The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-10-29

Napoleon, N. d., Oct. 26.-To The
Forum: / have read with considerable
disgust the article in your issue OF
Monday evening, Oct a. 1910, which
was headed; "An Outrage, Says Ami
dom That article is, / regret to find
one of the greatest outrages ever per-
petrated ON a public official in this OF
any other state 1t is Judge Burke OF
the Fifth judicial district, and who is
q candidate for the state supreme
court, who is outra ged-not the public
by the falsity of the statements the
article contains and by likening his
method of naturalizing citizens in Lo-
gan county to that of the corrupt
methods of courts referred to else
where. Those people in Logan coun-
ty who have been present at the terms
of district court during Judge Burke's
administration and are acquainted with
the facts are highly incensed that such
fragrant Misrepresentation should find
their way into the columns of the old
reliable Forum without investigation.
OF course we presume The Forum felt
warranted in publishing those state
ments since they were contained in
Judge Amidon's talk to the jury at
Minot Nor do we feel that Judge
Amidon has meant to ttach any blame
where it did not belong-he has sim
ply been deceived and trapped in his
decision with reference to Judge
Burke in practically the same manner
that the latter was deceived and trap
ped when he signed erroneouslv
fraudulent naturalization paper for the
clerk of the district court of this coun-
LOT
ter to the effect that he CJudge Burke)
had forgot one" meaning, of course
that Judge Burke had by mistake or
oversight, failed to sign the record for
one OF the parties naturalized by him.
At the outset the article states that
lover twenty persons have been nat
urahzed in block" From that state
ment it would be inferred that twenty
persons have stood up and sworn in in
a bunch. That is not true. as hundreds
of people of Logan county know. .
At every session Of court here when
naturalizations have occurred there
have been present special agents of
the II. s. bureau of naturalization for
the purpose of cross examining the APP
plicants and witnesses in those mat
ters.
The applicants have been put
through the process singly-not in
droves like cattle as a stranger would
be impressed by reading said article.
Judge Amidon quotes the law and
we have observed that every feature
of the same has been complied with
here in so far as Judge Burke is con-.
cerned. with the one exception when
he was trapped by the acts of the clerk
of court in a manner that Judge Ami
don or any other judge might perhaps
become trapped The then clerk of
court is not very rapid penman, so
was slow in the preparation OF the
records for the final signatures of the
principals, witnesses and the court.
Just picture in your mind twenty or
thirty strangers in a crowded court
room who are taking out their final
papers. They are mostly men, but
some are women. Surprising you are
the Judge and unacquainted with those
people? Would you not lean consider
ably on your clerk of court with whom
you are acquainted to identity those
people as they in turn received their
papers? We believe you would. Sup
posing your clerk should slip one
over" on you, like the case here in that
of the papers issued to one MatiIde
Schultze, who had been dead for a few
years. Would you be guilty of any
intentional wrong doing or simply the
victim Of misplaced confidence?
To show the people of Logan county
and the whole state Of North Dakota
the absurdity of that entire article in
so far as the same refers to the adj
mtnistration Of Judge Burke, l quote |
herewith the following extract there
from: .Es -
every Feature of Law Outraged"
"Now, this case discloses that every
feature of the law intended to safe !
guard the citizenship of this republic |
was outraged in the district court of |
Logan county in the proceedings that |
we have under investigation IL was |
outraged by the violation of their duty |
by the clerk Of that court and by the |
judge who presided at the hearing. The /
practice was the same here in sub |
stance as 1t was in the st. Louis cases.
The foreigners were brought before the
court in droves, and simply passed into
citizenship without any knowledge on
their part of the requirements for adj
@AAAs'9AoAA " SLkAHGAlSIlpy OF On JHe part
of the court as to whether those re-
quirements had been complied with.
The foreigners could not speak Eng /
lish and did not understand a word /
of the proceedings. No interpreter was
employed. No questions were asked.
No examination was had. Simply the /
oath of allegiance was administered to
the whole band of applicants in a
body"
BY reading the above the average
citizen unacquainted with the facts in
the case as are hundreds of Logan
county people, would infer that Judge
Burke was about the-welI, anything +
but entitled to preside over our dis
trict court. The above is wholly un- !!
true on the following counts:
!. The foreigners have not been i
brought before Judge Burke's court in
Logan county in droves and simply
passed into citizenship without any
knowledge on their part of the require
ments for admission to citizenship or
on the part of the court as to whethe.
those requirements had been complied |!
with.
D. Not all the foreigners were I'M
able TO speak English and could not