Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-10-31
Twin DAK0TAS
RESENT LIBEL
ON FAIR NAME
Wave of Indignation Sweeping
Over States as Result of Sat-
urday Post Story
OFFICIALS ARE TO ASK
PERIODICAL TO RETRACT
Governor Hanna, Commissioner
Flint and Others Will Re-
flute Slander

A wave OF lndlgnatlOn is sweeping
over the Twin Dakotas as result OF
.ridiculously misleading references to
the Slope region made in the Saturday
Evening Post Of October 2S. "The
Hired Man-His Kick" was made the
vehicle by this great periodical for
the publication of a mass Of misrepre.
sentation more unfair to the Dakotas
than all the malicious publicity which
these states have received since ter.
ritorial days. National, state and
county officials, commercial organiza'
tions, individual farmers, business
men and bankers, railways, everyone
who is interested in the name Dakota
and to whose attention this article has
come cannot express in too severe
terms their resentment of an attack
SO bitter and so uncalled for.
State Officials to Act.
Governor L. B. Hanna was not In
the city yesterday and could not be
interviewed on the subject. Commits.
sioner Of Agriculture and Labor r. F.
Flint had read Z portion Of the article
before discardlng the publication in
disgust. He has agreed to carefully
review the story and assist In point.
ing out It's glaring inaccuracies. D. w.
Roberts, director of The United States
weather bureau for the state OF North
Dakota, will be appealed to for vim.
dication of climatic conditions, which
the Saturday Evening Post represents
as unbearable; Representative p. D.
Norton, whose home is in the Slope
country; commercial clubs throughout
the Missouri valley; the Great Plains
experimental station and other agen.
cies will be interested in an effort to
procure from the Saturday Evening
Post full and just retraction of the
many harmful statements which it has
made without a semblance of founda.
tion in fact. #..s
South Dakota Aroused.
The injustice Of the attack has
aroused South Dakota as we'll as its
northern sister. which is more direct.
ly affected. Writing from Mitchell,
S. D., to the Bismarck Commercial
club Charles S. Weller, one Of the
states foremost stOckmen and agricul.
lists, says:
III you will turn to page IA of the
issue of October % of the Saturday
Evening Post you will find an article
entitled, The Hired Man-His Kick
In this article there are several refer
ences made to the country in and
about Bismarck which, I think, give
q very wrong impression Of the Da-
k0tas and of conditions under which
farm hands are required to work, and
In case you find any inconsistencies
at extreme variance with the facts, l
wish you would write me at once.
Stock Frozen in Barns"
Perhaps You can tell me Of the
truth of the following: Have you ever
had freeze-up in October where you
needed sleds? l am aware that this
year there was a fall Of snow, but
this article states that the freeze.up
at some imaginery time was accom-
panied by two feet of snow When did
you have young stock freeze stiff in
a barn. Do you have floods which
make it impossible to get to Bismarck
or even to the railroads for months?'
Have there been any years when,
prior to November Is, you have had
a thick layer of snow on which
'sledful of wolf-hunters could ride,'
and at that time of year have you
had any trains tied up for almost a
month? Has it moved, day after
day, at that time of year Any cen
tinuous days Of bl:zzards at tLat time
of year? What does the weather re-
port say about th!s9 Are there any
merchants in Bismarck and Mandan
who are or who have been engaged
in farming pursuits? See third para
graph. on page 15.-Do there happen
to be any farms of $500 acres. 1900
acres Of which are under water during
the May OF any year? Notice the
eighth paragraph on this page, and
state what regular farm work con-
sists of during the spring of the year
If not including plowing and breaking.
How many hours between sunrise and
the time when it is too dark to see
at, say, the last week in May or June
L? Are there any farms run by fore
men and hired help who habitually
work their men fourteen hours per
day? Do you have regular swamp
flies there Are there any river bot
toms on which the stencil from strand
ed fish is very noticeable? Are these
river bottoms covered with long grass
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