The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 3, 1916, Page 9

e The latest move of the “Good Government league,” the new secret organization put in the field to oppose the farmers’ movement in North Dakota, is an attempt to get all candidates for office, including those 1 dorsed by the farmers, to fill out a blank, purporting to be for the information of the public as to the personal history of the candidates and their qualifications for office. This blank is being sent to candi- dates, with the request that it be filled out and returned to N. B. Black, publicity agent and secretary of the anti-farmers’ movement. .. While the new league states in its letters accompanying this blank that it does not intend to “indorse” any candidates, but merely is going to publish the records and histéry of all candidates, a well-formed plan to influence voters in a round-about way is believed to be back of the The North Dakota Government League does not seek to dictate, dominate or select eandidates, for public positions. Its purpose Is to investigate candidates, without favor or prejudice. It 'has no friends to reward nor enemies to punish, and will seek only to tell the truth about men and measures. L I NFo RMATION : - rorTHE e s L . NORTH DAKOTA GOOD GOVERNMENT LEAGUE CONCERNING : A " (Write Name Plainly) ot st e cmeiaes e aotese e et e e e W Candidate fok: o SIS S AL Tt S B s : _’anlm N S ST R M e i e XTI %, Proabnt Rasldenon; oun s L i T e R s S e - PO T e e R S i = 1t is desired that the questions herein be answered as fully as possible, that complete and reliable information concerning the candidate shall be available. If the blank spaces left for answers are insufficient for the fullest information please use the last page of this blank for additional details. It is our purpose to obtain complete and reliable information concerning every candidate and give it to the voter without coloring, criticism or comment, that he may make his own conclusions on the merits of the record. Please sign it, after-filling out, and return in the enclosed self-addressed envelope. NORTH DAKOTA GOOD GOVERN?I LEAGUE. This is the front page of the “information blank” sent out by the G. G. league for the purpose of gathering material for an attack upon the candidates of the Non- partisan League. Candidates who have received these letters resent this attempt of an organization hostile to the interests of North Dakota to collect ammunition for a campaign to be conducted by means of a big slush fund whose origin is kept secret. 7S proposition. It is doubtful if very :many candidates, especially those “Information Wanted”-—By G C League believed to be far from the real purpose. It is known on good authority| that those back of the movement against the farmers’ program intend, | if possible, to use such information as they get from candidates they are | opposed to to trap them, supplementing what the candidate sends about \ himself with outside facts and writing it up for publication in such a ! way as to reflect on the candidates they want to “get.” f : The Good Government league started out by a dirty attack on the farmers and their movement, as proved by the correspondence of the organization exposed-in the Leader. It followed this up by refusal to ! divulge for the public its source of income and the names of P its backers. While the new league has changed its entire policy, so far ® as surface indications show, and now pretends not to be fighting the farmers, the Leader has shown in past articles and is showing in this issue the real purposes of the organization. For this reason candidates . and others do not believe that the present purported movement to gather and print information about candidates is an honest effort to inform the public. ' They look on it with suspicion and many candidates ~ will have nothing to do with it. ; il H - It has been hinted by those who claim to know the real plans of the Good Government league that it intends to approve of some of the can-’ didates indorsed by Nonpartisan League—a very few of them, simply, to give a false air of fairness, but in the main to give out information adverse to the men the farmers have indorsed, and to oppose, so far as they dare, the program the farmers have mapped out for the next legis-« lature.