The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 9, 1916, Page 5

- staté emergency board, . that Linde: rendered: it to. hi es al - could'not be reached to: verify or deny Attorney General Digs Up Technicality to Stop Pay of Man Who Found Out Sensational Facts By Leader Staff Correspondent . Bismarck, March 7.—Just as he was in the midst of investigations which promised to make it uncomfortable for railroads and telephone corporations operating in Noxth Daketa, J. A. Lit- tle, rate expert of the state railroad commission, finds his pay cut off, Working through = State Auditor Jorgenson and Attorncy General Linde, somebody has succeeded in put- ting a stop to some of the most impor- tant work, from a shippers’ and con- sumers’ point of view, that the state has undertaken in some time. Rate Expert’ Little’s pay warrants were stopped February 21 by Auditor Jorgenson, on the opinion of’ Attorney General Linde holding that Little was drawing salary illegally. Sinece then state officials have been busy passing the buck as to who is responsible for requesting the.legal opinion that has stopped Little’s work. Considerable mystery has surround- ed the move against the rate expert and while Attorney General Linde came forward with an explanation to- day there are still hints of sinister influences. LITTLE HAD UNCOVERED SOME STARTLING FACTS Among other things Little has been conducting an investigation: of railroad rates that would affect any cooperat- ive packing plant started in the state, especially with reference to. the plant the Equity.is about to establish. He ran across the startling fact that railroad rates are such on the live stock and on the finished products of' a packing plant that the: establish- ment of a plant in: North. Dakota, is practically prohibited. He found that . practically all the rates he has looked: into. so: far would. meke a packing, lant in North Dakota pay more ight on live stock shipped: in: from: - points in North Dakota than a packing - .p'lant in St. Paul would have to pay shipping' the- same: live stock fronr [ the same North Dakota. points. to -St.. Paul. He also found that the finished packing house products can he shipped from St. Paul to almost any point in North Dakota cheaper than a plant in North Dakota. could ship them ‘te the same points. With, this handicap a. cooperative packing plant in this state would not be able: to: compete: with: the St. Paul firms,. desx}ite the fact. it would' be nearer the farms where live stock is produced and: nearer the: peo-- ple whe. would. consume. the finished. product.. Little is not- through with this in- vestigation, but he has been in corres- pondence with some of the Equity men who are boosting a cooeperative plant and with others, so that what he has been doing has leaked out. The result of the investigation prem- ised: some ¥igorous action against the railroads in regard to these rates and’ it is: being- openly charged that some- one whe: has: some 8?1111, has. heen. busy getting Little’s scalp for this reason. The opinien te Auditor Jorgensom advises: the: latter that, he: should. stop, Little’s pay ox run the danger of being: personally Hable- for contenancing: am ' 1llegal appropriation. § The attorney general’s apinion is ' based on technicalF grounds, mvolving legal points as to the authority of the , Which. made the appropriation. for Little’s salary, and as to: the: right of Little to dvaw- ay after the. immediate emer; ;fi( gor his employment has expired. Linde: claims; it: has: expired: and: that: Little. can. not. longer be employed, in spite of the fact a two-year salary appropriation was made for a rate expent and Little hined for that length of time last summenr. The opinion states: that, Auditor-Jor-~ enson: asked: that it be rendered. Jorgenson, demurred at this, claiming he fid‘ never- asked the: opinion, but itously. . Linde then wrote Jorgenson * - a letter admitting- that Jorgenson had: not: asked the opinion and taking all the blame for writing the opinion un- - asked, but declaring that Theodore - Koffel, said to: be - attorney for the Pensonal Liberty- league, had made ; co?npraiht aboug the 'a/lfeged‘ illegal . drawing of salary. : ; is. also .the manager in < Koffel North Dakota of the Estabrool presi-- niial campaign. Koffel, who resid- > a&m:;lmk% out of the city and" TOMMY POOLE, BISMARCK POLITICIAN, BEHIND ATTACK ON LITTLE Bismarck, March 7.—W. H. Stutsman, veals. some of the interests back of the mo Mr. Stutsman denounced Tominy Poole as one of those nection with the state. Poole is a Bismarek politician and ac tion which has sought and is seeking to restore the saloons in. North Dakota. Poole was manager for the gubernatorial ca of the resubmission to the people of the prohibiti chairman of the state railroad commission, in a statement today re- ve to. put Rate Expert, Little out of office. particularly active in severing Mr. Little’s ¢on- tive in the Personal Liherty league, the organiz- mpaign last election of J. H. Wishek, avowedly an advocate on question and backed by the Liberty league in his campaign. It is claimed Poole and Theodore Koffel, the latter attorney for the league, have both interested them- has no right to draw pay. selves in: getting Linde to. write the opinion holding Little Mu. Stutsman’s statement follows: “It is especially unfortunate that Mr. Little should be made the object of directed against him but against the commission, knows, and if it does not, it should know, that the attorney general’s opinion cf Mr. Jergenson, the auditor, nor of the emergency board, hut was rendered