The nonpartisan leader. [volume], June 21, 1920, Image 3

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

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
IN THE INTERESTOF A SQUARE
DEAL FOE THE FARMERS
Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice at"
Minneapolis. Minn., tinder the let of Much 8. 1879.
Publication address, .437 Sixth sraiue 8., Minneapolis.
Minn..: Address all remittances to: The Nonpartisan
Leader, Box 2075, Minneapolis, Minn.
S-ive
BACK
PPOpeary
Nori-
Pagti^AN
LEAGUE:
Have official "agents
provocateur" in America? Fed
eral Judge Anderson of Boston
says we have. After hearing
Attorney General Palmer's cases
against several radical aliens, ac
cused of belonging to the Com
munist party which party has
been put under the ban by Pal
mer, Judge Anderson asserted
from the bench that "agents pro
vocateur" employed by Palmer
..." -v:-v./.-
iHE Wall Street Journal calls thef-Nonpartisan league "the
Nonpartisan organization for plunder in North Dakota" and
in the same issue shows how the United States Steel corpora
tion has "earned" $238 a share since 1901 09 common stock which
the Journal explains was MOSTLY WATER. In another issue the
Wall street paper shows that the NET'PROFITS of the American
approval.
if Hiese "copporations are making prices for implements and
'dothing unfairly high to North Dakota farmers, in order to make
profits at a rate that in a single generation wotfld absorb the entire
surplus of industry. That is "successful business," according to
the Wall Street Journal. «The farmers of North Dakota organize
to protect themselves against just such profiteers, and to establish
a state system for marketing farm products at fair charges—which
big business was unable or unwilling to establish. That is "plun
der," according to "this defender of the profiteers. A burglar yell
ing "police" when his victim catches him and tries to recover the
loot is a parallel case.
"AGENTS PROVOCATEUR"*
•ECENTLY a new term has been found for an old practice.
When a corrupt city political gang wants to "get" ah enemy
a police department "stool pigeon" is sent out to incite the
marked man into commission of crime, and when he steps over the"
line he is arrested and sent up for a term of years. Tlie practice
was one of the chief standbys of the czar's government in Russia.
It always goes with official and unofficial spy and espionage sys
tems. The secret police of a government "plant" evidence so that
it wiir involve innocent individu
als who may embarrass the gov
ernment in one way or another.
This evidence is "discovered,"
the victim hopelessly involved
and ruined. The practice was so
widespread during the war. that
a French term came to be used
to describe persons engaged in
this nefarious^and immoral
work. They weri* calied "agents
provocateur" that is, agents
who provoked persons the gov
ernments wanted to "get" into
disloyal words or acts, so that
they could be arrested and proc-
S
i®
1
Hit
9fficial Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week
OLIVER. 8. MORRIS. Editor.
VOL. 10 NO. 23 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA JUNE 21, 1920 WHOLE NUMBER 246
&
•-W&
Sf'Sffl..
*7*
Wall Street and, the Charge of '(Plunder
We. tc-
gr*
STfe^T.
W°°l?ps corporation amounted to $180.62 a share for the last thjree .* agitators. He is interested only in enforcing the law and the Con-^ft
it refers to both xf these achievements with evident stitution. His charge against Palmer, if true, should cause Pal-^HM
1
mer
ANTJ-Li&GIJERS STRIKE A SNAG W
OME time ago the Leader reported the organization*®} a itew
anti-League outfit, known as the "United Americans," backed
by a. long string of Wall street financiers whose^names and
records we listed. The "United Americans" do not seem to have
UfHf£0
Ameri
made much headway in the League states probably League sen
timent has been too strong for them. But in the East, where the
League is not organized, the "United Americans" have been spend
ing money and putting out literature at a great rate.
And now it appears that they are in some trouble. One of
their statements attacking the Committee of Forty-eight has
brought them into the courts as defendants in a $500,000 libel suit*
We can't feel very sorry for them. Whether the Committee of Forty
eight gets its money or not is problematical. If the League were
to go into the courts every time it was libeled it would need all the
lawyers in the country to try the cases. But it is a good thing, once
in awhile, to call liars and call them hard*..
... -i -••£?. S-v-'-'v
PAGE THREE
helped in framing the platform of the Communist party, so framing
it that members of the party could be arrested and deported as "en-
emies ol^ the government" and "believers in violence and terror.":
"It is clear,'V said Judge Andeuson, "that the government opf!^
erates some part of the Communist party."
Judge Anderson is not a sympathizer of radicals or of alien, ),l:
impeachment—-a vitally serious matter. What gpngre^s,
do to. investigate this matter? Answer—nothing!
.•
THE CAMOUFLAGE OF WORDS m.
IHE ability of the voter to strip political campaign statements
of their outer coating of meaningless words, to get at the jf
meat of what the person or organization putting out the
statement means, is what counts. Those who want your votes sel-,
dom come out in the Open and state specifically their real purpose^VSr
which they generally conceal under several layers of high-sounding 'M
words and phrases.,, For instance, consider this sample:
mm
Started ki New York a few weeks ago the mov«?merit for organizinglip
the middle class, or average citizeii, for effective protection of his con-|f||j
,„,.stitutional rights, is rapidly spreading throughout the United States.®®
'That sounds good. The interests of the "average citizen
should certainly be protected, and constitutional rights should of
course be enforced. Continuing the statement says: «pR
The purpose is to present as a unit the will of the. majority andl^p5
to make" it felt Jn governmental and political circles, from which
sources the needed relief
vcan
be .speedily obtained.
All very good. Everybody wants the will of the-majority felt
•in governmental and political circles. After wading though mo.ro
bf the some kind of statement
we come to the meat of th&f
£P
A MAGAZINE THAT' DABES TO
PBINT THE TBUTH
One war. In advance, $2.50 six months, $1.80
.. ...
f-J*:
Clas
rates
otxwiHi Asunuy, auverusing represen*
tatlves, New York,: Chicago. St. Louis, Kansas City.
•Mmm
fmi
nee.!
HE i-PH
tie's R0B8IM& 'W
sm
1
a
J®
movement has al­
ready indorsed Governor Ed
ward I. Edwards of New
Jersey for the Democratic
presidential nomination, be
cause of his long-maintained
stand for personal liberty
and state'rights.
So, in plain language, this,
propaganda is gotten out by the
"wets" and liquor interests for
the repeal of the .prohibition
amendment^ although none of
those things aije mentioned. Why
not state it frankly and honest
ly? There are many who do not
believe in prohibition and who
are honestly of that belief. They
are within their rights in work
ing for the repeal of the ary..
amendment. But do they gain
anything by Sending out camou
flaged- statements, instead of
making a fair and open appeal,
on the merits of the question^
a