The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1912-01-29
THE BOARD TAKES
RUSSELL TO TASK

For more than six months the state
board of agriculture and the persdasl
of its membership has been the sub.
ject of relentless and uncomprondslng
villifieation and abuse by certain in,
terested politicians in the state OF Ok
lahoma whose ambition to get on the
pay roll was very properly thwarte1
by the board.
Leading this campaign of villifiea-
tion has occupied the entire time and
attention of ex-senator Campbell Rus.
sell of Warner, whose objection to the
board of agriculture and its members
is purely personal, in that the board
in selecting successor to Judge Joel
M. Sandlia. former secretary refused
to name Mr. Russell for that position.
1t should be remembered that Mr. Rus
sell was at this time holding position
as superintendent of demonstration
farms at a salary of $1500.O0 per an
mum and all expenses, an dthat his dis
loyalty and neglect of duty was not
manifested until after his failure to Sc
cure the appointment as secretary. If
Mr.. Russell had been selected as secre.
tary of the board his pretended
patriotism would not have been so
manifest when at the state institute at
Saltwater on August 8th, he resorted
to every INSCRIPTIONS trick known to
the smooth politician to try to bring
about the defeat of Brewer and Elliott
for reelection as members of the
board. He claimed to the public that
it was in the interest of good govern
ment that he was so active in these
endeavors, but to those who know the
facts it is quite plain that his action
was prompted by malice, and his de-
termination to sure for himself place
on the pay roll as secretary of the
board of agriculture. Having failed to
intimidate the members of the board
by his threats to defeat them for re-
election, he proffered his services to
opposing candidates conditioned upon
the promise that if he defeated Brewer
and Elliott he should ''go up higher. ;"
Notwithstanding his determined fight
and in spite of his unscrupulous meth
ode tho Cfoto Eorpoarc Tncfituto &c
officially constituted, reelected both
Mr.. Brewer and Mr. Elliott, and Mr..
Russell has seen fit to carry this fight
forward by the initiation of a bill hav-
ing for its purpose the repeal of the
law creating and providing for the cleo
tion of the board of agriculture, and
enacting in its place a statute almost
identical with the original statute. AS
Mr.. Russell puts it, the bill has but
one design: ITO get Brewer and
Elliott" In other words Mr. Russell
has prostituted the initiative and ref
erendum for the base purpose of un-
dertaking to use it as a means of vent
ing his personal spite and malice, So
determined and anxious was he to be
successful in his final effort that as the
evidence taken on the hearing of the
protest to this petition before the sec
retary of state shows that the neces-
sary number of signatures to initiate
petition No. 12 were procured by the
most glaring forgeries and outrageous
disregard for law that has been mani
tested in relation to any public matter
that has yet arisen in the state of Ok
lahoma. That RI. Russell knew of
such forgeries and the general disre-
gard for law appearing in these peti-
tions seems evident in many instances,
because the work was done by paid EN-
ployees whose work he supervised, and
particularly so is this in the case of
r. L. Moore. The conclusion therefore
cannot be escaped that Mr.. Russell in
his desire to discredit the board of ag
riculture, in desperation, found him
self willing to use and permit the use
of criminal methods and the most re-
voting perversion Of the powers of the
people under the initiative and refer
endum. The details of the many in
situations made against the board and
its members by Mr. Russell would re-
quire too much space to attempt to set
them out in full Replying to such in
situations We think it will suffice to
say that the books and records of the
board, the state auditor and the state
treasurer are open for inspection to IN
terested citizens in the state of Okla
homa; that we have a state examiner
and inspector whose duty it is to in
vestigate the handling of public funds
by officers of the state, and If a dollar
of the funds appropriated for the sup
port and maintenance of the agricul-
tural department of this state has been
that fact can be ascertain
ed and the amount mis-applied accur-