THE ORGANIZATION OF RURAL INTERESTS 559 



impress upon the lawmakers the sentiment of the people of the 

 State. They were told to "go home and slop the pigs." The 

 politicians said that they knew what was good for the farmer 

 he didn't; let him do what he knew how to do "slop the 

 pigs." 



A LEAGUE WITHOUT "POLITICS" 



Then A. C. Townley suggested that the farmers take control 

 of the state machinery they being the majority of the people 

 of the State. He suggested that the farmers organize them- 

 selves into a league without political partisanship, for the pur- 

 pose of taking control of the state machinery. They organized 

 the Nonpartisan League of North Dakota. At the following 

 election the league cast 87,000 out of 110,000 votes. It elected 

 every state officer except one. It elected a majority of the 

 Legislature. The farmers of North Dakota are now in a fair 

 way to get proper marketing facilities. 



The injustice in marketing farm products does not apply to 

 North Dakota only. It applies to every State in the Union. In 

 North Dakota, it is a matter of wheat ; in Texas, it is a matter 

 of cotton. In each of these States, and in every other State, 

 the price of the farmers' products is fixed by the buyers. In 

 no State is the farmers' cost considered. It is the buyer's busi- 

 ness to buy as cheaply as he can, and he does it. The problem 

 for the producer is always the same. 



ORGANIZATION IN THIRTEEN STATES 



The producers in neighboring States, observing what North 

 Dakota has done, decided to do the same thing. They asked 

 Mr. Townley and the men who had organized the Nonpartisan 

 League in North Dakota to organize in their States. So the 

 idea spread. The Nonpartisan League of North Dakota became 

 the National Nonpartisan League. It is organized, or is organ- 

 izing, in thirteen States Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, 

 South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Nebraska, 

 Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas. 



The method of organizing the league is to send men from 

 farmer to farmer, who explain to them the purpose of the 

 league. Before the farmer joins he understands its whole pur- 



