The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 25, 1916, Page 9

Lt ) .and hence I am in full sympathy with given me by the farmer delegates ‘of the " Farmers Nonpartisan League came to me - -KOSITZKY UNPLEDGED He Has Made no Promises and Was ; Asked for None i-\»Editor Nonpartisan Leader: During the past three or four weeks ‘various papers have intimated that the candidates indorsed by the Nonpartisan’ Eeagte were required to make promises %o the League’s officials for the indorse- ‘ment they received. Having received the indorsement of ‘the League as their candidate for the office of state auditor, I wish to make a statement to the public in justice due the officials of the Nonpartisan League that I have mever been asked by any reprex Bentative of the League to sign any Pledges or to make any promises. of any kind whatsoever in order to secure the. indorsement of the League. Having farmed myself, I am in sym- pathy with the farmers’ movement and «if the delegates of the League had seen - fit to indorse some other person than myself for state auditor I would have dropped out of the race and boosted the League’s candidate. I am not saying this now but said it long before I received the indorsement. _Bismarck, May 13. MADE NO PROMISES League Indorsement Came to'Macdonald - Without Solicitation - Editor Nonpartisan Leader: The_indorsement of the Nonpartisan League came to me unsolicited and with- out_any. promises or pledges being asked me'by the League officials or any of their representatives; and I did not give any. When I first learned of my indorsement by ‘the League, I was in Dickey county on business connected with my regular work. : : That my record as a school man, cover- Ing a period of over twenty years in the state, should meet with the approval of such a large body of farmers is highly gratifying to me; and that they should give me their unsolicited and unanimous indorsement I appreciate very greatly. As a son of a pioneer farmer in this state who went to his grave some twenty years before his time, due largely to un- favorable farming conditions, I have come up through hard and biting poverty any movement that tends to make more profitable and congenial the ‘lot of all people who must work hard for a living whether it be in town or country. My record has shown that I stand for equality of opportunity for all the child- ren of the state to attend good schools, and I presume this is the chief reason why the League indorsed my candidacy. Very truly yours, Valley City, May 14, "TO REPUBLICANS Proud of League’s Indorse-: ~ ment : To'the Republican Voters of No: Dakota: 4 2 To the charges preferred by some of the newspapers of thé state, that a'can- didate, in order_to get the indorsement Kraabel is of the ‘Farmers’ Nonpartisan League . must sign a pledge to Support their can- didates and live up to their platform, T for one can say that the indorsement - absolutely without any solicitation on my part and without any promises being asked or given. This indorsement was just as voluntary as that of the various: temperance organizations of the state, and'T stand on my own platform, and if nominated and elected I shall endeavor to discharge the duties of the office T seek to : A PLAIN STATEMENT BY L. E. BIRDZELIL, Editor Nonpartisan Leader: During the past few weeks I have noted in some of the news- papers statements to the effect that the candidates for the office of judge ‘of the supreme court indorsed by the Nonpartisan League were required to make certain promises and to commit themselves in advance to a certain program relative to judicial questions which might arise in connection with legislation favored by the League. These statements amount to a charge that candidates for the highest judicial office in the state have agreed in advance to violate their oaths of office and te sell justice in exchange for political sup- port. _ The seriousness of such a charge cannot be exaggerated and L. E. Birdzell, candidate for Supreme Court it is difficult to believe that those responsible for the statements published could have reflected much upon their gravity. In view of these statements I deem it my duty as a candidate to set forth the facts relating to the League’s indorsement of me in so far as I am familiar with them and would respectfully ask the Leader to co- operate in giving this statement publicity to the end that the public may be fully informed. g : I was never interviewed or approached either before or after receiving the indorsement, by any officer, agent, or representative of the League in regard to my position. Not only were no prom- ises exacted or asked for but no efforts were made to ascertain my attitude upon any public or judicial question. I was not assured in advance that I would be indorsed, nor did I in any way solicit the indorsement. I was not even acquainted with any officer of the Nonpartisan League at the time of the indorsement nor did I meet any of them personally for more than a