The nonpartisan leader. [volume], September 16, 1918, Image 12

About The nonpartisan leader. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1915-1921

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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Custer county, which boasts of more than 1,500
League members, nominated League men for the
legislature on BOTH THE DEMOCRATIC AND
REPUBLICAN TICKETS. W. J. Taylor of Merna,
long a staunch fighter for the
farmers in the legislature and
a former member of the house,
was nominated for the state
senate from Custer, Blaine,
Loup and Valley counties, by
a vote of nearly two to one.
Taylor is one of the best par
liamentarians in the state and
his election is a certainty. He
will make a first class floor
fighter for the farmers in the
legislature next winter. In
Custer county W. S. Wells was
nominated on tjie Democratic
ticket for the house, and
Florian Jacobs for the house
on the Republican ticket. This
remarkable result of nominat
ing oti BOTH tickets in the
same county is the best illus
tration of what organization
can do that could be found, it
shows that when the farmers
line up together in an agricul
tural community, THEY CAN
NOT BE BEATEN.
SNOWED UNDER THE
KAISERS OF WAHOO
The bitterest fight in the"
state was in Saunders county,
where the battles of Wahoo
were staged. Saunders is one
of the richest counties in the
'United States. It has con
tributed more per capita to the
RED CROSS THAN ANY
OTHER COUNTY IN THE
UNITED STATES. In Wahoo,
the county seat, there is a lit
"tie autocratic ring of politi
^"cians—both Democrat and Re
publican—who had been fight
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to
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Nebraska Farmers Conquer in
Here you can see that Nebraska has waterpower of its own. This dam at Beatrice is privately used. That
means the people do not get the benefit. Notice this plank of the state League platform: "Nebraska
has sufficient waterpower to supply every inhabitant with electric light and power at cost. We favor the
development of this by the state and are opposed to having this mighty resource get into private hands."
EBRASKA farmers drove the
enemy from the trenches tlie
primary election, August 20. In
almost every legislative district
where the Nonpartisan league
indorsed candidates for office
the farmers STUCK AND
THEY-WON. And the remark
able feature of the election was
that not one political meeting was held in the state'
by the League. The farmers won simply because
they were organized and knew who their candidates
were.
Senatorial Dist.
Third
Tenth
Seventeenth
Eighteenth
Twenty-third
Twenty-fifth
Twenty-sixth
Legislative Dist.
Twenty-third
Twenty-fourth
Twenty-ninth
Twenty-ninth
Thirtieth
Thirtieth
Thirtieth
Thirty-fourth
Thirty-seventh
Fortieth
Fifty-first
Fifty-second
Fifty-sixth
Fifty-seventh
Fifty-eighth
Fifty-eighth^
Sixty-third
Sixty-fifth
Sixty-sixth
Seventy-seventh
Almost Thirty Candidates Indorsed by the League for the Legislature Win
Places on the Ballot for the Fall Election—An Answer to Persecution
I
ing each other for years, until the League began
to be organized there. Then the two old gangs got
together in an effort to prevent the farmers from
combining.
This summer the" farmers of Saunders decided
they wanted a newspaper of their own. Pledges
for more than $5,000 were secured in less than two.
weeks. A meeting was called at Wahoo to elect
directors and incorporate. The ra^ft of the meet
ing Dr. O. E. Weber, member of the state council
of defense, and a bunch of roughnecks from Wahoo,
broke up the meeting and forbade the farmers to
meet. Among the fanners who were put out of
the hall was "Bill" Dech of Ithaca, a veteran of the
Civil war, Who has carried a physical injury sus
tained in the war of 1861, and Henry Long, also a
veteran of the Civil war. Another newspaper
Pioneers of Nebraska Freedom
Following is a list of the League nominees in Nebraska. Every member should clip
this list out NOW and preserve it. See every yoter you can between now and November
and work for these men.
