Section 4: The Nonpartisan League in Control of State Government, 1919

When North Dakotans voted in 1918, they found Nonpartisan League (NPL)When studying the Nonpartisan League, it is important to remember that at that time, most of Europe was engaged in a very long and bloody war. Russia had entered the war under the leadership of the Czar Nicholas, but by 1917, Russia faced revolution led by socialists and communists. Russian soldiers left the war front and returned home forcing Russia to withdraw from the war.
World leaders watched the Russian Revolution with great concern. Most considered communism and socialism to be detrimental to their nations’ interests. Americans knew that socialists were sitting in North Dakota’s legislature and empowering the state to own and operate businesses. Many Americans were concerned that North Dakota would become a socialist state. candidates on the ballot again. Despite growing opposition, Lynn Frazier was once again elected governor and other NPL candidates also fared well. The NPL controlled both houses of the sixteenth session of the North Dakota legislature that met in 1919.

Opposition to the NPL came from a new organization with the sole purpose of throwing the NPL out of office. The organization was called the Independent Voters Association or I.V.A. Most I.V.A. members lived in cities and towns. The I.V.A. was led by Theodore G. Nelson, known as “Two-bit” Nelson. Nelson was a former member of the American Society of Equity and the NPL, but he had concerns about socialism and left the NPL to try to defeat the organization.

The NPL legislative caucus was still making decisions under the close supervision of A. C. Townley and League lawyer William Lemke. The NPL legislators began to propose and pass bills that would put the League’s plan into action. New laws set up the State Bank of North Dakota, the Industrial Commission (composed of the governor, attorney general, and commissioner of agriculture and labor), and the State Printing Commission. New tax laws resulted in higher tax revenue (income) because railroads were now taxed at a fair value.

Image 8: Though this photograph is somewhat damaged, it shows the Bismarck building that will be purchased to house the Bank of North Dakota in 1919. Shortly after this picture was taken, the state put a new sign over the “Missouri Valley Motor Co.” sign. The new sign read “Bank of North Dakota.” The state-owned bank was an NPL program designed to provide low-interest loans to farmers (rural credit bank.) It was also the depository bank for city, county, and state funds. School districts also deposited their funds in the bank. Though the bond sale to capitalize the Bank of North Dakota failed, the deposits provided the bank with enough capital (money) to make loans at 6% interest. SHSND C1188.

 

The Bank of North Dakota was to be financed by $2,000,000 worth of bonds. The state had to sell bonds to investors to get enough money to start the bank. There were few investors willing to engage with North Dakota’s socialist experiment, so the bonds did not sell well. (See Image 8)

However, city, county, township, and school district funds were deposited in the state bank. All state, county, municipal, and school agencies were required to deposit all of their funds in the State Bank. By September, these deposits ($8,700,000) amounted to more than the bond issue. Banks around the state also began to make deposits in the State Bank. With these deposits, the State Bank had a successful opening. The State Bank also re-deposited some of its money in small banks around the state which helped those banks and made loans to farmers at 6% interest (the usual rate was 8.7%.)

The Bank of North Dakota also made large deposits of money in the NPL-owned Scandinavian American Bank of Fargo, increasing that bank’s profits and moving more money into Cass County than any other county.

The State Mill and Elevator

In 1886, H. L. Loucks, president of the Farmers’ Alliance complained that under railroad control, farmers were “compelled . . . to pay tribute to the Elevator companies.” In 1893, a group of Valley City farmers petitioned the legislature for relief from millers’ “unbounded greed” which was “greater than they can bear.” (See Document 5) For decades, North Dakota farmers had asked the state to build a terminal elevator,Grain elevators are tall, tower-like buildings, usually located next to railroad tracks, where grain is scooped up for storage in a tall silo. A local or country elevator is where farmers took their grain for storage until the railroad picked up the grain and transported it to a terminal elevator in Minnesota cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, or Duluth. At a terminal elevator, the grain was either milled (turned into flour) in Minnesota, or it was prepared for export to another country. None of North Dakota’s grain elevators were terminal elevators.
Farmers received a low price for their grain in North Dakota because the grain would be shipped a great distance before milling. Farmers also had to pay storage fees to the elevators. Many farmers believed that a terminal elevator in or owned by the state of North Dakota would give farmers a better price for their grain.
Many grain dealers cheated farmers by giving the wheat a lower grade than it deserved. Many farmers delivered No. 1 Hard Red Spring Wheat to the local elevator. Some greedy grain dealers, however, graded the wheat as Number 2 or Number 3 Hard. The lower grades brought in a lower price per bushel. Farmers wanted the state to establish a grain grading system to ensure that they received the best price for their crops. for grain-trade and railroad regulation, for official grain-grading systems, and for a state-owned elevator. The 1917 legislature passed a terminal elevator bill, but Governor Frazier vetoed the bill.

 

Document 6: All over the country, people kept an eye on North Dakota’s experiment with state-owned businesses. The state’s mill at Drake drew attention from grain business journals. Most were happy to report its failure, noting that the mill was too small to operate profitably. This article appeared in Commercial West, vol. 36.

