The nonpartisan leader. [volume], September 16, 1918, Image 4

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

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
F. G. R. GORDON, INDUSTRIAL EXPERT
Haverhill, Mass., August 17.
My dear Van:
Your two letters of the 14th just at hand. I
have just talked with Hovey. He says it will
cost from a cent to one and a half cents to
take off old cover and put new on the M. 0.
books, but we will do that without cost to any
buyer. That is we will sell the books for the
regular price we have always sold them at, 15
cents each, and will give you a commission on
the sale. Of course it would not be worth
bothering with, if we were to sell but a few.
We have just about 4000 books on hand. Will
put any name you wish on the cover, but I had
thought that "The Truth About Public Owners
ship" would be a fine name indeed, I intended
to have that name on a new edition of the book.
Let me know*what you wish in the matter and
it will be executed. Hovey says he thinks it
would take a week on account of being almost
impossible to get any new. help. I am sending
you some more matter and please note on the
back of this an editorial on the packers' case.
If there are any men in this nation that ought
to be interested in the success of the magazine,
it is the packers.
That Irishman's name is Joe Mahoney. Mayor
Hodgson knows him well and can give you his
address.
I am sending in separate cover mnrVoH
manuscript" a lot more editorial and special
articles, and also some hundreds of names of
men-connected with the electric light biz., in
cluding the officials of the asso. for last year.
They are about the same this year except that
there is a new Pres., William Wells, Brooklyn
Edison Co., N. Y. City (Brooklyn, N. Y.) but
his name is in list of ex-board anyhow.
There are about 3700 electric light companies
and firms not counting those that are owned
by municipalities there are some 1300 street
railways and about as many gas plants in *Ma
country. But there are nearly 16,000 members
of the Natl Electric Light Asso., so you see how
impossible it would be to give all of these. But
a good commercial directory would give your
full lists, officials, etc., etc. And of course every
last one of these should be vitally interested in
the success of an anti-socialist publication.
There is of course the American Light and Trac
tion company, 120 Broadway the Electric Share
& Bond Co., 71 Broadway the Consolidated Gas
Co., Irving Place and 15th St., the New York
Edison Co., same address Francis Homer, con
nected with Bretram Griscom Co., 40 Wall St.,
who is interested. (This latter control the elec
tric and street railways in New Orleans, Bir
mingham and a number of southern cities)
Henry L. Doherty, 60 Wall St., controlling
$200,000,000 worth of utility plants, all of the
above N. Y. City.
A. B. Tenney of the C. R. Tenney Co., 20 Dev
onshire St., Boston Stone & Webster, Boston
Edison Co. and Consolidated Gas Co., Boston.
The United Gas Improvement Co., Philadel
phia, is the largest gas company in the world
they probably own from 100 to 200 gas plants
all over the nation. They are rich and prosper
ous, they alone could put the magazine on its
feet if they were interested enough. In Chicago
there is Samuel Insull and Roger Sullivan. What
ever these two say will go in Chicago. Mr.
Cowdry of the Peoples Gas Co., Chicago, knows
me and my work. But I think he does what thtf
other two tell him to do.
Now most of the gas and electric companies
have a local organization, like the St. Paul Gas
Co. association, largely made up of the salaried
officials and the staff. These men are loyal to
their coiwpanfes for the success of the company
means their personal success. Suppose now that
the American L. & T. Co. should indorse over
their name the magazine and commend it to the
attention of their respective companies, even
urging them to do whatever they could to make
it a success why that would mean'that forty or
fifty per cent of the entire staff would subscribe
for it. But most of this kind of work must be
done by personal contact, i. e. a letter half the
time will never reach the high man, or men,
Sensational Revelations as to Anti-League Methods
"Industrial Expert" to a Fellow Agitator of
7 9
and if it did it's likely to be put aside for future
action and then that future never arriving.
Of course the magazine would be on a safe
basis if we had an organization, The National
Anti-Socialist Union for instance, "and it was
their official organ. That would discourage any
competitors from entering the field with a rival
publication. And of course the minute we make
a success there will be some rivals who will try
to duplicate that success. But getting in on the
ground floor is the big thing after all.
The Manufacturers Asso. have about 4000
members, everyone of them' should be vitally
interested. All the banking and commercial or
ganizations likewise and so on. There are a
million manufacturers, more than a million mer
chants, 700,000 owners of R. R. Shares and as
many more owning bonds. Surely the field is
wide! Arthur Huey is the general manager of
the H. M. Byllesby Co., Chicago. I have worked
for them. They gave me $100 a month for a
year once just to have the first call on me in
case they got into trouble. And Mr. Huey said
only for the war this arrangement would con
tinue all the time. They gave me in addition to
this $100 a month, $25 a day for all the work
that I did for them. They are one of the very
big companies of the nation too, but I am not so
sure that they would aid in the magazine be
cause, between you and I, they are a bit ex
clusive, i. e., they want the whole thing for them
selves but maybe you can fetch 'em.
In St. Paul I met "Dick" O'Conner, the big
Democratic Boss, and he has very close connec
tion with the financial interests of that city.
Also met favorably Geo. Prince of the Mer
chants Nat'l Bank, a fine fellow and one who I
think would be interested. Met a number of
politicians and Chas. Patterson are about all the
real big financial men I met.
In Minneapolis I met F. H. Carpenter, 838
McKnight Bldg., who owns lumber yards all
over the northwest. Ha is interested. I also met
Horace Lowry, pres. street railway, and Secre
tary Robertson, the latter a fine fellow who will
gladly post you up on who to see. As for the
Twin Cities you know several times as many as
I do. Of course you are right about the publi
cation of books, pamphlets, etc. against Social
ism they should be pub. by the anti-soc. maga
zine. And I agree fully with you on that score.