NOMINATED FOR STATE SENATE
Name of candidate
Harry C. Parmenter} Yutan
F. L, Crowley, Meadow Grove
A. R. Noyes, Bradshaw
C. Thomas Krogh, Dannebrog
W. J. Taylor, iMerna
A. R. Leavitt, North Platte
W. M. Somerville, McCook
NOMINATED FOR THE HOUSE
Name of candidate
James Auten, Albion
Andrew Dahlsten, Newman Grove
W. H. Dech, Ithaca
John O. Schmidt, Wahoo &?.%:&
H. W. Hedges, Havelock (labor)
J. F. Eggers, Roca (farmer)
Peter Hansen, Ceresco (farmer)
Fred Damrow, Beatrice
Joseph P. Masek, David City
A. A. Barr, York
Soren M. Fries, Dannebrog
John C. Harris, Greeley Center,-*
D. E. Strong, Ord *.
H. W. Lang, Litchfield *, '3!
W. S. Wells, Merna
Florian Jacobs! Broken Bow" fir
Harry Johnson, Holdredge
CharleB A. Hedges, Indianola
E. S. Burke, Arapahoe
Counties
Saunders, Sarpy
Mad is on S an to a
York, Hamilton
Hall, Howard, Greeley
Custer, Blaine, Loup, Valley
Dawson, Lincoln, Keith
Perkins, Chase, Dundy, Hayes,
Hitchcock, Frontier, Red Willow
Counties
Boone
Madison
Saunders
Saunders
Lancaster
J.
Lancaster
Lancaster
Gage, Jefferson, Thayer
Butler
York
Howard
Garfield, Wheeler, Greeley
Valley
Sherman
Custer
Caster
Phelps
Red Willow
Gosper, Frontier
Dawson, Lincoln, Keith
r"(
Jonathan Higgins, North Platte
meeting a few weeks later was also* broken up. A
few days after that, W. E. Quigley, a friendof the
Leaguers, who was in the county oh legal business,
was arrested by three automobile loads of home
guards and the sheriff. An hour after he was
placed in jail—although it was midnight—farmers
began calling ready to go his bail. The aggregate
wealth of the offered bondsmen was more THAN
FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. But Quigley was
kept in jail two nights and a day as "the county
attorney was not in town." Finally Quigley called
a Lincoln attorney to get out a writ of habeas
corpus, and then a charge of-sedition was filed.
Later he had a preliminary hearing and appeared
as his own attorney, AND THE COUNTY JUDGE,
ALTHOUGH AGAINST THE LEAGUE, DIS
MISSED THE CASE. More than 400 farmers
wrote the nanje of Quigley in the ballot for coun
ty attorney.
Every precinct meieting was forbidden in Saun
ders county. Finally the members were called to
Lincoln, outside the county, and they put up a ticket.
HOW THEY TRIED TO
BULLY THE FARMERS
In the primary election EVERY MAN ON THE
TICKET WAS NOMINATED BY HANDSOME
MAJORITIES. "Bill" Dech was nominated for the
house. He has been a reform-leader in Nebraska
politics for almost 50 years. John O. Schmidt of
Wahoo went across by an overwhelming majority.
Schmidt fought the telephone company to a stand
still when it tried to break its contract with the
Farmers' union and raise the rates. He also was
instrumental in putting in the big co-operative ele
vator at Wahoo that did a business of almost $700,
000 last year. Harry C. Parmenter was nominated
for the state senate from Saunders and Sarpy
counties by a majority running into the hundreds.
Parmenter lives near Yutan. He is a university
graduate and has been a farmer since 1903. C. E.
Beadle and George Pollard were nominated easily,
for county commissioners. One thing that made
their choice easy was the fact that the present
commissioners spent $10,000 for SHOTGUNS for
the home guard. They wanted guns right away to
"kill off the League," and not being able to get rifles,
took shotguns, which are good for rabbit hunting
at least.
Antelope county was another place where persecu
tion was practiced. R. V. Sheets
of Elgin was chosen to run for
state senator. He was 21 years
old this spring, but his char
acter and ability was unques
tioned. The county council of
defense issued a "manifesto"
before the^ election and sent
out blanks to. all county candi
dates requiring them to state
where- they stood with regard
to the League. Sheets, who
has studied law, knew that the
county council had no such
power. The only power given
this body by the law is to call
witnesses and examine them.
THEY HAVE NO FURTHER
DIRECT POWER, Sheets
saw the blank and said he
would see them in hell before
he would sign the document in.
question. A lackey of the
council heard the remark and
reported iW
A few days later Sheriff
Bennett came out to the" splen
did Sheets farm with a "war
rant," signed by Banker Thorn:
ton "of Neligh, requiring him
to arrest Sheets. Sheets went
along and for two hours he
was surrounded by the county
•Council, which made an at
tempts to have him repudiate
the League. But,! Sheets stood
fast and the council got no
satisfaction from him an,d let
him go. Sheets is now pyepar-
ing to sue some of them for
'false arrest. When the votes
were counted Sheets, in three
countiesfrwas one vote behind*.
with the soldier vote to yet b£
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