Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-11-04
Communicated

To the Editor:
If l were to adopt the tactics of
Grant S. Hager, manager Of the Re-
publican campaign bureau, ! suppose
l should say at once that he lies"
and save further discussions; but l
believe in the intelligence Of your
readers and therefore, l refrain from
Mr. Hager's style Of argument.
To put it very mildly, Mr.. Hager is
mistaken about my inspiring a cam
paign of falsehood and misrepresenta-
ton. Happily no such campaign Is
needed in behalf of Governor Burke.
wish ! might truthfully say as much
for the campaign of Mr.. Johnson.
And while | have not been indulg-
ing along the lines indicated by Mr..
Hager, l have not been content to sit
idly by and permit one Of my closest
personal friends, and one Of the best,
truest and most efficient public ser.
wants l have ever known to be malign-
ed, misrepresented and shamefully
slandered. And therein lies the sum Of
my offending, as viewed from the
standpoint of Col. Grant S. Hager,
superintendent press bureau, Repub-
lican headquarters.
The list of the appointees of Gov
ernor Burke was made up in this Of
flee. Mr. Hager could have had just
such list upon application. The in
formation is not exclusive. 1t is open
to the public at all times. This, how
ever, does not apply to the marking
of the politics of the appointees. So
for Lnou1o6uo coruo1
me, l marked the list D, for Demo-
crat, and r. for Republican. Some Of
the names l was unable to mark be-
cause l did not know the politics of
the appointee and there is no Of
ficial record from which the fact
could be determined. In sending out
the list marked as l have stated,
called especial attention to the fact
that the markings were probably not
absolutely accurate, and that some few
changes could undoubtedly be made.
And we see by the mornings paper
that after Col. Hager and his de-
tachment of political forecasters and
trained experts got to work on the
job they labored and brought forth
real whale. They succeeded in &C.
complishing the heretofore impossible
feat of making a mountain out of a
mole-hill. OF 225 appointments they
change the markings as to just ten.
Allowing for the sake of argument
that the colonel and his assistants
are correct the result appears to be:
109 Democratic appointments, and 116
Republican appointments, which sub
nit is a pretty fair showing, especially
when we consider that during the six
teen years Mr.. Hager's party had con-
troll there have been very few if. in
deed, any appointments given to the
Democrats.
So much for the list which fur
nished the ammunition for Brother
Hager's thunderous onslaught in this
mornings Tribune.
| do not consider that | am account
able to Col. Grant S. Hager. S. P. B.
r. H., or to anybody else for what
may write in this campaign, yet l
must decline to be held responsible
for the things do not write; nor do
mean by this to have it inferred
that what has been printed in the
News is not strictly true, for | am in
no position to Judge. not having seen
or read much that has been printed
with a Bismarck headline. If it will
make it more pleasing to Col. Grant
e. Hager, S. p. B. r. H., for me to
furnish to the Tribune for publication
copies of everything written by me in
this campaign, shall be most happy
to do that. BY all means, LET us have
peace
Colonel Hager started in very early
in the campaign to put one over on
the governor by charging him with
vetoing items of $500 out of an ap-
preparation of $4,000. for the insti-
the colonel skillfully supplied a neat
little loop hole to crawl through in
case of need, and he crawled clear in
to that little hole when Governor
Burke disclosed the deception, which
think the governor succeeded in do.
ing to the satisfaction of the public.
if not to the satisfaction and peace of
mind of Colonel Grant S. Hager, S. P.
B. R. H.
l wrote few lines on that episode.
Then came the gallant old vet, Ma
jor C. w. Buttz, from the town of
Buttzville. The major started right in
to charge upon the governor the re-
sponsibility for the excessive number
of legislative clerks.
wrote a few paragraphs on that,
simply quoting the official records to
prove that the major was mistaken
Colonel Hager published in his pa
per, the Walsh County Record an in
dignant denial of the statement OF
Governor Burke that Alex Mckenzie
had removed himself and his head
quarters from St. Paul to Bismarck,
and is managing the Republican cam
paign. And the colonel pronounced
these statements wilful and malicious
untruths. Under date of Oct. Is, l
published over my own signature
letter in which stated that Mr.. Nc
Kenzie had been here then ten days
and that he was known to be holding
conferences with Mr.. Talcott at the
Northwest hotel, and suggested that
in the face of the serious political
situation confronting Mckenzie, it
was not likely he would leave the
management of this important cam
paign in the hands of two novices like
Colonel Hager and Mr.. Talcott. Mr..
NToHo1 20 So ef;11 with or1 fhof no