Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1909-1915, 1911-03-10


he himself was leagued body and soul
with the system, that he himself was
the head o fthe system, that his pow
er as judge was the BIG CLUB which
kept the system intact, that IL he
could be removed we could once more
have law and order. we could once
more get justice and live in peace
and harmony and safety. .ss .s s.2Z.
They made up their minds that he
must be removed. The Interocean
took the same stand. When there was
no other way out of the wilderness of
laxity, lawlessness. and crime, we took
our place with those who were ready
to fight this matter out if it took all
winter and all summer and the rest Of
our sojourn in this community. We
stated that certain things were true
in regard to Judge Cowan, we re-iter-
ated these things. We made state
ments. which if proven, would make
us open to criminal libel. All these
things and a hundred others, were
proven at Bismarck. Every point we
stood for was substantiated, Every
charge we made was borne out, veri-
fed and strengthened. Incidentally
we learned much about Judge Cowan's
record of which we were entirely ig-
norant before. We stated that there
was system here of which he was
the head. This was borne out at Bis
marck. We stated that he. violated
the law and was untrue to his oath.
Bismarck proved this time after time.
We stated that he was menace to
the community. The evidence showed
that repeatedly. We stated that he
delayed Justice. One-half the testi.
mony showed him delaying justice
from one to eight years. Not a sin
gle iota of the charges we made was
improved. Our stand in the matter
was justified in every particular.
We know how our stand has been
taken in some quarters here at home.
We know the ties of friendship, the
ties of political power and political
interest, the threats, business favors,
political promises, malicious falsifica.
ton and unbelievable tactics which
have been employed to prejudice our
people against The Inter-Ocean and
the cause of Justice. We have had
reason to know these things. Never.
theless the people of the district are
sound at heart. The great mass of
men believe in what is right. The
great mass of farmers. removed from
the corrupting influence of the Sys.
tenn are heart and soul with us in this
fight. Many are not saying much but
they are thinking. You can't get the
average American citizen very far a.
way from the truth. You can't fool
all the people all the time and when
the people realize fully the magnif-
, cent way they have been fooled for
years by the local System of Booze
and Politics they will never stop un.
til they have thrown it out root and
branch.
Down at Bismarck the tactics used
! by Judge Cowan to prevent his trial
were enough to convince any fair:
minded man of his guilt His best
friends no longer claim him to be free
from guilt. They attempt to save him
by working behind closed doors, by
cunning Vaccinations, by the arts OF
political chicanery They do not fight
in the open. Their only hope lies in
secrecy, in keeping the truth from the
people, in hiding the rottenness and
CLOSING it over in public. A fair
trial was only obtained because Judge
Cowan and his political friends could
not muzz1e the press of the state just
as he has been unable to muzzle the
InterOcean. In another place in this
issue will be found what hundreds oil
the papers of the state are saying in
regard to the trial of Judge Cowan
These papers have no interest al
stake. They reflect the truth of wha'
went on at Bismarck. They show
the aroused moral sense of the state
of North Dakota. We are proud to bt
placed in a class with them, to know
, that we are fighting on the side O
!, public decency, honesty, and morality
We know that the moral sense of Thu
community, though it may be afrai(
7 to come out in the open at times
: though it be dubbed and poo-pooe,
? and beaten down, is nevertheless witt
t us heart and soul and we know tina
l the cause we are fighting for will vi
f timately win as surely as the ete1na
V principles of right are the guiding fore
Of