Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-09-18

'ublic meeting held at Grand Forks
September 18th, at which the demo-
ratio, nominees began their public
speaking campaign" is credited by the
evening, Press, Tin which appeared
lis speech in fully, with having used
he following language:
"The men in the minority and
who are seeking Office for the
: spoils Of office will not stay in the
minority ) party for any great T.
length of time because 1t don't
!, pay. They leave that party and !
go into the dominant party for the
sake of office, We had perhaps
most useful man, now that the
machine has got in Bismarck,
man who came to this state a :
democrat-R. N. Stevens bril-
liant lawyer, the. man who two
years ago made the fight upon the
3, floor of the, house in the legisla-
&. tive assembly against the passage !
-. of the Primary Election law. The I
g man, who as soon as the legisla-
= tive assembly adjourned, was ap-
: pointed assistant attorney general
and the man who is today running /.
again on the republican ticket for
the house so that he may be there
3 again this winter to fight the
primary election law. Perhaps =.
& the most useful man to the re- :
publican machine today is r. N
Stevens on account Of his ability
and his willingness to do this
+ work for them za.. ..s f. p. ID
appreciate the gentleman's higf
estimate of my ability which is nj
doubt much higher than would BIZ
placed upon it by either my party o.
my Immediate constituency. I thinl
no doubt that after my TWENTY-FIVE.
years service in the ranks Of thu
republican party many of my &C
quaintances will be surprised to learl
that 1 ever was a democrat. I mus
however plead guilty to the soft i'm
parchment and will attempt to Civ
the reason for my change Of politica
faith. My father was a douglas demo
crat in favor of prosecution of tn
war. When old enough to begin tn
study of law went as a student int
the Office OF man who was the
serving his second term in congress a
a democrat, after that he becam
chairman of the democratic. state cen
trail committee and I became hi
private secretary. Thereafter I be
came chairman of the Democrat
county central committee and did nj
very best to secure the election Q
Hon. VIM. M. Springer to congress
from the district in which I the,
lived. = #
] came to Dakota in 1882. In tn
fall of 1888 Major Edwards, who wa
then running the Fargo Argus, Gale
what he was pleased to term
mayors convention in Fargo. TIL
meeting was called to order by Majo
Edwards and w. C. Plummer, then o
1.-The editorial staff of the Fargo RI
publican, was elected as chairman.
| The meeting resolved itself into
North Dakota statehood conventio
and because Of my friendship with NJ
Springer, which Major Edwards kne,
OF and because he was then chairma
of the house committee on territorie
II was asked to visit Washington wit
others in the interest Of division an
statehood. This I did. On my a
rival in Washington I visited M
1Springer at his home and spent til
whole evening with him going oys
/ the conditions then existing In d
kota, the desirabiHty of statehood an
! what / then and still believe to hay
been the imperative necessity
division into two states, was "a,
with a single argument In thes
words: @But my boy can't you ST
lif we were to make two states
Dakota and admit them into the unil
4 the republican party would eontr
i the senate for the next twenty years
i ! explained to him that our territori
4 conditions were materially retardiI
our growth and deveIo pment and b
4 only answer was, st will not do,
The efforts Of my early life iii
been too strenuous in keeping Il
1 wolf from the door in getting
limited education and In lifting ID
Iself as best / could to practice law
admit Of my giving time to polite
4 questions, but, from that time on
began to study and from that study
q became republican ana have be
one ever since. i also determined
would visit wv ashington again OH t
4 question OF statehood. 4;
When the statehood convention d
at jamestown Ia the late fall of Isl
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