Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1904-06-10
EMM0NS COUNTY RECORD.
BY D. r. STREETER.
Linton, North Dakota. /.

The Record is entered at the Linton POST
office as secOnd-ciass matter.
THE MIX-UP IN KIDDER.
BRADDocK N. D., May 81. 1904.
To the Editor Of the Record:
DEAR SIR: have read with a great
deal of pleasure and satisfaction your
editorial edtitled "a Rank Decision,"
in last Fridays Record, and wish to
congratulate you on the square and
open stand you have taken against
robbery in high places; for, assuredly,
the unseating Of the fairly elected
delegates from Kidder county to Fargo
was nothing short of robbery, and far
more dangerous to the party and to
the people than the dangerous prece-
dent" the Bismarck Tribune preached
upon in its issue of May 14th. That
they were fairly elected any one inter-
ested can easily ascertain by inquir-
ing Of any informed citizen of Kidder
county, with tile exception of a very
few of Mr.. Lyons closest adherents.
Even some of those who were his sup
porters up to and during the conven-
tion now say that they are sorry hav-
ing taken part In the unseemly riot
led by Mr.. Lyons at Steele on April
18th.
That I happened to. be present at
that convention was purely accidental;
my brother James and myself being
on our way to the northern part of
Stutsman county. What I and every
one else present saw and heard was .
convention called to order in a reg
4lar manner and the usual prelimina-
ries gone through with. Several yeas
and nays had been called, in which
the ten delegates marshaled by Mr..
Lyons took part, trying by the loud
ness of their calls to make up for the
paucity Of their numbers. Then,
amid noise, profanity and excite
ment, those ten men carried on sham
convention, every action being die.
tated by Mr.. Lyons, even to the Or
dering Of his sham chairman, with
startling emphasis, to get up and
stand up on certain high table.
1t was sight to make any Ameri-
can blush with shame, and one which
I wish from my heart I had never
seen. 9
stated at the close of the conven-
tion that did not believe Mr.. Lyons
would of his own accord have con-
Quoted that disgraceful masquerade,
il he had not received powerful en-
couragement and assurances from out
side sources. The sequel shows that
he had not been misled as to the sup
port the majority of the state central
committee would give him, provided
he came there with any form Of q
contest. That majority "digged a
pit for their brother'-and a deep
one-bYt they haven't got him buried
yet, and surely they themselves will
fill the hole, for this rotten decision
Of theirs will 90 farther than much
talking and lobbying to place upon
our statute books the measure you
have so consistently advocated-the
primary-election law.
If this measure for which there is
such urgent need should fail of pass
L 2Sge, will not the question be raised In
our state Of North Dakota, as it is
being very persistently raised in the
state Of Missouri-the great, plain
questions: sDo the people rule? Will
they-can they-rule?"
With direct-primary law in force,
the state central committee will not
again have quite so good a chance to
administer to us such a nauseating
dose Of "party ethics'' as they tried
to give us the other day.
To turn away from this dangerous
ground, I will say that I am glad that
was present at our Emmons county
convention at Linton, there to see
what have often seen in our county
conventions before: the victors. and
the vanquished on fair field carry
themselves like men and Americans.
In conclusion, and taking the cue
from your article, I also beg to assure
the Bismarck Tribune that neither
the ten delegates from Emmons coun.
ty nor the voters Of tile Twenty.sixtt
Senatorial district can be build
h0nphf, Or hnncned5 81
Respectfully, DuaALD; CAMPBELL,
IN REPLY.