Excuse the delay in the reply to your
last letter. An exceptional amount of extra work prevented
an earlier reply. It seems to be the socialist attitude
toward the land question, the world over, that the land
must be nationalized in some form or other. The communists
of Russia, make all land the property of the central
government, and the workers operate large tracts of it,
for the government, with machinery belonging to the
government, which also takes the entire output, merely
paying the workers union wages. The socialists of this
country would nationalize the land, allowing individuals
towork it with their own tools, not being allowed to
use hired labor, however, and the farmers to receive
the entire output of the farms, paying only a tax on
the land very much as at present. It would amount to a
long term lease by the state to the farmers, re-imbursing
them for any improvements they made when for any reason
they retired from the active or ration of the farm.
As far as the sale of the output is concerned, the central
government would have to fix the price, because it would
be the only purchaser and distributor of the farm produce.
The worker in the mine, the mill or the factory is much
less an individualist than the farmer, because he works
daily alonside of thousands of his fellows, while the farmer
does his work alone, usually having no boss above him.
He will therefore be the hardest to reconcile to a socialist
regime. Of course, the present farmer who owns his own farm,
vill never become reconciled to the socialist regime, for
he will feel that he is losing something by the change.
But actually this is not the case, for he will receive
a lease which practically amounts to a fee simple which he
now has, provided he or his children actually operate the
farm and till the land. Use and occupation will be the
title he holds, and if he and his children use and occupy
this particular farm for ever down through the generations
to come, he will have a title in fee simple to all intents
and purposes. His title terminates however, when he or
his heirs cease to use and occupy. Then the state leases
anew. I think I will be able to answer your future questions
more promptly

general redistribution application

Every 7, 10. a 25 years.

Your letter of June 28th received. In the absence of
Mr. 0. S. Evans, I am taking the liberty of answering your letter.

Duncan.

The state manager's name prior to Mr. Evans was L. J.
I cannot say if he was the first manager here or not.
With reference to Wm. C. Remfer of Parkston, will say that
I am personally acquainted with Mr. Remfer and he is a strong
Leaguer.

You failed to inclose $1 for the Leader, as you state in

your letter.

OPB:8

Youre very truly,

Reitan

Office Manager.

It might interest the reader to know that O. S. Evans, State Manager of the Nonpartisan League in South Dakota (See letter-head preceding page) was Secretary of Bowman, North Dakota, Socialist Local when Socialism was operating under its own name. (See

"Iconoclast" on file in the Historical, Libr Bismarck, N. D., date April 11, 1913.)

The letter reproduced above contains statement that L. J. Duncan was the for STATE MANAGER in South Dakota for Nonpartisan League. "Comrade" Duncan

Socialist candidate for Governor of Monin 1912 and again in 1916. As to his ifications for leadership in this "Farmer's anization" we reproduce page 2666 of the mony before the Senate Committee in the hevik inquiry:

2666

Mr. KENNEDY. Yes sir

Senator NELSON. And was there any affiliation between the Nonpartisan League and the Socialists and the I. W. W.'s?

Mr. KENNEDY. Answering directly, at Great Falls, on the 6th day of February, a year ago, there was held a mass meeting, called a Farmers' Cooperative Congress, to which we invited, as speakers, Gov. Frazer, of North Dakota, who headed the list; the leader of the I. W. W. organization in the city of Butte

Senator NELSON. What is his name?

Mr. KENNEDY. His name is William F. Dunn. He is a somewhat notorious man in our part of the world. He is the editor of a newspaper called the Daily Bulletin.

Senator NELSON. Published where?

Mr. KENNEDY. The Daily Bulletin is the organ of the I. W. W. element in the State of Montana and is published in Butte, a publication that the national authorities took occasion to suppress, and the State Council of Defense ordered suppressed for sedition. Mr. Dunn is now awaiting trial in the city of Helena on a charge of sedition.

Senator NELSON. These were all gathered at Great Falls. Now go on and tell us more about that.

Mr. KENNEDY. To be brutally frank about it, Senator Nelson, it was just a real Bolshevik picnic. They lambasted everybody that had much interest in our part of the world. They resolved to take away from the people that had two shirts, one of them, and give it to people that had one, and they did the usual things. much the same as they did in Chicago the other day, with about the same class of results.

Senator NELSON. Did they succeed in organizing many of the Nonpartizan Leaguers there?

Mr. KENNEDY. In the eastern part of the State of Montana they succeeded, in getting several of the agricultural counties overwhelmingly into the organization, but in the western part of our State' they made but little progress. In some of the counties of the Statein my county, for instance-we probably violated all the constitutional provisions of State and Nation, but we refused to allow them to hold meetings under our organization, the Council of Defense, and ran the organizer out of the county.

Senator OVERMAN. What county is that?

Mr. KENNEDY. County of Lincoln. He cranked up his Ford and went.

Senator NELSON. You did credit to the name of Lincoln.
Senator OVERMAN. What is the county seat?

Mr. KENNEDY, Libby.

Senator NELSON. Was there any affiliation or cooperation, directly or indirectly, between these Nonpartisan Leaguers, the Socialists, and the I. W. W.'s in your State?

Mr. KENNEDY. Yes; there has been a close affiliation between the I. W. W. and the Nonpartisan League people in our State.

Senator NELSON. What was their tendency as to loyalty or disloyalty? You know what I mean?

Mr. KENNEDY. Disloyalty, sir.
Senator NELSON. Disloyalty?
Mr. KENNEDY. Unhesitatingly.

By referring to the opposite page the reader will note that William F. Dunn is editor of the Butte "Bulletin"-the. I. W. W. organ of Montana. He testified for the defense in the I. W. W. trial at Chicago and was convicted at Helena on the charge of sedition referred to on the opposite page.

How much of the farmer's money was spe by the Socialist leaders in supporting public tions like the "Appeal to Reason" and t "Butte Bulletin" we do not know, but the a tention of the reader is called to the followi "ad" which was run for this farmer's organiz tion in the I. W. W. newspaper of Butte:

The Butte Weekly Bulletin Has the Largest Bona-fide Paid-up Subscription List in the City of Butte and the State of Mo

WE PREACH THE CLASS STRUGGLE IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKERS AS A CLASS

The Butte Daily Bulletin

Prominent Nonpartisan League Organizer, Says "Bowen Persuaded
Townley That Such a Thing Could be Done" and That the
Nonpartisan League is "Socialism in Action."

The "Iconoclast" in its issue of Sept. 6, 1912, called attention to a "Bowen for Governor" meeting held at Milton, N. D., and says that

Gates E. M. Young presided.

In 1917 he became Assistant Editor of the Minneapolis-St. Paul American:

The Minneapolis & St. Paul American

2441 PORTLAND AVE., MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
Northwestern Telephone: South 3566.

PAUL F. DEHNEL. MANAGING EDITOR

GATES E. M. YOUNG. ASSISTANT EDITOR