Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1916-08-24
-FOUR civil OFFICERS
With NORTH DAKOTA
LIEUT.. GOVERNOR, JUDGE, LAND
COM. AND A SHERIFF AT
BORDER WITH SOLDIERS

The lieutenant governor of North
Dakota, North Dakota district
Judge, the land commissioner of North
Dakota and the sheriff from Stuts-
man county, North Dakota, sat under
tent five miles north of the Rio
Grande and talked about North Da-
kota crops and North Dakota politics.
writes Louis l.. Collins, in the Mime
apolis Journal. @
All around the tent where the four
North Dakota public officials were sit
ting were other tents. Two weeks ago
the place had been the dump ground
of Mercedes, little Texas town Of L.
500. Today it is the camp of the First
North Dakota infantry regiment and
of the camps stretched along the Rio
Grande valley it is one of the best.
Now the lieutenant governor and
the other officials did not come to
Mercedes to visit the regiment. They
are here running the regiment; for
the lieutenant governor is j. H. Frame
colonel of the regiment, and the three.
other men were the three majors,
Judge J. N. Hanley of Mandan, Sner-
iff Dana Webster of Stutsman coun-
ty and Land Commissioner F. S. Hem
nv Of Valley City.
And just to show that these North
Dakota men in public life have been
giving their time to the militia from
unselfish motives and because they
are good American citizens, it might
be mentioned that every one of these,
men is veteran Of the Spanish Amer
lean war; All except Judge Hanley.
who was born in Waseca, Mimi, and
who served in the Twelfth Minnesota
regiment, went to the Philippines
with the First North Dakota, the regi-.
ment they are with at the border.
They wear service ribbons. Colonel
frame has been member Of the ma
tional guard for 81 years.
| had just been talking in another
tent with Lieutenant Colonel Gilbe
Grafton Of the First, and had learned
that he was born in England | COM
mcnted on the fact that many of the
officers of the militia On the borc
were naturalized citizens.
In the Brownsville district there is
no more cheerful outfit than the First
North Dakota. "We haven't got
squealers or cutters. We won't
stand for them," said the colonel.
"We have brought down more than
1000 as fine young men as there are
in the country and our percenta ore
of recruits is much below most Of the
regiments from other states. We were
pretty we'll recruited
"But you had to get new officers"
I suggested.
"New officers nothing" said the
colonel. "Not one officer in the regi-
ment failed to report. The men were.
the same way. Somehow the service:
they first had in the islands back in the
Spanish war helped. Men who had
served in the First then came out and
enlisted. Some came from Montana
and some from farther away than
that"
care you ready to go into the 6eld-
with the regiment?"
"The men are in fine condition and
will stack them against any bunch
on the border when it comes to bear
ing grief. We have only 40 horses
and mules and we lack clothing and
other supplies, but we would give
good account Of ourselves in the field.
We call our regiment field regiment
up in North Dakota. Not so m1ch
attention is paid to close formation
drill as to other movements. Pm
sure we stack up with the other regi-
ments in close formation drill at that.
But we get our men out on long.
marches at home and most of the
men are used to outdoor life anyway.
It stands to reason that men of this
kind are easily acclimated.' :.