month after the convention. The statements referred. to .are absolutely without foundation in fact and should no longerbe permitted to-go unchallenged. : . *of unworthy motives than would the fact of indorsement by political The right of evéry man, whether farmer-or otherwise, to organize in furtherance of his own interests is as fundamental in government as.is the right to suffrage itself. A ; . I appreciate highly the compliment of the indorsement and I esteem it. an honor to be thought worthy of the office for which I have been indorsed. I am glad that my public record is such as to for a’position: demanding the highest quality of public service, I.am sure that the officers and members of the Nonpartisan for their action and that the League quite as much as any other political or -civic. orgamization .- .- - e stands first and last for judicial e S - Very truly yours, - S Grand Forks, May 16, 1916. ERERTH AT ‘ % : The fact that a candidacy is indorsed by the ‘Farmers’ Nonpar- . tisan Political League no more warrants the charge-or imputation organizations of other sorts with which the public is more familiar. - meet the approval of the League as manifested by the indorsement League righteously resent all attempts to ascribe unworthy motives: 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000006000 24 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000006 - ..........Q‘............q.\.O.....'..........................O.................... -~ » the best interest of all the people of the state as I see it. It has come to a sorry plight in thix state if it disqualifies a candidate for the office he aspires to if his candidacy re« ceives.the approval and indorsement of an organization of framers, be thefr number large or small. port of the farmers of this state as well as that of every other citizen of the state who believes in justice to the farmm ers and all the people of the state, Respectfully, Candidate for the Republican nominas tion for Liéutenant Governor. MADE NO PROMISES. Johnson Had No Intimation He Was tg be Indorsed. Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I wish that you would publish for me. a reply to the gang.papers and the kept press. They claiming that the League’s candidates were required to make cer- tain promises before they could secure indorsement from the League. In my case no one ever asked me to make any promises or even suggest that I was even to be nominated for any state office. Another charge they are making is relative to the competency of the League’s nominees, .a good many of them having no previous political experience,; I for one feel’ " proud and honored to receive the sup« My opinion is that.the old line polis ticians have had too much political ex« per_i,egce to .serve the greatest number of. people to hest advantage. ; I have met a good many of the Non-« partisan candidates none of whom had any previous- knowledge or expectation of being nominated and I thinE that the farmers need not worry about the éx« perience of their candidates, as they will undoubtedly- have plenty of political sug+ gestions made to them-by the old gang after they have been elected. My observation is that the League’s candidates will ‘be elected and that the farmers will have a chance to try out the benefits of their own organization.— - M. P. JOHNSON, Republican Candidate for Railroad Commissioner Indorsed by, the League. | £ ] LEAGUE DEFENDERS WIN Sincerity of ‘Affirmative in Debate Car« ries Conviction . On Tuesday, May 9, there was held in the usual bi-weekly convocation of the Model high school of the University a debate on the Nonpartisan League. The question was, “Will the Nonpar« taisan League Benefit North Dakota ?” The affirmative was carried by Stanley Tornbolm of Northwood (whose father was a delegate to the Fargo convention) and Gordon Torrey from Drayton. The negative was carried by Einar Einarson of Mountain, and John Iverson of Grand “Forks. The debate was very spirited and occupied the full time usually given to the convocation. The judges made up of. the faculty rendered a unanimous decision ‘for the affirmative. . The debate was won by the conviction and enthusiasm of the speakers and by their presentation of the program of the League rather than by their superiority as debaters as they were matched with an able and experienced debater in Mr. Einarson, who is one of the best students and debaters in the senior class of the ~ high school. .The applause that was given to thé - affirmative showed that they had the | sympathy of the audience. It seemed “that the side of the affirmative struck a -sympathetic note in ‘the young people who were present, who being the sons and daughters of-farmers of the state, were able to appreciate what the Leagua “is trying to do: EVERYONE READS -the Leader in ~this locality—F. S. HORLACHER. B E‘League Candidates ‘Tfheir_' Own Masters TIRER S %-va.~1~3-¢0004’\‘rsk'?Ai%i4'ee;..g:t,pe'ons-'»epq%trh,iur.v.\-.v*;r:‘-.‘,.a.,..; SN i S 7 AT U LTS