The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, January 12, 1920, Page 3

In the interest of a square deal for the farmers N RS e N T DV s AT Ry e — lonpartigan Teader = Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League A magazine that dares to print the truth VOL. 10, NO. 2 _ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, JANUARY 12, 1920 WHOLE NUMBER 225 Farmers Stand Behind Their Governor North Dakota Legislature Curbs Traitor State Officials and Gives Vote of Confidence to Lynn J. Frazier Bismarck Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader. HEN the North Dakota legisla- ture adjourned its regular 1919 session, nearly a year ago, all state officials elected by the League seemed to be working in co-operation with Governor Frazier. Attorney General Wil- liam Langer and Auditor Carl Kositzky, especially, pretended to be supporting the farmers’ program to the lim- it. Because of their apparent attitude these men were given important duties in connection w1th the state’s industrial program. Within two weeks of the adJournment of the regular session, however, both Langer and Kositzky tore off their masks. Both led in the referendum campaign in an effort to beat some of the basic industrial laws. The election was won by the or- ganized farmers in spite of a campaign of unparal- leled misrepresentations, and in spite of reports of ballot box stuffing and-election frauds which Attor- ney General Langer made no effort to stop or to investigate afterwards. Following this came the attempted wrecking of the Scandinavian- American bank, the illegal jug- gling of state funds to create an apparent deficit in the general fund and a campaign of misrepre- sentation of the financial condition of North Dakota in an effort to hamper the sale of its mdustnal bonds. Through all of this Langer and Kositzky at- tempted to make farmers believe that they were not fighting the League, that they were merely, as they put it, fighting “Townley and Frazier.” They did not make this assertion “stick” with the farmers, as -was shown by the result of the referendum election. But in the minds of many people the Langer-Kositzky treachery was viewed as a sort of insurgent movement within the League. Such people wondered when a special session of the legislature was called for November, how many of the League legislators would line up with Langer and Kositzky and how many would continue to work in co-operation with Governor Frazier. LEAGUE LEGISLATORS PROVE MORE THAN 99 PER CENT LOYAL The special session answered all claims that Langer and Kositzky had succeeded in making a break in the League forces. The League legislators were better than 99 per cent loyal. Only one man in the two houses elected by the League came over to the opposition. This one man, the senator from . Morton county, is engaged in a business enterprise with Langer. The speclal session of the North Dakota legis- lature Bave Governor Frazier one of the most flat- tering votes of confidence ever given a state exec- utive in America. The governor, in: his message to the legislature, asked that a concurrent resolution be adopted-re- questing the supreme court of the United States to advance on its calendar the so-called “42 taxpay- ers’” case, attacking the validity of the state’s in- dustrial program. If this case were allowed to take its usual course it would be two years or more before a decision could be expected. The legislature adopted this resolution, almost without debate. Even the anti-League legislators did not dare to come out openly for further delays of this kind, and many of them voted with the Leaguers for the resolution. The governor also recommended the creation of a special committee of two senators and three rep- . resentatives ‘“to investigate any attempt made by individuals or corporations to destroy the credits of the state by misrepresentation of its laws or of its industrial program; also to investigate election frauds, as to fraudulent signatures on petitions, as to fraudulent use of funds, as to fraudulent voting; also to investigate the illegal and improper expenditure of state funds and to investigate il- legal acts of public officials.” Governor Frazier meant business. The creation of this committee threatened exposure of the finan- cial interests behind the League opposition. And of course the legislators representing the League opposition raised a horrible outery. They feared the exposures that a fair investigation would bring about. But the League leglslators drew up a bill to meet the governor’s proposal. They provided for Representative R. H. Walker, chairman of the spe- cial committee appointed to investigate the purchase of books for the state library. the investigating committee, authorized it to sub- poena witnesses and compel them to testify under oath and provided a fine of $5,000 and a year’s im- prisonment as penalty for failure to testify. An appropriation of $25,000 was made for the investi- gating committee and the bill was passed by both houses. The legislature went even further than the govV- ernor had asked in showing their confidence. To meet the fact that turncoat state officials were deliberately misrepresenting the financial condition of the state and its industrial enterprises, such as the Bank of North Dakota and the state-owned flour mill, the legislature passed a law making it a felony, punishable by a year’s imprisonment in the penitentiary, for a state official to “willfully publish any false statement in regard to any- of the state “departments, institutions or industries” tending to deceive the.public or to “obstruct, hinder and delay tle: various departments, institutions and mdustnulnoi the state in carrying out the in- dustrial program whlch the state of North Dakota has adopted.” 2 . PAGE THREE Governor Frazier had been attacked in the courts by a Minnesota corporation because he had seized their coal mine, among others, and operated it when it was shut down by the general coal strike. To show their confidence in their executive the legislators passed a-bill specifically authorizing him to “take any measure necessary to prevent or avert any pending disaster or calamity which threatens to destroy life or property or result in great suffering or hardship among the people of this state,” and especially authorizing him to seize any coal mine or other public utility, administer it and recompense the private owners at a rate to be fixed by the state railroad commission. “"OPPOSITION ATTEMPTS TO DODGE THE REAL ISSUES Because Attorney General Langer had misused the authority given-him to appoint special assistant attorneys general, and had failed to represent the state properly in cases in which hundreds of thou- sands of dollars’ worth of taxes were at stake, the legislature authorized the governor, rather than the attorney general, to designate and employ such special counsel as might be required. The opposition to the League was not silent at the special session. They knew the special investi- gation would be sure to uncover the truth in regard to the frauds and fund juggling practiced by the I. V. A. and their allies, the turncoat state officials. They saw Langer and Kositzky being deprived of power to block the state industrial program. The League opposition decided to start a back- fire by charging that the League administration, in charge of the state library system, was putting unfit books in the hands of school children. Rep- resentative Burtness made the charge that a list of books, which he read, advocated “socialism, an- archy and free love,” and that these books were being sent out in the circulating libraries to the school children of the state. The book most seriously questioned by Burtness was called “Love and Ethics,” by Ellen Key, a noted Scandinavian writer. Burtness declared this book taught free love. - An investigating committee was at once appoint- ed, composed of three Leaguers and two members of the opposition. All five members of this com- mittee, after spending more than a week in investi- gating, agreed on the following statement of facts: That none of the books in question had been sent out to the schools of the state and that there was no intention of sending them out to the schools. That the Ellen Key book was one of a series of five books by this author; that the first four books had been bought by the previous library administra- tion before the League took control. That all of the books criticized were stated by the librarian to be standard works generally found in the libraries of all large cities. That these books were available only to adult borrowers upon request. The committee did not attempt to go into the subject matter of the books in question. It said: “We believe in Christianity. We are unalterably opposed to any propaganda which would tend to discredit or cause disrespect for the schools, the home, the church, the state or the nation. We do not wish to censor freedom of thought or of ex- pression. or of religious liberty or speech. We do not feel competent to assume such a respons:blhty nor assume to exercise such a power. This report, agreed in by members of minority as well as by Leaguers on the committee, thoroughly discredited the fight: that had been made and the attempt to make the League responsible for opin- ions that mlght be expressed by different writers represented in the library.