upon the request of Tom Poole, who i3 the scif-constituted mentor for all of the officials of the & for an opportunity to.fasten something upon the railroad commission. “The commission declines to acquiesce in the attorney general’s constituting himself the emergencey board end arbitrarily determining that the emergency on which Mr. Little was employed no longer exists. “The fund apropriated by the emergency board for Mr. Little’s salary and the auditor has no authority to withhold the warrant. with the expectation that his term of service would contin ing thrown up: his former position and accepted the cne te pect that his services would be retained for the full term contemplated.” the charge that he instigated the move against Little. ! “I know the railroad commission needs a rate expert”, said Attorney General Linde to the Leader corres- pondent. “I rendered the opinion solely on legal grounds and have no feeling in the matter. I am willing “Woodman, Spare That Tree” to take all the blame for initiating the matter, if necessary. My opimion is sound in every respect. “If the railroad commission wants to retain Little. it can go before the emergency board again, and: get an appropriation for carrying on the new work he is: now doing. The emerg- engy refgr his. original employment: has expired. : mwa W R “as it. is, nat. as T woul e it. - Little’s. services’ may be needed and probably. are: and he is: doubtless lawyer ¥ must; state - doing good work, but I had to render the opinion on the facts and the law. Theodore Koffel, attorney for the Per- sonal Liberty league, first brought the matter to my attention.” It is understood Commissioner Stutsman will place the matter before the state emergency board. “Of course: the: 'state needs: a. rate - expert”, saidi Secretary of State Hall, member of the emergency commission. . “I used to be secretary of the railroad: commission: and: I know- the need: for such a man as well as. anyhody.. We,. as an emergencmard’, made the ap- propriation: for Little’s salary for:two, years and that still stands, “I should: like to see Little: mandam- us the auditor to.pay his salary and get this thing: inbe count: to; smoke outr » i £ = : " employed’ the present attack, since it was. not or individual members of it. Of course the public at large was not rendered upon the request ate and fer some time past has been locking belongs to the raiiread commission The commission employed Mr. Little in good faith ue for two years.from last July, and Mr. Little, hav- ndered by the railroad commission, had a right to. ex- off Little’s work. Let them come out in the open. Furthermore I don’t be- lieve the auditor can legally stop this warrant of Little’s. If it’s stopped the emergency board must do it and we have taken no action—the appro- priation still stands, and Little’s em- ployment was authorized for two years from last summer:” In adition. to other work, Little has started the: investigation of telephone rates, which were placed under Jjuris- dietion -of the railroad commisgion by the last. legislature and has made the discovery that rank discriminations exist in the state on long distance charges. The cutting off of his. pay and his being forced fo- quit has stap- ped absolutely the work of ' the rail- road, commission along the lines above mentioned and' along many other lines; g 5 TWO- YEAR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED BY BOARD Littlp was employed: last summex by the railvoad: commissioners; after the - commissjoners had been granted an appropriation of about $4600-for the employment of* a. rate: expert. for two years. -The appropriation was made available by the state emergency board,, consisting: of the governow, sec- -retary of state and. state auditor, who Ve power to make emergeney appro- riations: Between: sessions, -of . the -legislature, In getting the emergency appropriation the -commission cited the fact: that. the: lignite coal: rate: case had been reversed and that the legis- lature ltad: placed jurisdiction-of- tele- » companies: in the: commision’s ¥ ds;, Wi lout. providing, for a rate expert' to handle the mass -of- work negessarny: i gething- out. new coal -rakes. and going -into the, telephone situatiom. > The attorney: general at that time said the.emergency . could, legal- -ly hire the. expert for the’ coal rate work; because that was a. contingency that arose. after the: legislature met and- which the legislators could’ not ‘foreses. But he ruled: that: the tele- - phone imxestigntiox_m Wwas:not an.emerg- ency. in the. meaning of the law, be- cause: the legislature itselff prowided for this extra work for the commission and hence -knew. about it and, knowing - -it;, refused to authorize a rate expert. So Little was hired for two years. Just. before Governor Hanna' went away last fall on the Ford peace junket -he got an opinien from the at- - torney general holding- that since. the coal rate- investigation was ower the 'emergencw which. Little hrad' been ' passed' and: that he could not legally draw: any more salary.. The, governor at. that time inform- ed-members of the railroad commis- ~sion that ke had not-asked for:an opin- don-on- this subject and that the attor- ney. general’s advise was gratuitous. ‘The: ‘governor left the state and no -action: was taken: at: that time. The - opinion” of the attorney general February: 19 was' the next step. The latter: opinion.was based: on, the same reasoning as. the former ome to; the ' ‘governor. = - - Governor- Hanna, was: in the Twin Cities-and. could. nat be:interviewed in _regard to the mater. . |