Forerunners The first organized socialist group in North Dakota was a socialist club started by Arthur Basset in the town of Fargo, located just across the
Minnesota border. A considerable number of Scandinavian immigrants had settled in the
Upper Midwest, often bringing with them cooperative traditions from the old country. This was particularly true of the Norwegian community which congregated in the
Red River Valley in the Eastern part of the state. Teigan hired a paid organizer for this task, Arthur C. Townley, a formerly prosperous
flax farmer who had seen his substantial operation located on the Western border of the state near the town of
Beach wiped out in 1912 by early winter weather and falling commodity prices. Townley set out on his organizing efforts late in 1913 but met with resistance among the farmers he approached, who supported the various economic ideas put forward by the Socialist Party but who refused to support that organization itself. The following year Townley greatly expanded his efforts as a professional party organizer, establishing what the called the "Organization Department." Townley obtained an inexpensive Ford automobile from friends and took to the road to meet with farmers, charging them high dues of $1 a month to become a member of the "Organization Department" — omitting mention of the Socialist Party in his appeal. Townley's efforts proved wildly successful and he was soon able to raise enough money to purchase three more automobiles and to put his own organizers in the field. While Townley expanded and prospered as a professional political organizer, the Socialist Party of North Dakota which ostensibly had employed him was less than enthusiastic. The state party was part of a national organization which charged dues of just 25 cents per month and was forced to function on a fraction of that amount and they objected to Townley's increasingly rogue political operation. The Socialist Party of North Dakota disavowed Townley's efforts and on December 15, 1914 when he and his trio of organizing associated refused to terminate their activities after being ordered to stop, Townley was expelled from the Socialist Party. ==Notable members==