The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 8, 1919, Page 3

In the interest .of a square deal - for the famers = Y 5 < Vs i ; ,_VQ,If;s,‘No.;zs_. T e Blsmarck Bnrean, Nonportlsan Leader. ~all ‘over- the United 'States on #| North Dakota’s lignite'imines are still producing on a 100 per ‘cent’ basis. The industries: of the people of the state are com- fortably: warm.: Antx-farmer newspapers within the last week ; " ation of the coal mines was losing ground; that the 1.4 . state supreme court had sought to: stop the state .7 - “operation of the mines; that: federal authontxes were opposing the North DPakota plan. : None - of" these. statements is true., '.l‘he 'facts { P are these: - coal mines November 12 Goverpor Frazier made it - for the operators nor for the miners, but only look- ing at the interests of the public. therefore, that the state would take; over ‘only: such-mines as were not be- - ing operated at the timeand that " “mines would-be returned: to the oper-- ¥~ - - ators as soon as agreement could be ‘v o reached-between the operators. and the mmers, whether. covermg all cases Or N e many single case.. - ~¥7>_ . The Washburn Lignite: Coal com-". F B - pany, & Minneapolis ‘concern, operat- ing: the largest lignite mines in the state, those at Wilton, - attempted’ to fight in the state district court the |8 seizare’ of its mines. It -attempt- - - . ed the injunction method -going. be- B "~ “fore District Judge W. L. Nuessle and - W%’ pecuring an injunction directing the g - governor to hand the Wilton mines back ‘to the opetators the followmg' week. . Bpk - William_ Lemke, on hehalf of Gov 52 ’ ernor Frazier, immediately carried the - . case before the North Dakota supreme ] ;.- court, also by the iannctmn method. 2N It was. a question of opinion ‘between. i lawyers: whether the case should ‘be <.~ . taken before the supreme court by a B ; ace A - ... writ of prohibition of by appeal from" ~A%: . the order of the district court. Since there d1d not = “ appear to be time to take an appeal before the order i ever, the. other method ‘was decided upon. . SHRES A N 1Y, supreme court, without rn!ing - “of three to two, that the mmncfion méthod was not +..the proper’ one. to use in kmg the case before ‘ : that body. : g & i "COMPANY AGREES 3:wrm. The next nz\tutal step wonld have heen to “take an appeal. However, this was not neces- “The Washhu_m eompany" ndently LK Tndustriss soe closing down ‘account of a-shortage: of fuel - the state ‘are still operating; - s _: Ahave attempted to make it appear that state oper- ~In declarmé marhal law and talnng over the: _plain in his proclamation that he was. geting neither: He .declared, it s of the district court would become effective, how- : way : ¢ _upon the main questions involved, decided, by a Yote "' Official Magazine of the.N.a‘tional Nonparti‘san League = ° ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, DECEMBER 8, 1919 = '*'N D. Fuelees ProducmglOO PerCent Twm Cities Company Agrees With Workers Following Court Proceedings and Property Is Returned—Thousands Back Frazler S ACthl‘l ber 1, 1919, and that no employe should be punished’ in - any manner for his actions in the ~events leading up to the strike. Governor Frazier’s proclamation, in-taking' over the mines; had declared that as soon as -agreement could ‘be ‘reached-between®the stnkmg miners and | the operators in: any case, the mines would be turned back’ to the owners: for pnvate operation. !Accordmgly, with' the agreement of the Wilton - miners and operators before him, and assured that,’ ‘the Wilton mine would be able to keep up 100 per cent productlon under private management as it -had" under ‘state operaticn, Governor Frazier re- ‘. turned the mine to its owners. “ating and the people: of North Dakota are getting “ the coal. It is still oper- Meanwhile. the Dakota Coal Mmlng company of .the Minot field, alleging that its‘mine was in oper- “ation when it 'was taken over by the state; started proceedings ‘in-the federal -district court at Fargo for the return of its property.. Had this allegation been true: it would have been sufficient to determine ~the case, as’ Governor Frazier ‘was acting merely “"to secure the operahon of mines which were NOT A hgmte vem m North Dakota. 