Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-01-07

paid out from there to help maintai~
and support the schools of the state
thereby reducing the burden Of schoo,
taxation and we keep the money In
the state and a people always prosper
where they keep their money at home
Then again, when interest rates are
At the present time the state buys
school, county and city bonds for in
vestment of school funds and as a
rule the bonds bear four per cent in,
terest. We loan school money upon
farm mortgages in the state at five
per cent, but when we sell any of oul
school or institutional lands, we re-
quire the buyers to pay 6 per cent on
the deferred payments on their con
tracts and also to pay the interest in
advance. This is not right and !
would recommend that the law be
changed to provide that the rate OF
interest on school land contracts be
five per cent, the same as the rate
upon farm mortgages and that the
party buying land be net required to
pay the interest in advance. This
should apply" not only to those who
buy lands in the future, but also to
the contracts now in force. If ...e
rate OF interest is lowered from six
to five per cent school lands will bring
a higher price when sold.
CLEAN POLITICS.
Something should be done by this
legislature and some of our laws
should be amended and new ones
enacted to encourage men of char.
acter and standing to become candi.
dates for office. The state needs the
service of many men who under pres
ent conditions will not become candi-
dates 4or office because they shrink
from Deing made the target of indi-
viduals, factions or parties who may
oppose them and who In their oppo-
| sitio1 resort to malicious untruths and
insinuations against the character and
motives of candidates. These attacks
are generally made in a way to excite
the prejudice and passion of the voter
and not in any way to appeal to his
intelligence and reason,
First l would recommend that the
present law relating to political adver-
Using be amended so that the words
Political Advertising must appear al
the head OF the advertisement and that
the words be printed in full and not
abbreviated, and further that the
words "Political Advertising must be
printed in as large type as any type
that may be used in the body or head
ing of the trticle. Further, the print
ed advertisement should show the cost
Of the advertisement and by whom
paid.
Second, l would recommend the en-
actment Of a law which shall require
that any political article put into any
newspaper, pamphlet or circular must
be signed and where signed by a COM
mittee that it shall have the nalnes of
the chairman and secretary" o. the
committee attached to the article, and
that any n circulating any adver.
tisement, circular or pamphlet without
the names Of the parties who author
lied the article attached thereto shall
be subject to heavy fines and impris
Onment.
1 would further recommend that the
Governor or the Supreme Court of the
| state be authorized to name aa,commir,
tee of three men, who whenever any
article advertisement or any. reading
matter whatsoever shall be put into
circulation, or any oral statement
made from a pubic platform that
shall seriously reflect upon the char.
acter or official act OF anyone. holdin:
a federal, state or judicial office, or
who shall be a candidate for any such
office, either in the primaries or at
the general election, that then it shall
become the duty Of this committee tc
at once inquire into the truth of the
accusation and If the charges shall be
found to be true and the accusation
shall be serious enough to warrant it
then the committee shall take steps
forthwith to have the party accused
removed from Office, OF if he shall only
be a candidate for Office, then the com
mittee shall publicly advertise to the
voters of the state their findings. ,bu!
if they shall find that the accusations
are not true, but are simply put Odt
for the purpose Of 1ibeling the charac
ter of the party holding office or can
didate for office, then it shall be tn
duty of the committee to at once com
mence action for libel against the
party or parties who have issued the
libelous matter and the libel laws
should he amended to provide both
fine and Imprisonment for those whom
the courts shall find guilt.
If we wish clean politics in North
Dakota and to encourage men Of char.
acter to become candidates for office:
then something should be done by this
legislature to enact laws. that shall
protect men in office and candidates
for Office against libelous and mali.
cious articles that are sent broadcast
over the state preceding I'll primary
and general elections.
IMMIGRATION.
North Dakota needs especially men
and women who are farmers and who
will come to the state and 90 on the
land. 1 do net believe that there has
ever been a more favorable time in
our history to encourage and to re-
ceive immigration from northern Eli
rope than now. Following this dis
astrous war on the other side of the
world, there will without doubt be a
heavy immigration from northern Eu-
rope. North Dakota should get its
share of the desirable farm emmi-
grants, who will come to this country
from EUROPE. Two years ago the
legislature ~inaugurated an Immigra-
tion Puroau ard m,1oh o0nd has hee1