The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-05-24
North Dakota Political Gossip

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Bismarck Tribune: The Grand
Forks Herald, which is sometimes one
OF our most eminently respectable
muckrakers, recently published some
Bismarck correspondence" whose OBJ
ject was to show that the postage used
in the office of the secretary of state
was a greater amount than that used
in other departments at the state cap
ital, and that therefore, the secretary
of state was using state postage for
the purpose of boosting his campaign
for congress-. When Mr.. Blaisdell re-
piled to the article in the Herald, that
eminently respectable muckraker stat
ed, with dignity anC calmness, that it
had published the postage stamp arti-
Gle regarding the secretary merely as
news" and published his reply in the
same spirit of desire to keep the pub
lie informed.
Anybody who read the original ar
ticle attacking the secretary knows
that it was not published as news"
It was published with the intention
Of placing Secretary Blaisdell in q
wrong light before the peole of the
state. and there was Just enough in
nuendo in the correspondence" to
poison the minds of readers, who
might not hear the facts.
1t is true that the postage of the
secretarys office is probably greater
than that. of other offices, and there
Is reason for it. The secretary's
office is the distributing center for
6n0nT1nnfc IN oil ~ 81
blue books. laws, and other books and
documents desired by the people Of
the state, the schools, and the various
institutions. There is a large volume
of departmental mail, for the office of
the secretary has a multitude of duties
many of which have to do with the
free and frequent use of the United
States mail. 1t is no. true, as stated.
that blue books and all documents are
dispatched by express. A great num-
Der of them go out by mail There
are some 5000 blue books alone dis
tributed from the secretary's office.
And there are laws and many other
documents mailed, the total number
of which will reach a good many thou
sand in a year.
Mr.. BlaisdelPs reply to the Herald
sets the whole matter forth very
clearly. There may be proper differ
ences of opinion as to Mr.. BlaisdelFs
candidacy for congress, but there is
no reason why he should not receive
square deal, so far as the conduct
of his office is concerned, and he should,
not be attacked with innuendoes and
be stabbed in the back with misstate-
ments of facts. Mr.. Blaisdell in his
letter to the Herald says:
l have noticed the report in your
paper of May II concerning my use
of state supplies and official stationery
for campaigning purposes. While / do
not generally believe in denying cam
paign stories sprung so short time
before election, yet as the Herald has
such a large circulation think it best
for me to make this statement and /
trust the Herald will give this state
ment the same publicity which it gave
the first article.
Mud singing invariably begins the
few short weeks before every election,
1t must be expected The voter will
judge for himself the fairness and JUS
tice of any attack and the lateness of
its making. The voter knows what
fair play is and also knows that a
bona fide charge should be made in the
open, not by insinuation and not few
weeks before the election date. Out
of fairness to myself / must herewith
brand that dope as contemplate
piece OF clumsy. vicious falsehood, and
I wish to pay my humble respects to
the instigators Of that lying article. I
am not the secretary of either of the
boards Of public property or public
as the article states, and never
have been, save for when / acted as
secretary of the board of public prop
erty for about three months, about
three and half years ago.
Your informants know very well
that the correspondence of the secre-
tary of states office averages at near
ly twice If not more than that of other
Every letter or inquiry
written by the taxpayer, whether it
relates to the number OF setting hens
in certain county or to the number
Of domestic corporations in another,
are all apt to strike the state depart
ment first. ] may say that every letter
received at my office, whether from
the poorest farmer or from the richest
banker, receives prompt reply, and
all such Inquiries will always receive
prompt and courteous replies as long
as am state officer The office of
secretary Of state. as the name itself
implies, Ii naturally identified with
much correspondence. registered mail
and mailing of circulars That office
does as. matter Of fact,
have improperly ~charged to 1t much
postage which belongs To some three