The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1908-04-23
Minot, N. D., April %, 1908.

Editor Independent:
Possibly some of your readers
would be pleased to have some more
information concerning Hon. NJ. N
Johnson. who is candidate for the
United States senator, and as I have
been personally acquainted with him
since Territorial days it is a pleasure
to mention a few facts from my own
personal knowledge and from his pub
lie record.
He pre-empted the quarter on when
he now lives over twenty-five years
ago, and has most of the time since
then been devoted to farming.
He was a prominent member of the
Constitutional Convention, and took
an active part in framing our present
constitution, and was the permanent
chairman of the first Republican
state convention. When he was first
nominated to congress he resigned
the Office OF states attorney OF Nelson
county, and was four times in success
sion elected to congress. Immediate
" after his election in 1896 he told
his friends that he would not be a
candidate at the next election, and
SO voluntarily retired from congress.
His record in congress was excep-
tionally fine and his opponents could
not truthfully find any just cause Tor
complaint against him. During his
first term he served on the committee
on coinage, weights and measures,
and was practically at the beginning
of the free silver agitation it required
craftsmanship as well as courage to
take the stand he did. The silver
question had not been much discuss
ed in this state, and the platform on
which he was elected was silent on
the question, so he was compelled to
decide the question for himself be-
fore he could obtain instructions from
his constituents, and he found him
self in this position; both the sena-
tors from North Dakota, South Dakota
and Montana were for free silver, the
congressman from Montana, both the
congressman from South Dakota and
the congressman from three of the
districts of Minnesota nearest K
North Dakota were all for free silver
Out Of thirteen members of the sen
ate and House of Representatives. rep
resenting contiguous territory in -four
states he found himself alone for the
gold standard aginst the other twelve
Had he been looking for convenient
seat on the band wagon he could
have easily drifted with the current
CT public sentiment in favor of tenn
porarily popular fad and excused him
self on the plea that all Of his twelve
associates favored it. At the time
however, he vel knew that he tool
his political life in his hand by firmly
standing up for what he then believed
to be right, and what now practically
everybody agrees was right. His
moral courage on this occasion stands
out more prominently when it is re
membered that he publicly took his
stand on this question in congress be-
fore the Hon. Knute Nelson of Min
nesota delivered his famous Argyle
speech in which ne so ably advocat
ed the gold standard.
Afterwards the powerful moral sup
port of that able statesman was OF
inestimable value to Mr.. Johnson
and undoubtedly saved him from the
general wreck when the free silver
tide at its height swept John Lind OF
Minnesota and E. c. D. Shortridge OF
North Dakota into the governors
chairs. And in the fierce political
struggles that followed NJ. N. John.
son and Knute Nelson mutually sup.
ported each other both indirectly by
that unseen influence of the example
Of each crossing ana re-crossing state