• Introduction
• Out-of-State Dominance
• Economic Colonialism
• Breaking the Machine
• Economic Exploitation
• The Non Partisan League
• Birth of the NPL
• The NPL Insurgency
• Early Days of the BND
• The Industrial Program
• Launching the First Volley
• Bonds and Boycotts
• Farmers Line Up
• Politics at Work
• The Counter Insurgency
• The Long Dry Spell
• A Historic Vote
• The IVA in Control
• Farm Loans Falter
• BND Resurgence
• The Langer Housecleaning
• The Depression Years
• Contributing to the General Fund
• Returning to the Legislative Vision
• Awakening the Giant
• The Bank Under Fire
• Fulfilling the NPL Vision
• Growing North Dakota
• Era of Partnerships
• The Vision Realized

Early Days of the BND

Launching The First Volley

The IVA began planning its first attack on the League's Industrial Program soon after the 1919 Legislative session adjourned. The first move was to circulate petitions for a referendum of seven of the industrial measures including House bill 18. They asked the governor to schedule a special election on July 8th, a few days before the Bank was scheduled to open. However, the governor set the election for June 26th a month earlier than the IVA wanted.

The League sprang into action. AC Townley and his organization spread across the state urging voters to "Vote for Industrial Democracy, Vote Yes Seven Times." The League's efforts carried and all seven measures receive a substantial vote of confidence by the people. But it cast doubt in the minds of eastern investors.

Although the League called for the North Dakota banking community to support the people's bank, they were not rallying. Local bankers feared that a centralized state-owned Bank would drive them out of business. To help assuage those fears, the Industrial Commission created an advisory committee to help set Bank of North Dakota policy hoping it would lessen opposition to the Bank.

The Commission agreed to concessions in hopes that it would lessen fears of unfair competition with local banks. It agreed that the bank would not engage in commercial lending with the exception of farm real estate loans, that it would not engage in retail banking and that no branches would be opened, that the bank would not withdraw existing state funds from banks where they were currently deposited, and that future state funds including tax receipts and municipal funds required to be deposited in the Bank of North Dakota would be re-deposited in local banks at lower than market rates. The net result of these concessions was that the Bank of North Dakota had no money to finance any of the lending programs the League had promised.

Photographs from the collection of Institute of Regional Studies, North Dakota State University and the State Historical Society of North Dakota