every court, including the supreme court of the United States, the bankers of Wall street and their assistants in the North- west have attempted to set aside the peo- ple’s will. They are asking the people of the Unit- ed States to back the state enterprises and at the same time make an investment that will combine absolute safety and a return in interest that can not be excelled in the United States today. The bonds offered are in three series. All of these bonds have behind them the value of all property in the state of North Dakota and the state authorities are re- quired to levy each year sufficient taxes to meet all interest payments and also to es- tablish a sinking fund so that all bonds can be paid for at face value when they come due. The bonds offered (named to correspond with the purpose for which the money is to be used), the interest rate, the number of years which the bonds will run and the denominations in which they are issued are as follows: BONDS OFFERED TO PUBLIC BY STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA ~ Mill and elevator series—6 per cent; 20 years; denominations, $1,000, $500, $100, $50 and $25. Real estate series—b53% per cent; 10 years; de- nominations, $1,000, $500, $100, $50 and $25. Bank of North Dakota series—b5% per cent; nine years; denominations, $1,000, $500 and $100. ) All bonds are exempt from municipal, state and federal taxes of all kinds. All bonds are sold by the Bank of North Dakota, Bismarck, N. D., acting as fiscal agent of the state of North Dakota. In addition to selling state bonds, the Bank of North Dakota has now been opened to individual de- positors in all parts of the United States, for both savings accounts and checking accounts. The fol- lowing interest is paid: On time deposits of $100 or more—5 per cent on a deposit for one year, 41 per cent on a deposit for six months. On checking deposits of $200 or more—2 per cent on daily balances above $200, 2% per cent on $300 and 3 per cent on $6500 or over. All deposits are guaranteed, both as to principal and interest, by the state of North Dakota. The determination of the farmers of North Da- kota to carry their fight to sell bonds directly to the people has aroused enthusiasm everywhere. The opening of the bank to private depositors before the beginning of the bond drive was followed by an im- mediate increase in the item of “individual depos- its,” which totaled $268,494.70 in the bank state- ment dated-March 16. 3 Organized labor throughout the country is show- ing a determination to stand by the organized farmers. Matthew Woll, the president of the In- ternational Photo-Engravers’ union, who was quot- ed by newspapers as being the one representative, “HELP YOU? YOU BET!” LEAvVE WM ALONE YOUNG FELLER SOCIALIST P \ 7 v ! —Drawn expi'essly for the Leader by W. C. Morris, at the recent labor conference at Washington, D. C., to oppose supporting the bond sale, not only came out squarely for support of the North Dakota plan in the official journal of his union, but sent an in- terview favoring the bonds to papers throughout the United States. The statement of President Burdick of the North Dakota Farm Bureau federation favoring the bonds was ‘issued just as the anti-League forces were gathering for a state convention and threw a decid- ed scare into them, Mr. Burdick said, in part: “The state elevator and mill at Grand Forks is partly completed. Something close to $1,000,000 has already been put into the venture by the state of North Dakota. The mill and elevator is well planned and if completed will be of great value to the people of North Dakota under the proposed plan of selling grain. We can not go on and leave it uncompleted and thereby lose what we have al- ready invested. It should be completed and that should be done in time to make the mill and ele- vator available for the crop of 1921. “Our wheat in North Dakota for the year 1920 ° was about 65,000,000 bushels. Our best available PAGE FOUR s THE LERGUE PROGRA eoress / ; ANCIAL "‘ Plan for June Recall Election \ records show wheat in 1920 to have cost $2.44 per bushel. We have sold the most part of our 1920 crop for about $1 less than the cost of production.’ It is no idle statement that we have lost in our 1920 wheat crop 40 times as much as the state of North Dakota now has invested in the state mill and ele- vator. “The bonds of the state mill and elevator should be sold at once and if the -eople of North Dakota will unite in doing this the bonds can be sold. Let us on this venture just eliminate political® differ- ences and put the mill and elevator over. . On this great big question we should not be penny wise and pound foolish. Every grain grower should take off his coat and get~into the game of putting over the completion of the state elevator and mill.” 1. V. A. CONVENTION BACKS WATER ON JUNE RECALL ELECTION Mr. Burdick believes the state mill and elevator, when completed, should be used as an integral part of the national sales agency grain marketing plan recently developed by the Committee of Seventeen. Mr. Burdick’s statement was issued March 29. On the following day the anti- League delegates assembled at Devils Lake to make final plans for a recall convention. An earlier I. V. A. convention, held at Bis- marck, had planned this recall election for June and had announced that it would include every state official elected with League indorsement, including three jus- HES A 'STAYE A ] . FREE o prods- g SIT tices of the supreme court. Delegates from all over the state, how- ever, reported that the recall election was unpopular and that the Leaguers would surely ‘win again if it were held in June. In many sections delegates were instructed to vote against any recall election what- ever; in other cases, while delegates were left uninstructed, they reported that the scntiment was strongly against a recall. It was also reported that certain business in- terests, who had been expected to con- tribute liberally toward the expenses of the campaign, had announced that they did not propose to “throw any more money down a rat hole” when there were no chances of success. Leaders of the I. V. A. insisted, however, that the convention must not altogether repudiate the action of the previous con- vention. To enable these politicians to “save their faces” the plan was therefore changed and the convention went on record as favoring a recall election on or about November 8. Instead of attempting to re- call all League officials, petitions are to be filed only against Governor Frazier, Attor- ney General Lemke and Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor Hagan, the three members of the industrial commission. As their candidate for governor the con- vention selected R. A. Nestos, lawyer, of Minot. Nestos is a former legislator and county officeholder and a perpetual office- seeker. Nestos pretended to be friendly to the League when it was first organized and his friends attempted to have the League indorse him for con- gress in 1916. When the League farmers refused to indorse him Nestos became a League opponent. Nestos’ law partner, C. A. Johnson, was on two oc- casions Republican candidate for governor, but was beaten both times. Nestos was a candidate for the Republican nomination for United States senator in 1916 but was defeated, and tried to get the I. V. A. nomination for governor in 1920 but was defeat- ed in the convention by William Langer. As their candidate for attorney general the con- . vention selected a member of another ofticeseeking law firm, Sveinbjorn Johnson of Grand Forks. Johnson is the law partner of J. F. T. 0’Connor, who ran for governor against Governor Frazier last fall and was defeated. Johnson and O’Connor were at- torneys for grain interests that tried to knock out the North Dakota grain grading law before the fed- eral court a year ago. - The convention could not decide upon a candidate for commissioner of agriculture and labor but em- (Continued, on page 17) 10N cwgf,‘; s TELEVATOR M