The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1907-08-09
GRAY-OLS0N
LIBEL CASE
Turtle Lake Wave Editors Of View
Of the Libel Case.

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held there in May, and the jury
found Mr.. Gray not guilty Of hav-
ing published the libel ccirculated
about Supt. Olson the night before
election last November.
This together with the fact that
no attempt was made to prove the
charges made against Olson, ought
to convince any unbiased person
possessed of sound reasoning
ability that the story was manu-
factured out of whole cloth by a
set of scoundrels who saw in this
their only hope Of downing a man
who stood in their way, and the
matter ought to be dropped, but it
has come to our knowledge that a
few Of these skunks are trying to
make capital Of the fact that Gray
was not convicted, claiming this as
evidence against Olson, and we feel
it our duty to say few words in
regard to this matter.
Let us first look into a few facts
relative to this matter. Some time
in August 1908 not in 1904, as
the circular said-there came to
Washburn, to visit Mr.. and Mrs.
Gray, a Miss Carrie Stump, a
niece of Mrs. Gray. Ye editor was
clerking in Holtan's store at Wash
burn at the time and knows where
of he speaks. She taught a school
about four miles north of Wash
burn that fall and winter and a
term in the same school in the
spring of 1904. She attended
teachers institute at Washburn in
June, 1904 we attended the same
institute and saw her there. About
the beginning of July the Grays
left Washburn and took up resi-
dence in Oliver county, Miss
Stump going with them. She
taught six months term near
Butte, Oliver county, beginning in
the fall of 1904 and closing some
time in March, 1905, after which
she went at once to the Iowa school
district about six miles north of
Wilton, N. D., and taught there
till the latter part of June
or forepart of July, 1905.
That summer she went to visit her
sister who lives in Wyoming. She
has been teaching there for the
past two years, having held the
position of principal in a town
school for the past year.
Now let us look at these facts
for minute and apply some COM
mon sense. From the above we see
that the young lady stayed in Nc
Lean and Oliver counties for near
" two years, from August 1903
to July, 1905. The circular stated
that Olson accomplished her ruin
alton shortly after she came to
Washburn. This if true, must
then have happened in the fall of
1903, but she goes right on teach
ing school in Mclean and Oliver
counties until July, 1905, and no
visible evidence of his misdeed
shows up, nor is anything done to
bring him, to account for it.
Sounds very reasonable does it
not? Mr.. Olson was then young
unmarried man, holding a respon-
sible county Office, and could sure
" have been made to toe the mark
had he been guilty.
Again, this young lady was a
woman Of mature years she ap-
peared to us to be at least 25 and
possessed Of a fair amount Of in
~, .. 49, s
telligence, if we are to judge by
he achievements along educational
lines. She claimed to have had
several terms Of experience in
teaching back in Virginia before
she came to North Dakota. She
passed the examination here for a
good second grade, and has since
become principal Of 9 town school