 

In 1919, the legislature approved a bill funding the construction of a state mill and elevator in North Dakota. Governor Frazier signed the bill. The bill authorized the North Dakota Mill and Elevator Association to create a “system of warehouses, elevators, flour mills. . . .”  The Industrial Commission (the governor, attorney general, and commissioner of agriculture and labor) was to oversee the work of the Mill and Elevator Association.

The bill creating the Industrial Commission faced strong opposition. The bill (House Bill 17) established a state agency with the authority to manage “utilities, industries, enterprises and business projects” on behalf of the state. The law became effective as soon as it was signed by the governor. The Independent Voters Association petitioned to hold a referendum on the law so that voters could approve the law directly. The referendum was held on June 26, 1919.

The Bismarck Tribune encouraged its readers to reject the Industrial Commission bill at the special election. Because the Industrial Commission was made up of elected officials, the editors feared that the commission’s work would change every two years. The voters, however, approved the Mill and Elevator Association and the Industrial Commission. The Tribune made a careful analysis of votes, and notified its readers of a growing weakness in the League’s popularity.

Image 9: . In 1919, soon after passing a law allowing the state of North Dakota to engage in business, the North Dakota Mill and Elevator Association purchased this small grain mill at Drake. It remained in business until 1924. This mill was too small to take care of the state’s grain trade and its equipment was old-fashioned. The Drake mill never earned a profit for the state. SHSND 2006-P-14-01.

 

With the support of the people, the state moved ahead to create the State Mill and Elevator. The Mill and Elevator Association purchased an existing elevator and mill at Drake. (See Image 9) This mill was too small and out-dated to meet the farmers’ needs. The Drake Mill operated at a loss for several years and closed in 1924. Opponents of the Nonpartisan League (NPL) used the failure of the Drake mill to criticize the entire NPL program. (See Document 6)

Image 10: In 1922, North Dakota completed the new, large, modern mill and elevator at Grand Forks. Though political struggles and mismanagement plagued the mill’s operation for years, it finally began to turn a profit in the 1930s. SHSND C0455.

 

Image 11: The State Mill and Elevator at Grand Forks produced flour products which were sold all over the state and in other states as well. The mill adopted the brand-name Dakota Maid for its flour products. The profits from the sale of flour and the management of the mill returned to the state’s treasury. SHSND D0444-1.

 

The Mill and Elevator Association selected Grand Forks as the site of a modern, large mill and elevator complex. Construction began in 1919 and proceeded irregularly for several years. (See Image 10) Political events interfered with construction progress, but it finally opened late in 1922. The mill was not profitable for several years due to political events and mismanagement. By the late 1930s, the problems had been solved and the mill began to make a profit. The income from the mill and elevator is paid to the State of North Dakota. (See Image 11)

The Newspaper Bill

Long before the Revolutionary War, Americans learned the power and importance of a free press. So important was the press to a free democracy, that the members of the constitutional convention wrote the idea into the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States in 1789. The first amendment reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

Document 9: This political cartoon by John M. Baer appeared in the Nonpartisan Leader newspaper on March 21, 1921. The cartoon intends to justify the NPL law (also called Brinton’s Law) that gave NPL-owned newspapers an advantage over other newspapers after 1919.

 

 

Document 8: Two days after Brinton’s Law was signed, this article appeared in the Bismarck Tribune, a large daily newspaper. The publisher did not worry about going out of business because of Brinton’s Law, but the editors believed that hundreds of papers would cease to publish because of the law. The editor’s estimate of the loss of 250 papers was very close to correct. Bismarck Tribune March 17, 1919.

 

In North Dakota, freedom of the press was restrained by a law passed by the 1919 legislature that was dominated by the Nonpartisan League (NPL). (See Document 7) Senate Bill 157, also called “Job W. Brinton’s newspaper trust measure,” was signed by Governor Lynn Frazier over the objections of Attorney General William Langer, Auditor Carl Kositzky, and Secretary of State Thomas Hall. (See Document 8) Senate Bill 157 created a State Printing Commission which was to choose an official newspaper for each county. The official newspaper would earn as much as $20,000 each year printing official state, county, and city notices. (See Document 9)

Image 12: The Mistletoe newspaper was published from this tiny office in DeLamere, North Dakota in 1905. It is likely that newspapers as small as this one in such small towns would not have been in business after 1920. The population of this town was too small, and the competition from other papers too intense for all of North Dakota’s 340 newspapers to continue in publication. SHSND 0032-SA-15-01.

 

Before the passage of this bill, each county had three official newspapers. (See Image 12) In the lightly populated counties of North Dakota, the regular income from printing official notices paid the bills for many newspapers. It would be difficult for a newspaper to remain in business if it did not print official notices.

Image 13: The Stanley Sun newspaper was published from this small building in 1916. Most small North Dakota towns had weekly newspapers which published local news and state, county, and city notices. Homesteaders had to publish three notices before they could make proof on their homesteads. Many small papers were forced out of business by the Nonpartisan League’s State Printing Commission law in 1919. SHSND 0032-MN-07-01.

