The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1915-01-07
LIVELY SESSION
IS THE FORECAST
Fourteenth Legislative Assembly
C0nvaneS at Bismarck.
BIG QUESTIONS TO DECIDE
Probe Of Educational Institutions One
Of the Important Matters Ex-
pected to Come Up.

Bismarck - Especially - The Four.
tsonth Legislative Assembly of the
state Of North Dakota convened in
the capitol building on Tuesday for a
session limited by the constitution to
sixty days. From all indications 1t
will not be one marked by monot.
onous calm. and 1t would surprise no
enc If it excelled previous sessions in
the number and extent of the battles
that will be waged over questions
that will affect nearly every part OF
the state.
Political CompIexion-Natura the
legislature is Republican and by an
rwhelmng majority. There are
six Democratic senators and five Dem
ocratic representatives. Did party
lines afford the only division there
would be no need to attempt to fore
cast the current of events. But party
lines in the legislature are as frayed
and broken as they are over the state
and over the nation, for that matter.
There still remain the two factions
within the Republican party-the in.
surgent and the stalwart Both sides
claim control in the senate, but the
house is generally conceded to be com.
posed of a majority of insurgents, or
"prOgressives," as they used to be
called before the Bull Moose party
rose and grew and waned.
4 !. !.
The Speakership-The man not
versed in North Dakota politics might
conclude that the insurgents, having
clear majority in the house, would
elect one of their own number speaker
and that the stalwarts had little, If
any, chance to land their man. 1t
might be anywhere-but not in North
Dakota. In past sessions, in spite OF
such conditions. the Stalwarts have
managed to elect their man-gener-
ally in the guise of compromise can
didate or one who had "insurgent
leanings." And generally after he was
elected it was seen to that his lean.
ings did not interfere with his commit.
tee appointments and other little mat.
ters
The Candidates-When this letter
was written the contest for the pres.
ent session had not been settled, the
list of candidates being unusually
large The principal and best known
are Treadwell Twichell, Cass county;
A. j. Burnett Trail county; A. G.
Divet. Richland county: Frank E.
Ployhar, Barnes county: Staale Hen.
erickson. Burke county; J. L. Hort,
Adams county F. o. Haroldson. Bot
tineau county, and A. NJ. Thompson,
Ward county. OF these the first six
are credited with being insurgents
and the last two accepted as staI.
hidden in the legislative bullrushes
who may come forth at the last min
ute to lead his people, but at the pres
ent writing no Pharoah's daughter has
discovered him. In view of the fact
that there is coming legislative in
vcstigation of the educational institu.
lions of the state it is pointed out as
significant that Cass, Trail, Richland.
Bottineau, Barnes and Ward-all coun
ties where such institutions ire To-
cated-are represented in tn: race.
This brings US to one of the great
questions that will confront the leg
islature.
!. X !.
Educational institutions - Due to
some cause unknown the university
at Grand Forks and the agricultural
college at Fargo have called attention
to themselves all through the past
year by reason of fights and squab-
bles which have gained newspaper
to the other institutions and all find
themselves in the limelight at a time
when they would much prefer the
shadow, for the legislature will be
asked for vast sums of money in ap-
preparations for the coming two-year
period. The result is that critics
claim the white light shows serious
state of affairs. These conditions, it
is suggested, could be remedied by
law creating board of regents. hav-
ing control of all the institutions and
compelling them to economic and to
keep their courses of study within the
limits set by law and the constitution.
To all this the institution heads re.
spond. denying the existence of such
conditions and accusing the critics Of
making a mountain of trouble out Of
a molehill of squabble, but particu.
lar stress is put upon their opposition
to board of regents. They are con.
tent with things as they are. with
their individual boards of trustees and
with the comfort snd conveniences
these afford. AS is always the case
when conditions arise which might be
bettered some enthusiast rushes with