Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-03-25
STATE CONSTITUTION AUTHOR.

STATE CONSTITUTION AUTHOR.
Written Under the Direction 81 )
Wall Street Lawyer and al the In.
stance Of the Late Henry Willard.
Grand Forks Herald Dist: John b.
Blair, secretary Of the College Of Law
Iof the University Of North Dakota
for several years, who Is now located
at Spokane, In letter to the Herald,
calls attention to a speech delivered
on the occasion Of the presentation to
the Harvard law school Of portrait
tof the late Prof, James Bradley
Thayer. The speaker was Henry w.
Harden, and he said: III
Some fifteen years age Prof.
Thayer performed a piece Of work by
no means unimportant, for which so
far as know, he has not vet received
public credit. In 1889 the Territory
Of Dakota was about to be admitted
to the union as to states. Mr.. Henry
Willard was at that time chairman Of
the finance committee of the North
ern Pacific railway, the most import
ant corporation operating in that ter
ritory. He was sincerely DESTROYS
that the two new states should have
the best constitution which could be
framed for them, and with this pur-
pose in mind he consulted Mr.. Char
les G. Beaman, then one of the lead
ers Of the New York bar. Mr.. Bea-
man advised him that if he could get
Prof. Thayer to draft a constitution
for. the new states, they would have
the benefit of all that expert knowl-
edge and sound judgment could &C.
complish in that respect. Prof.
Thayer undertook the task. His draft
constitution was submitted to the two
conventions and was in large part
adopted by them. The legislative
article in the constitution of North
Dakota, for example, was substantial,
ly word for word the language of
Prof. Thayer:s draft. r..
"You may think that it is singular
that the authorship of work Of this
character should wait until this time
for public disclosure. The fact is,
that it seemed prudent when the
work was doing to conceal its author.
ship. Though Mr.. Willard moved only
by single hearted desire to promote
the welfare OF two states, it was fear
ed that a draft-constitution prepared
by an eastern college professor, un'
der the direction of Wall Street
lawyer, and at the instance of the
head of the largest corporation in the
territory, might fail of adoption If its
authorship were known; that the PEG.
pie whom it was designated to benefit
might entertain the suspicion that a
constitution so prepared, however fair
on its face, concealed some sinister
attack upon their property rights.
The two constitutions have been in
force some Is years. Their merits
have been proved in that time. But
two amendments have been made to
the North Dakota constitution, and
one of these Incorporates clause
from Prof. Thayer's draft omitted by
the constitutional convention. The
principal actors in this scheme to
help the people of the Dakotas are
now all dead, and I am the only sur
vivor of the two men who were en-
gagged in the preliminary work under
Prof. Thayer's direction. The occas
ion for concealment of the origin Of
these constitutions has now passed
and the facts / have narrated should
not be lost for lack of a record
emf. Blair in closing. this letter
says that he had most valued &C
quaintance with Prof. Thayer. He
had simple dignity, genuine cordi.
ality, a lack of selfconsciousness,
which made him the most delightful
of friends. Mr.. Blair says that his
admiration for the man makes it a
pleasant task for him to bring his
services to North Dakota to general