 

The commission chose newspapers that were either owned by the NPL or favored the NPL policies. Many legislators owned stock in NPL newspapers, but did not excuse themselves from voting on the bill. (See Image 13)

Image 14: The Grand Forks Herald and other large daily newspapers such as the Bismarck Tribune were not affected by Brinton’s Law. In a large city with adequate advertising and subscriptions these newspapers did not need state printing business. The Herald and its editor Jerry Bacon, became a center of opposition to NPL programs. SHSND C1062.

 

The bill was very effective. By the end of 1919, 61 weekly newspapers had gone out of business. Within five years, more than 200 newspapers had ceased publication.Many small-town and county newspapers published official state notices and notices of homestead proofs. When a person claiming land under the Homestead Law had met all the requirements of the law, he or she had to put a notice in three editions of the local newspaper. Both official state and county notices and homesteader proof notices kept many small newspapers in business. No doubt, many of these newspapers would have gone out of business as the printing of homesteader proofs ceased in the early 1920s. (See Image 14) Though some Leaguers claimed that the bill would save the state money, the Bismarck Tribune argued that the funding of the State Printing Commission, headed by J. W. Brinton, would cost the state more than the former system of paying for official notices.

Job Wells Brinton, who would serve as a member of the Printing Commission, had been the outspoken editor of the Beach newspaper, the Golden Valley Chronicle. He had championed farmers’ interests in his newspaper.Brinton’s concern for farmers’ rights was sincere. On May 21, 1915, Brinton (mayor of Beach and editor of Golden Valley Chronicle), wrote an editorial critical of the competing newspaper, the Beach Advance which had published an article on farmers. This editorial was written just two months after the founding of the Nonpartisan League. He wrote: This newspaper [the Beach Advance] – if it can be called that – has called the farmers “pinheads”, “woodheads”, “bulletheads”, etc., when they did not agree with and support the political activity of this particular [newspaper]; now they are calling the farmers “dummies” because they are organizing a produce company and a farmers’ store. . . . If it were not for the “dummy” farmers referred to by this businessmen’s paper, so-called, who make up the different boards of directors and stockholders in the elevator companies, creameries, cheese factories, produce companies and numerous other farmer organizations, including farmer stores, the county would not have any of these enterprises doing business today. You can rest assured they were not promoted by business men nor supported by such newspapers as the Beach Advance. The country wants more “bonehead” farmer organizations, more “woodhead” farmers in politics and more “dummy” farmer-made laws, if the Advance uses the correct terms when speaking of the farmers. – [signed J. W. Wells,] Mayor of Beach, Golden Valley Chronicle, Friday May 21, 1915, page 1. Brinton challenged public officials to recognize the value of farmers’ political and economic contributions to their communities. While working in Beach, he had met and befriended Arthur C. Townley. (See Document 10) He became an early organizer for the NPL in western counties and worked very closely with Townley on League issues. In 1917, he organized the Consumers United Stores, another League program.

Brinton owned several League newspapers. He stood to gain personally from Senate Bill 157. He probably saw it as a means of uniting people behind the League. His interest in supporting farmers was sincere. However, by 1919, Brinton had accused Townley of embezzling NPL funds. Along with other League officials such as Bank of North Dakota Manager J. R. Waters and Attorney General William Langer, Brinton publicly accused Townley of embezzlement and fraud.

Letters to Governor Frazier

The governors’ files in the State Historical Society of North Dakota are filled with letters from citizens who ask the governor for help in solving a problem. Governor Frazier, the NPL governor (1917 – 1921) received many letters from citizens who were members of the NPL or expected the NPL governor to take their side in their battles against the railroads or coal mines.

Two of these letters addressed to Governor Frazier in 1919 were written by farmers who were trying to arrange for a cattle car to ship their excess livestock by rail to another location. The railroads had not sent a car (as was the common procedure in 1919) and the men had no feed for their livestock. As the starving animals lost weight, the farmers lost money.

Joseph Craft uses a phrase which identifies him as a member of the NPL. In his last sentence, he says “we are trying our best to stick.” (See Document 11 and Transcription) The NPL used the phrase “We’ll stick,” especially as the organization came under fire from the Independent Voters Association and other opponents. “Stick” also means that Mr. Craft was facing desperate times. The summer of 1919 had brought little rain to the farms, so there was no feed for the livestock and little in the way of crops to sell. If Mr. Craft was unable to sell his cattle, he might have to leave his farm. (See Document 12 and Transcription)

Document 11 and Transcription

Document 11

 

Document 12 and Transcription

 

Document 13 and Transcription

 

                                                                                            The third letter is from an NPL member who worries that opponents of the NPL will attack the organization as un-Christian. (See Document 13 and Transcription) Governor Frazier has recently acted to remove a book in the state library that advocated “free love.” He defends the NPL and Governor Frazier by stating that the organization is not about “Free love and anarchy.” He also praises Frazier as a “Christian governor.” (See IVA)

These letters have been scanned from the files of Governor Frazier and transcribed as they were written. Spelling and grammar errors have been retained for historical accuracy.