THE STORY OF THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE 



condition of the region that with all these 

 signatures they had not collected a cent of 

 money. Every farmer had paid in a post- 

 dated check; that is, a check dated the fol- 

 lowing October. It was February or March, 

 and the farmers had little money, and would 

 have little until they should sell the next 

 wheat crop. Therefore, the enterprise now 

 ran upon its first shoal. The projectors had 

 no funds and the gasolene was all gone; they 

 had used up all there was on the Wood place 

 and all they could beg or borrow. Howard 

 Wood met the emergency in heroic fashion. 

 He made out a note for twelve hundred dol- 

 lars; they took it to the bank, got it dis- 

 counted, and with the proceeds bought two 

 cars and a supply of gasolene. 



They had three cars running now and post- 

 dated checks falling in like the snow. Town- 

 ley saw that with money his plan was certain 

 to succeed. F. B. Wood and his busy sons 

 called a meeting of farmers at Glenburn; all 

 the agitators talked to it, and that meeting 

 subscribed nine hundred and twenty-five dol- 

 lars, on the strength of which Townley was 

 able to secure two more cars and to send his 

 friend Bowen in one of them to wake up 

 another part of the state. 



The Farmers' Nonpartisan League was the 

 name he had chosen for his organization. He 

 had conceived another idea that I submit only 



200 