- And they intend to do all this with a false claim of fairness and public spiritedness, to fool the voters so far as possible. INSULTING QUESTIONS ASKED The blank sent to candidates requires information in great detail. The candidate is asked to give his age, place of birth, nationality of parents and state whether he is an American citizen, which of course he would have to be or he couldn’t be a candidate for public office in the United States. Church and party affiliation is asked and in the case of the latter the Good Government league wants to know if the candidate has ever changed parties, and if so when and where, with exact dates. If foreign born he is expected to give date of arrival in America and how long he has lived in North Dakota. _ ; He is asked to give all the occupations he ever engaged in and whether he ever held or ran for public office, and how many votes he got each time. He is then asked to give his qualification for office, and in the case of candidates for the supreme court the Good Government league wants to know how many cases they have tried in district and supreme courts and how important they were. He is asked if he is a stockholder or official in any corporation doing business in the state. “NO ENEMIES TO PUNISH” ' Other questions include schools or colleges attended and dates of - graduation, date of marriage and size of family and many other items of personal history. In addition a space is left for the candidate to give any additional information he may desire about himself. An envelope addressed to the Good Government league and with a stamp already affixed on it is kindly enclosed for the candidate to send in his answer. A striking statement on the blank is that the new league has “no friends to reward nor enemies to punish.” The truth of this can indorsed by the farmers, will fill out the blank as requested by the new readily be judged by reading the name_s'of the list of men on the secret league. Some candidates already have scented a covert attempt to mis- eXecutive committee of the league, which the Le_ader,_ after much effort represent them and have declared their intention of having no traffic 2nd despite being refused the facts, was able to obtain. ‘ whatever with an organization resorting to the secret plan and question- able methods practiced so far by the new league. - WHAT A CANDIDATE SAYS. “It is not that I resent being asked the questions in regard to my record and personal history,” said one candidate on learning. of the “Good Government” scheme. “The public is entitled to that and I am willing to fill out the blank in full and give it to the Leader or any news- paper that will print it in full, but I do not recognize the right of a secret organization of this kind, which has concealed its 'membgrship g and about candidates. . , L .. “So far as the so-called Good Government league has announced; just two men are connected with it—Morton Page and N. B. Black. Why _have the others in this: organization, if there are ‘any others, been ashamed to come forward and state their connection with the league and its real purposes? What right have men to form a secret political organization of this kind, refuse: the public information concerning their name and objects, and then, in-the name of good government, attempt a comprehensive plan of ‘investigating’ candidates ‘for the information of the public’? I do not intend to have any business with such an organization. I probably will. fill out the blank, but I will offer it for publication myself, before it is edited in secret by this new league.” : REAL PURPOSE CONCEALED The new league states on its blank for candidates that “information concerning every candidate” will be given by it to the public, “without - coloring; criticism or. comment, that the voter may make his own con- . elpsions.” Candidates are led to believe that the information they send . in on the blank will simply be compiled and published, but this is misrepresented its purposes, to ask for, collect and edit information” .....O..‘...,............................Ob...."‘...‘.. Frazier Dates Cancelled Early harvesting operations have made necessary a change in the speaking plans of Lynn J, Frazier, the farmers’ candidate and Republican nominee for governor of North Dakota. - Mr. Frazier and Mr. Manahan have decided to cancel all the meetings arranged for dates subsequent to the present week. Mr. Frazier is filling the dates arranged for this week at Dunn Centei: July 31, at Golden Valley August 1, at Hebron August 2, at Mott August 3, at New England August 4 and concluding with Bowman on Saturday August 5. - ~ ° * Mr, Frazier on his return from Bowman will stop at Mayville next Monday, August 7, and will deliver the address heretofore scheduled for August 17 at that place. e o ~ The change in Mr. Frazier’s plans cancels the following dates: ettinger, August 7; Flasher, August 8; Judson, August 9; Fort’ ice, August 10; Linton, August 11; Wishek, August 12; Kulm, ugust 13; Wahpeton, August 14; Walcott, August 15; Casselton, ugust 16; Mayville, August 17; Adams, August 18. No meetings ill be held at these places on the dates mentioned. e Mr. Frazier expects to resume his speaking campaign in the rly autum, as.soon as conditions on the farms make it possible: - for the farmers to come out to hear him. At that time these towns which have made arrangements to welcome Mr. Frazier and must be disappoint_:ed for the present will be favored in the arrangement - Res] g g o of dates. (] oio,,o_g(_obp_ooop_o oop‘ooogoooooq.‘_ooocooooooooooqooéo’ooooooq.ooo ‘o906pooooqéooqooooopooodéoopocdooooo.ooooooooooqoooooooo L 4 5