The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, July 12, 1917, Page 10

Treachery of Regents is Shown Ladd Gives Details of Demand on Him by Board for His Resignation BY OLIVER S. MORRIS HE Nonpartisan Leader last week carried a report of the demand made by the board of regents on President E. F. Ladd of the North Dakota Agricultural college for his resignation. Since then there have been important developments in this matter. Immediately after the report of the action of the regents appeared in the Leader and the Fargo Daily Courier- News, the board of regents denied it in the anti-farmer press. The Fargo Forum printed a statement in which the regents said it was a fake. The Forum on its own part also ridiculed the report. The day following, however, the board of regents, in a statement far from frank and intended to be mis- leading, nevertheless did admit the existence of the plan to remove Ladd. This confirmed the Leader’s report. Three days later President Ladd himself issued a statement, in which he told frankly what had transpired. He said a flat demand has been made on him by the regents for his resigna- tion as president. He fully corroborat- ed what the Leader reported to be the facts. LADD'S REMOVAL 18 FIRST STEP IN PLOT As the matter now stands, therefore, it is admitted by the regents that there is a plan to take the presidency away from Ladd, and Dr. Ladd himself states the plan has reached a point at which he has been asked to resign. In the various developments since the Leader report last week there is much of interest. The big points are these: The removal of Ladd from the presidency of the college will make way for the appointment of a board-of-regents man to the posi- tion. . It will be full confirmation of the fear that the college is to be taken away from the farmers’ friends and turned over to others. This is the thing the board of reg- ents has planned ever since its members were appointed two years ago. This shift in the presidency, be- sides being disgrace and humilia- tion for the man who has battled for the farmers and the people, will imperil all the friends of the farmers at the college who have fought all these years to keep the college from falling under the domination of Big Business. It will clear the way for the dismissal of Bolley, Arvold, Waldron, Keene and the rest who have stood staunchly by President Ladd and by Former President Worst in their struggle for the people and against the in- terests that have sought to make this great farmers’ institution a mere peasant’s school subservient to Big Business. To show the treachery of the board ’ of regents a little history is necessary. Former President Worst was removed as president over a year ago as the first step in reducing the college to a mere farm school. The removal of Worst caused a stortn of disapproval from the people. The board of regents knew: that it- had flown in the face of the overwhelming sentiment in North Dakota when it removed Worst, the tried and true friend of the farmer and of all the people, who had spent his life in building the college to the great institution it now is. Worst had suc- cessfully fought for years to keep the college a free institution. . He had made powerful enemies *among those who wanted to make the college subservient to Big Business. . BOARD PICKS LADD TO SAVE ITS FACE The members of the board of regents saw what they had done—saw that they ‘'had humiliated and dishonored one of the most popular men in the state, The board became ‘scared at what it had done. The members realized they were in for it. The peo- ple would not stand for Worst's re- moval on any pretext whatever. So it immediately occurred to the board that in order to save its face it would have to put someone in the presidency of the college in whom the people had as much trust as they had in Dr. Worst. - They felt if they could give the job to a popular man, one as well known in the people’s fight as Dr. Worst, they could save their faces. So it was announced to the people that Dr. Ladd had been offered and had accepted the presidency. The people knew Dr. Ladd. His tireless investigation into the milling value of wheat, his fearless fight on the grain combine to obtain fair grades and his battle with big manufacturers for pure food for the people had made him famous and won for him the love and confidence of the people. Ladd had been head of the chemistry depart- ment of the college and'had been given a free hand by President Worst in carrying on the fight for the people. As expected by the members of the board of regents the announce- ment that Ladd had been appointed to the presidency of the college to succeed Worst allayed the public anger at the dismissal of the for- mer president. It was a strong card the board of regents played. At one stroke the board quieted the tumult over the discharge of Worst. As between Worst and Ladd the the college. An “acting” president is only one appointed temporarily until some other can be named and take charge. The board says that Ladd did not want it announced that he was to be acting president only, but that he wished to be announced as president of the college, to which the board says it consented. But, says the board, Ladd agreed to hand his resignation to the board at any time the board asked it. Now Ladd has not replied to this statement, IT IS PROBABLY NOT TRUE. The board was caught in one lie—its denial of the plan to oust Ladd. This may be another of its lies. It is not probable that Ladd would agree to deceive the people to save the face of the board of regents. The facts probably are that Ladd refused flatly to be made acting president and insist- ed on being permanent president or nothing. It.is inconceivable that Ladd would consent to the plan of the board to keep him in the chair of the presi- dency just long enough to reassure the people