The nonpartisan leader. [volume], September 23, 1918, Image 4

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

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
tcial
club of Boise, Idaho,
and the gang press play
ed up the story in the
manner shown by the
cuts of the Fargo Forum
and the Boise (Idaho)
Statesman headlines on
this page.
President Townley's
speech in Boise August
26, in spite of every ef
fort of the gang to pre
vent his appearance and
with the state primaries
only a week away, struck
terror into the hearts of
the anti-farmer gang. It
was a well-founded ter
ror, of course, because
the League carried
everything: at the polls
September 3. The gang
was ready to snatch at
any straw.
HOW THE PLOT
WAS FORMED
In this case the straw
was a wandering per
former, very anxious to
make some ready money
and also entirely willing,
it seems, to pose as a
-member of the army, a
prison offense. He was
advertised as the great
"human fly," who would
—«££ie one of Boise's tall
est buildings for the en
tertainment of the crowd.
But this was not enough.
He had, it was declared,
seen the hottest kind of
service on the western
front, was going back
September 24 and in the
meantime would help re
cruiting for the marine
corps.
Then the commercial
club agents took him to
IRIN6 a wandering steeplejack,
who posed as a member of the
marine corps fresh from serv
ice in France, to draw a crowd
and put over a stupid anti-
League speech constitutes the
scabbiest trick possible ]at this
time, but it was not too'scabby
for the Idaho anti-farmer gang.
These agents of lawlessness do not hesitate when
it serves their purpose to insult the flag and army
of the United States. In this case the immediate
agent was the commer-
a back room and drilled
into him a bombastic anti-League speechv They
got*two army sergeants, who were innocent" of
what they were getting into, to appear before the
crowd as sponsors for their prodigy. On the day
following Mr. Townley's speech this politico-mili
tary circus was pulled off. It feU flat with the
audience except for the organized gang cheering,
but it enabled the gang press of Idaho and of the
whole country to play up a feature story on a
marine corps hero attacking!the League.
GANG DIDN'T RECKON
WITH HUMAN NATURE
The Boise politicians thought they had succeeded
with their foul scheme. But they didn't reckon .t
with human nature. They forgot that a man, even
Jf he is a wandering steeplejack, has a conscience
that calls a halt.- The humblest of us makes moral
distinctions. Ready to go into the scheme for the
bribe offered and, in fact, going through it accord
ing to schedule, the conscience of the "human fly"
began to bother him and he confessed that he had
lied for the Boise gang. Now Cecil Hogue, alias
"Jack Williams, the human fly," vaudeville actor
for the Idaho farmer-haters, is a fugitive from
j- justice, being wanted on a federal warrant sworn
(tat in Boise August 26.
But the Boise gang, made another fatal blunder
in underestimating the integrity of our army. They-u
A KEPT PRESS LIE
10(111 MM
PITS MS
TBIltDM
Jack Williams, Daring Climber,
Delivers Scorching Arraign
ment of President of Nonpar
tisan league Scales Overland
A. C. Townley. president of the
t^onpartlmn league, who spolte in
Boise Friday night, was Saturday
night branded as aiiro-Gerra^ap
traitor by Jack William^ ...
an II*." fornwmyr
Here is the headline of the Boise Idaho
Statesman, which first sprung the story
of the "human fly" denouncing the
Nonpartisan league. The truth could
not be suppressed, and the opposition
paper the' next day exposed the whole
miserable, put up job of a fake hero.
This is atypical instance of anti-farm
er tactics, emanating this time from
the Idaho gang. The story is built
on gross fraud for which the little tool
of the interests is now a fugitive from
justice and an outrage against the in
tegrity of the American army as the
letters from army officers given in full
in the accompanying article show.
-r
"a*
sasiHi
Plot of Boise Politicians to Lead Recruiting Officers Into Attack on the League
Proves a Boomerang—Their "Human Fly" Hero Is a Fugitive
thought they could successfully prostitute. it to
pull their political chestnuts out of the fire. As
soon as their attention was called to the way the
gang politicians had attempted to drag the army
into an attack on the League, one after another
of the responsible army men in Boise issued state
ments repudiating their connection with the affair.
Sergeant McCracken, who introduced the "human
fly," has repudiated his own speech and has given
the names of the Boise politicians who led him into
it. The local recruiting party issued the following
signed statement:
To Whom It If ay Conccrn:
We understand that we are accused in
a roundabout way, of being against a
certain organization in this state under
the name of the Nonpartisan league.
We wish to state without reserve that
we, the members of this recruiting party.
STAND ON NEUTRAL GROUND, and
that WE WILL NOT UTTER FOR
PUBLICATION. EITHER BY WORD
OF MOUTH OR PRINT, anything FOR
OR AGAINST ANY ORGANIZATION,
or the MEMBERS OF ANY ORGANI
ZATION—no matter what politics are
involved.
We further state that since our stay
in this city we have not heard any se
ditious words uttered, or disloyal re
marks published, by any person—either
in a political sense or not.
(Signed) CHARLES F. CLARK,
In a
Sergeant in Chaise.
