Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1909-1915, 1913-06-06
THE PROGRESSIVE CAUSE TN
." NORTH, DAKOTA. Z

was on foot. tStalwart politicians:
turned aside from their profitable ac-
tivities merely long enough to laugh
at it. They predicted that the move
ment would die after one campaign.
A decade of easy money and easy Of
flee getting had made them drunk
with the idea of the strength of the
Machine" The proposition that
state government could exist without
trading illegal favors with Alex Nc
Kenzie and his railroad lobby was in
comprehensible to them.
Then, as if to verify their predic-
tions, came the jamestown conven-
ton; the apparent triumph of the ma
chine; the defeat of insurgency; the
complete explosion of the theory that
the people should take hand in state
politics. Word was sent broadcast
over the state that insurgency had col
lapsed. The machine leaders smiled,
sRaacked their lips over future patron
age, and settled back to wait for the
ratification of the jamestown conven-
tioa in the fall.
And there is where standpat poll
tieians have made their mistake from
time immemorial. They forge. that
there is anything stronger than organ
lied political machinery and the pres
tige of political victories. They for
get that righteous political cause
thEves upon defeat, and grows strong
upon disaster. They forget that an
idea persists. They forget that men
will refuse to give up an idea because
it lacks friends at court They for.
get that an idea of right will slowly
gather Roadway among the people;
that though scoffed at, defeated, beat;
en- down and buried, it will rise again
and sweep the boards clean Of it's
enemies. f.. 49, =
That is what happened in, the fall
of 1906. The spirit of insurgency, the
spirit Of revolt against prostituted,
railroad-dominated government exist
ing in North Dakota, swung thousands
OF ballots to John Burke. It snatched
public patronage away from the ma
chine. John Burke was democrat.
Insurgency is largely republican
product. But insurgency decided that
it wanted a Man to do a mans job in
1906, and it choose John Burke. There
will doubtless be many a discussion as
to the ability, the. bigness, the politi-
cal genius of John Burke. But as time
goes on we will come more and more
to realize what it meant to have John
Burke step into the governors office
and straightway let us see the guiding
power in state government transferred
4 from the office of Alex, Mckenzie to
the Office of the governor of the state
1t looks SO easy now that we fail to
realize what it meant then. it meant
the end of the old system. It meant a
: new spirit of political freedom in
North Dakota It meant that we had
a voice in the conduct of our public
. business. r.. 7qa>" iri@}s&sF .5I +
From that day in the fall of 1906
when the standpatism was over
thrown, progressiveism has grown. II
has become popular. Politicians. sing
it's praises. It's band wagon is con
tinually over-crowded. And the most
natural, logical result has been that
the old piratical crew of stalwartism
reinforced by new brigade of .politi
cal highbinders, has: attempted to
slide back into power. by trickery and
y deception. When they, found they
could not fight this movement, they
1Iaed to sidetrack it, to control it, to
!: divide 1T and discredit it. The net re.
2 suit OF their efforts may be said to
q nave crystalized in the election Of T.
b. Hanna, the present governorsof this
" state. His election and his admins.
tration are sorry spectacle after the
u energy, enthusiasm and splendid work
i that went into the fight to redeem the
state from McKenzieism. J;
Hanna is respectable. He has the
prestige of a successful business ca
+, ireer. He has unlimited money to
complete political organizing and the
entire political patronage Of the state
to build his fences with. He pirates Of
I. his progressiYeness, his care for the
Welfare of North Dakota, his desire
I for business admins strait on But
srnd meath it all, people Of North 5Da-
Il b k Rsot'ta, u p. Hanna lis the exponent of
4stalWart ideas in government, the rep
resentatiVe OF big business in N orth
Dakota, the throttier Of the advancing
governmental ideas Of our state He
I means revision to M eKenzie M q
Kenzieism OF a new and more danger
Gus type, NC Kenzie that is masked
with the cloak Of respectabil ity Nc
K.e & sll that hyp ocritfcaIly prates Of
virtue, and calmly and certainly at.
tempts to fasten on North Dakota, an.
other machine as pow erfu1 and dan
#gerous as Alex q machine ever became.
Hanna talks a cert AIN brand Of pro-
gressiy eism. And all the time the
4 Gund ersOns. the Bacans, the Simpsons
and all the little Simp nettes know
what laat a farce It. is. know how the old
gang rule is on again. how the good
1SS..