that the college was safe, and then step down and let the regents carry out their plan to reduce the standing of the college and slaughter as President of the North Dakota Agrlcultural College at Fargo say that the question of whether Ladd had enough time to act as president and also as head of the state regu- latory department was discussed, and the point brought out that the matter of enforcing the pure food laws and allied statutes is enough for one man. This then, is the reason given by the board for wanting to take the presi- dency from Ladd—that he has too much work to do. But lLadd’s.statements show that the real reason is not this at all. Ladd says that before his resigna- tion was asked the regents criticiz- , ed him for not dismissing a mem- ber of the faculty. While Ladd does not mention this faculty mem= ber, it is known that he was Dean Waldron and that the regents were angry with him because of re-; marks he made at the Tri-State ' Grain Growers’ convention in Fargo last January. Waldron in his speech criticized the North Dakota educational survey report, which report was in favor of taking the engineering courses from the col- lege and otherwise reducing it to A League Crowd and Some Automobiles Above—Part of the great crowd that met in Holman's grove, near Carrington, N. D., at a Nonpartisan league picnic two weeks ago. There were over 1000 present. Messrs. Thomason and Wood spoke. The Carrington and Bordulac bands furnished music. Below—A portion of the automobiles that carried farmers as far as 50 miles to the great Non- partisan league picnic at Swan Anderson’s grove, eight miles northeast of Oakes, N. D., to hear Mr. Thomason and other League speakers. Several hundred autos were parked near the grove during the speaking. people would not judge. They loved and- trusted both of them. While they grieved to see Worst personally sacrificed after a quart- er of a century of service, they felt the college and all it should stand for would be safe under Dr. Ladd. The safety of the college was above personalities. They knew Ladd to be a friend and supporter of Worst and they knew he would continue the college along the lines of devel- opment worked out by Worst. Such was the public feeling when it was announced Ladd was elected president of the college by the board. But now it appears that the board of regents DID NOT INTEND LADD AS THE PERMANENT HEAD OF THE COLLEGE. HE WAS MERELY AP- POINTED TO SAVE THE FACE OF THE REGENTS AND IT WAS IN- TENDED TO REMOVE . HIM K AS SOON AS THE CLAMOR OVER THE WORST DISMISSAL HAD FULLY QUIETED DOWN. This is perfectly evident: by the ad- mission of the board of the existence of the plot to remove Ladd. But the admission of the regents goes still further. THEY ADMIT THEIR OWN TREACHERY TO THE. PEOPLE IN PLAIN WORDS. TREACHERY OF BOARD ADMITTED BY THEM The statement of the board of reg- ents says that in the first place, after ‘Worst was kicked out, Ladd was of- fered only the ACTING presidency of all the farmers’ friends in the faculty. This -will be cleared up by Ladd’s statement, when it becomes necessary in his judgment to make another one. Dr. Ladd’s friends suspect that instead of. consenting to this trick to fool the people, he refused to consent to it and’ that he was MADE PRESIDENT and not merely ACTING PRESIDENT be- cause he WOULD NQT PERMIT HIS NAME AND STANDING to be used by the regents to COV‘ER uP THEIR DIRTY WORK L2 sy ANOTHER FALSEHOOD ( BY THE REGENTS ani T Regardless of wha.t Ladd’s state- ments are in regard to the a.dmxssxons of the board of regents, one thing' is proved, and that is THE. TREACHERY OF THE REGENTS. When they ad- mit that their intention was to make Ladd acting president only, whether this was Ladd’s understanding of it or not, they expose their own diabolical intrigue, They admit that they in- tended to make Ladd president only temporarily, to fool the .people for a while and: cause the. protest. over the removal of ‘Worst .to die down.. Then the regents could proceed with the rest of their sinister plans agamst the col- lege. gl The insincerity and tnckery of the board of regents is shown still further by Dr. Ladd’s statement. In their second statement, made after their first one denying the plot to remove Ladd, the regents say that the plan to remove him was discussed because he had too much work to do. They PAGE TEN a second class institution. As the board of regents intended using this report as a basis for its sinis- ter plot against the college, the board naturally considered Wald- _ron’s remarks as treason. ; ‘When Ladd not only retused tp dls-l charge Wa.ldron for this apeech but de« fended him pefore the board, the reg< ents asked Ladd for his resignation. It is plain, therefore, that 'the regents’ immediate excuse for wa.ntmg the removal; of Ladd is not that Ladd is overworked, for he is" nbt ‘but that Ladd, refused to discharge a ‘member of the faculty whose expressed opin- ions the regents wanted to control. Again the board is caunght;in a lie. LEADER HAS BOOSTED ' AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE The statement of the Bodrd ‘of regs . ents is taken up largely with a denun< . ciation of “the Nonpartisan Press,” meaning supposedly, the Nonpartisan ° Leader and JFargo Daily Courier-News, The charge is that “thé Nonpartisan Press”. has kept the conego “stirred up”, and prmted articles to'damage: it and keep, stpdents away. 'To readers'of .the, I,-ea.der this'is of éoursé ridiculous, The, Lea.der has just ‘tinished' publish= -ing a series of seven illustratéd articles, procured at great expense and trouble, - telling of the activities of the college, its faculty and students. These artis cles taken together are the best pub<« licity. and the biggest boost the: Agri= cultural college ever had. These arti< cles tell of the marveious discoverieg In agriculture the college scientists =7