2 ,gomg concems under private management How- ; ~ever, it was brought-out during the hearing of the . ~case at Fargo that the mine wasnot being operated, ' = certainly not to capacity, when lt was sexzed and “put into’ operatmn by the state. =~ 3 “The real issue in this case is whether or not all the people of the state could have secured cogl and / not been: in danger. of suffering and freezing t6 - - dgath if the 'governor had not seized the hg'mte "mmes’," Judge Amidon declared.: ‘The failure of the Washburn company s tesi suit 'to be brought 10 a conclusion has not stopped other t8: citizens, Copies of the order of the district d form and TO STOP WORK ON BOOKS " ity 'with books and procedure, were induced to stop “ 7 done. your - duty what would my chance have. ; been of getting fuel, and. thousands lxke me, if "/ %on the job.” - coal companies from attemptmg to:use the injunc- tion process to block the state from supplying: coal’ ’ court action proved: a' boomerang when ‘Federal tjdg m:_”the Washburn case’have been gotten out 2 rinte nd efforts’ are bemg made to- get : “fneudly” ‘district dges (frieudly 10, the local com- A magazine that dares to print the truth || S SRy WHOLE NUMBER 220 ‘in_any case; whether an exlstnng sxtuatlon de- mands the declaration of martial law- and ne . duty of this nature devolves upon either the supreme court or the district court. ‘The at- ' tempt _to secure injunctions to interfere with the mining* of coal is locked upon as merely - one part of a general- campmgn of spite work which has been marked in the case of many of the mine: operators, ever since the state selzed the mines. OFFICE WORKERS INDUCED In some cases members of the office force whose presence was 'necessary on account, of their familiar- work. In other cases attempts were made to pad the payroll so that state coal mining would be made: to appear: unprofitable. In still other instances prices of miners’ supplies, purchased from the com- pany by miners working by the ton, were advanced in an effort to dampen the spirit of the miners for government operation; | All of these attempts have been blocked and the injunction process also will be beaten. = i Meanwhile North Dakota is getting - ",?‘ its coal. It goes. without saying that ! the common people of the state are: | well satisfied "with the governor’s acs: e tlon. i - An attempt has been made to show: |1 that the federal government was op- ‘ posing the: North: Dakota plan. But 5:‘ when Attorney General A, “Mitchell . Palmer was notified by Governor | Frazier that the state had taken over ‘the mines, the “attorney ' general re- plied: “Reeelpt aehlowledged of yo,ur' < wire advising that you have taken . over the coal mines in your state.. As at-present advxsed, see No oc~ - easion . for action by departme‘t' ¢ of ]ustlce. “PALMER.” But best representmg the ' way 3 vNorth Dakota in the main looks at. it 48 a telegram that Governor Frazier -received from ‘a Fargo manufaeturer. He wired the governor: = - - ~“Fargo, November 24, &1 “Received my car of lignite to- = | “day. . Was ordered two'.months ago.. When strike was.called I had coal enough in my fac-: tory and house to last 24 hours. If you hadn’t’ . -you had not been on the jo : A “ALBERT HOILAND_ There are. dozens of other letters -and telegrams. . like these, commending a governor who is etemally ) And Frazier is still on the job and North Dakota is still getting coal, and will continwe to get it. | f The attempt. of the Dakota Coal Mining eompany“; ‘to' halt the . state’ opexatlon of mines by federal’ " -Judge Amidon handed ‘down ‘a decision ‘supportmg “the action of the 'governor. Judge Amidon refused “toissuea permanent injunction to restrain the sta -from’ operatmg its mines and also refused a tem porary mJunctxon pendmg an appeal to a lugher Waslungbon “failed ‘when the nuners‘-rejeoted ernment plan fora- 14 per ' T8 T fitners’. off 1.