CORPORAL ROY BROOKS,
PRIVATE WILLIAM J. MASON.
LIEUTENANT REPUDIATES
POLITICAL GANG
But most important of all was the
repudiation of this political gang by
Lieutenant Fox of the navy recruit
ing station in Boise,
whose speech at a
flag-raising at Barber
the Sunday previous
a in
throughout the state
by the gang. The poli
ticians asfeerted that,
while he did not name
he N a is a
league, he referred to
it in several parts of
his speech as disloyal.
The following letter,
which Lieutenant Fox
wrote on his own ini
at iv is
garbling and distor
tion of his speech
reached him, is a
straight from the
shoulder punch:
made by me at
Barber Sunday
night, I made a
few remarks on
the subject of dis
loyalty and dis
loyal organiza­
tions. These remarks are re
ported to me as having been
given undue prominence which,
if not taken in connection^/with
the remainder of the speech,
give a false Impression as to the
aim of this address. This speech
was intended to be solely a state
ment of the plain principles of
Americanism and the duty to
wards the army and navy of
those workers who are forced
to be at home.
It has been called to my at
tention by officers of the Non
partisan league that this part or
mf
speech is being used in the
political fight against that or
ganization. I wish to emphatically state that
this speech was not an attack on any specific
organization. It does apply to any disloyal
organizations which have done the things speci
fied in that speech. Whether or not the Non
partisan league has done these things, I do not
know and, therefore, my speech can not proper
ly be used'as a weapon againat them unless
those using it first prove conclusively that this
organization has done the disloyal acts I men?
.Honed. Jf it-is npt proved that the Nonpar^.
PAGE FOUR
THE FARGO COPT CAT
nu»t jffv jasnw, AtnaoBT
TOWNLEY FLAYED
AS A TRAITOR BY
FORHER MEMBER
OF THE MARINES
Immense Crowd At Boise
N
CHeers Attacks On
League Leader
IS NOT POLITICS
BUT PATRIOTISM
Kndwing the story of the Idaho human
gnat was false, yet the Fargo Forum
clipped it out of the Idaho paper and.
printed- it as the truth. This is only
one example of the tremendous dis—
honesty of the corporation press.
tisan league has done these things, my "speech
has no reference to them in any way, shape
or form.
I wish to protest againat the use of this plain,
general statement of Americanism for political
or personal purposes. Any person or persons
who have made use of it for such a purpose or
who may in the future do so, are acting with
out my authority and under a misapprehension
of my sentiments.
Boise, August 27, 1918.
HOW THE GANG
PRESS USED IT
JOHN LAWRENCE FOX,
Lieutenant U. S. N.
A stinging rebuke like this, however, is not
enough for the anti-farmer gang. Even after Lieu
tenant Fox had sent signed copies of this letter
denouncing the political trickery to the politicians
who were circulating his address, they ignored his
letter and had 5,000 copies of the two paragraphs
printed to be Jjanded to voters just before the
primaries.
Another mistake which the anti-farmer gang
will probably never explain, is absurd lies put in
the mouth of its marvel or invented by him on the
spur of the moment. After playing up the situa
tion in press-agent style with such statements as
"This denunciation of Townley under such auspices
fairly took the crowd off its feet," the story run
by the kept press hits off the high spots in the
marvelous address by Hero Williams.
First there is an absurd quotation of what this
Mr. Williams said he
heard President Townley
say in an Indiana speech.
The simple truth is that
President Townley never
made a speech in that
state.
The second high spot
noted by the kept .press
story was: "I have had
the pleasure of seeing
A. C. Townley taken
from the stage after
making 'the most sedi
tious speech -I ever
heard." Again a stupid
lie, but this time the
"hero" and mouthpiece of
the Idaho gang did not
name the place. Mr..
Townley has never been
"taken" from the stage
except by hand-shaking
farmers.
A SWIFT
RETRIBUTION
latin
Returned Soldier Speaks
Mind Before Perform
ing Circus Stunts
(•pedal to Tfea
Toram.lJ
Boise, Mafco, Aw. M.—
ley. president of the
lMcust who spoka
nlCht, was Sati
Williams,
Jhe article winds up
with the hero's claim of
personal acquaintance
with Mr. Townley (prob
ably also without foun
dation) arid his appeal
for recruits for the ma
rine corps, membership
in which he was faking
in violation of the law.
lit
The anti-farmer gangs}
in the other states of the
Northwest have been us
ing methods as dirty as
this since the League
first appeared as a for- "r"
midable opponent to spe
cial privilege rule. But I
seldom has one of 'their $•
dirty, un-American
schemes to. discredit the
with such swift retri-
farmers' movement met
bution.
)f^v- Almostiiefore they had finished applauding their
^rmountebank, this Boise gang stood naked before the
world through the^ pioOntebank's confession. Al-fei
rinost before the "human fly" had fled to escape the
the officers of the army had signed their ex-^
.poaures of the plot. Within a week the voters of'..,
-4Idaho had given the gang a whalihg in the state
Primary election, the like of which had not be
'.'jjefore been seen outside of North Dakota,
imM?.
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