Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, March 27, 1909, Page 49

i i i 3 - | N TR, " —— e A B, - R B A A S 551 8 SR AL S AL R 455 5 a5 A A SR AP 538 2 | i ‘BEMIDJI, BELTRAMI COUNTY AND NORTHERN MINNESOTA. G. H. FRENCH. Mr. French, the watchdog of the coun- ty's treasury, has commenced his third term in this office. Like the other good Republicans in the court house, Mr. French is as popular as he is well known. Mr. French, although a young man, is what might be called an old settler in this county, having resided here for thirteen years. Mr. French was one of the first commissioners of Cass ceuaty, his appointment to that responsible posi- tion having come through Gov. Clough. He always faithfully served the party with which he affiliates—the G. 0. P.— and is a leader in the ranks of that party in this section of the state, having many times been selected as a delegate to its various gatherings. Since his incumbency he has vastly improved the working system of the treasurer’s office, and to such extent that /. Deputy Public Examiner Kain recently paid him, in oral terms before the county commissioners, the highest <compliment that could be conferred upon an official —that because of Mr. French’s executive ability and systematic work and comnserv- ative policy as affects the county funds. It is upon such men as County Treas- urer French who are developing and building up this city and county, by rea- son of their public-spiritedness, liberality and foresight. The Pioneer is always gratified to laud such men and extend to them unlimited space and laudation. W. B. STEWART. County Superintendent of Schools W. B. Stewart has officiated in his present posi- tion for three years, being annually returned to the office of county superintendent of schools on the ground of capacity and pro- gressiveness. Since his incumbency the work of the schools of the county has been improved and extended, and school condi- tions generally have been advanced to a perceptible extent. - Mr. Stewart has proved himself a thor- ough and capable educator, a scholar who received his training in the Edinburgh State Normal School in Pennsylvania, the Minnesota State Unversity and other noted institutions of learning, and as a promoter of educational and twentieth century ideas he ranks among the first tutors of the coun- try.- Mr. Stewart is, in reality, one of the fore- most public instructors in the Great North- west. Alert to the exigencies of the times, painstaking in his efforts to bring about de- sired advancement and improvement in the educational world, he has filled a niche in the world of learning which will be remem- bered long after he vacates his present position. M. A. CLARK. Hon. M. A. Clark is Probate Judge of Beltrami county, representing another man of calculative genius who has figured out the great future which lies before this section of Minnesota. He was born in Dam ecounty, Wis., in the year 1869, and, coming to Bemidji in 1899 from Norman county, he remained one year, after which time he settled in Blackduck, where he made his home for four years, returning to Bemidji in 1903 to assume the responsible office of which he is now the incumbent, and a position to which he has since continually been elected. The following clipping, taken from the Bemidji Pioneer, is self-explanatory, ex- cept that since its publication in the year 1904, Judge Clark has immeasurably endeared: himself to both The Pioneer and the public alike: M. A. Clark, Judge of Probate of Bel- oo W. B. STEWART, County Superintendent of Schools. trami county, was born in southern Wis- " consin, 34 years ago. Judge Clark claims to be of American descent, as both his paternal and ‘maternal grandsires fought in the revolution and in 1812. Nine years have elapsed since he left his native state, and settled in Norman county, this state, taking up the first em- ployment that was offered, that of district school teacher. Teaching winters and working on the prairie farms in the sum- mer, was his occupation for some years, for which he was peculiarly fitted, having graduated at a Wisconsin -high school at the age of 16, and also been a farmer in that state for about six years. The judge says he first saw beautiful Lake Bemidji on the 24th day of May, 1895, while on an exploring expedition, and had ‘hiked” it from Fosston, over what he then thought to be the worst roads that ever lay out doors, but has changed his mind since his experiences with the roads in the Blackduck country. He remained at the lake ten days, and would have stayed longer but had to return to Fosston on account of an in- jury to his right hand. But he always had a ‘“hankering’” to return and did so in the fall of 1899, and has been a permanent ‘“fixture” in this country ever since. In the month of January, 1901, he cast his lot in the new town of Blackduck, where he still has inter- ests, and was a member of the first council of that flourishing burg, and prominent in the organization of their fire department and board of education, of which latter he was secretary until his election to his present position. Although he claims to be the youngest probate judge in the state, he is old in experience and knowledge of his work, having served two years as clerk of the probate court of Norman county, and nearly one year in the same capacity in this county, under the well-known Judge of Probate, ‘“Pap’” Carson, now deceased, who gave him full charge of the probate work, which was then small in comparison to the work how. Beltrami county may well feel proud having so competent and well qualified a probate judge as the present incumb- ent of that office. His kind and cour- teous treatment to all, his careful and painstaking administration of the affairs of his office, and his patience in instruect- ing and explaining their duties to those in- trusted with the administration of estates, has won for Judge Clark none but kind words, many friends and much praise. i —