We can turn out books enough if we can find
anyone to buy them.
I have copy all made up now, or rather pretty
nearly made up, for anew edition of my book on
M. O. but which would'really be a new book be
cause I have cut out some of the matter in the
old one and added a lot of new stuff. I have
material on h^nd for two books on the R. R.
problem and one on the telephone and tel. sys
tems. We could turn out a book once a month
for that matter if there was a demand for them.
I think Hovey, and I would haye made a much
greater success^of the books if he had been at
liberty to devote his time partly to the sale of
them, but he had Postage on his hands ahd could
not give any time to the other. A book on public
ownership of R. R. for instance, should have a
sale of 5,000,000 the first year.
Capt. Henry A. Castle of St. Paul, formerly a
postmaster is an anti-socialist. I am not sure
thathe is still alive, but if so you should see
F. W. Job, 832. Marquette Building, Chicago, is
or has been Sec of the 111. Manufacturers Asso.,
good man for you to see. He knows me. R. C.
Lanphier, Gen. Manager Sangamon electrie L.
Co., Springfield, 111., is interested. Chas. A.
Stone of Stone -and Webster, now in City
Building, N. City, and head of. the national
Expert Asso. is a great man if we could only
land him. Mr. W. Phillips, manager^ Winnipeg
electric Light, Winnipeg, Canada, is good man
too think he is interested. Please read the inc.
.relating to British Anti-socialist organization.
I have already sent-you jfor publication account
of Swedish Anti-soc. prg. in "Minn. Doing," etc.
You can put this thing over old man if you can
get the first starf. The field is here and you
are the first to occupy it on a national scope.
Go to it. Sincerely
£egardd to" all.^c^ F. G. R.GORDON.
FOUR,
1
t'l
This Pair
in a Letter Written by an
the Great Interests
SENSATIONAL letter has
fallen into the hands of the
Nonpartisan Leader. It is re
produced in full on this page
as evidence of the methods
used to fight the organized
farmers. It also show$ .how
the big interests are raped in
to furnish the money for such
methods. This remarkable letter speaks for itself.
It will astonish Leader readers, familiar as they ...
are with the methods used to fight people's reform
movements. A brief explanation is necessary as
to who wrote the letter and who it was written
to, and as to what the "magazine" spoken about
in the letter is.
The letter was written by F. G. R. Gordon, who
styles himself an "industrial expert," but who is,
as his letter indicates and as other-known facts
show, an agent employed by big corporations to
fight municipal ownership, government control of
industry and people's reform movements generally.
He is a professional agitator who interests Jieads
of great industrial enterprises in fighting pro
gressive men and measures, raises money from
them for the purpose and writes books, pamphlets,
handbills and newspaper and magazine articles
which faVor the classes against the masses. Mr.
Gordon was associate editor of the now defunct
"On the Square," a big business "farm" magazine
started in St. Paul to fight the League, financed
by a group of big business men, for whom Charles
Patterson of the Patterson Street Lighting com
pany and other large enterprises acted as pay
master. Gordon came to Minnesota during the
recent primary campaign and did some work for
the big interests againrft the League. For the per
son^ he met in connection with this work and his
opinion of them, see his letter..
A GET-RICH-QUICK
SCHEME EXPOSED
The man to whom the letter was written is H. M.
Van Hoesen, a promoter of much experience, who
was editor and manager of "On the Square" and
who is interested in'an advertising agency which
has offices at St. Paul and Chicago and is known
as Van Hoesen & Collins, Inc. In getting out'two
beautifully printed and profusely illustrated issues
of "On the Square"—the only two issues before
the promotion .blew up—Van Hoesen spent a sum
estimated at several hundred thousand dollars, fur
nished by a group of big business men of Minne
sota, of whom Charles Patterson, hitherto men
tioned, was spokesman. "On the Square" jailed
because the farmers would not subscribe'for a
magazine gotten out by trig business to "help"
farmers. The two issues that were published were
mailed free at third class postage rates—2 cents
a copy—to 200,000 Minnesota farmers. To compile
the list of farmers to whom it was .sent alone cost
the big fellows who put up the money around
$50,000.
These, then, are the men between whom thin very
remarkable letter passed. Now, as to what they
were talking about in the letter. Van Hoesen, after
the failure of "On the Square," with Gordon,
planned a new magazine, which has since been
.started. Plans for the new magazine were under
way when the letter was written. The new maga
zine is known as the. "Pan-American Anti-Social
ist," but in reality it is issued, like "On the Square,"
to oppose the organized farmers. It makes the
usual weak attempt to show that the League pro
gram is "socialistic" and- ignorantly proceeds to
denounce the League and Socialists as one and the
same thing.
THE CHICAGO TENTACLE
OF THE OCTOPUS
The first issue of the new magazine, out
this Gordon-Van Hoesen letter was written,
contains an attack on the Nonpartisan league
on every page. But it has this difference when
.compared with "On the Square": The latter was
supposed to circulate among farmers, bat.the
Anti-Socialist" is to circulate only among op
ponents of the League and to feed their hate of the
organization. You will see by the letter tie men
and interests these two promoters expect to "in
terest" in the matter. It is expected, as you will
also see on reading the letter, that big business
.men wjll subscribe for the magazine, influence
*their employes to subscribe for it and buy large
Wi Vfc
K**