Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-02-12
THAT THE PEOPLE ]I' OF
# BISMARCK. MAY KNOW

Under the above heading, rs II ap
pears in the Bismarck Daily Tribune
Of February II, 1916, st. Elmo Lodge
No. 4, knights OF Pythias Of this cit!
has presented lengthy explanation
to our citizens of the alleged "unfor
tunate and disgraceful occurrence
last Sunday afternoon when the chic
Of police was ordered by Police Com
missioner Kirk to prevent the Roya
! Gwent Welsh Singers from holding {
sacred concert in the city auditor
| ium.' ~
Among other things, the eXplana
ton says, "Mr. Berndt took upon him
self the judicial prerogative Of con
STRUNG sacred concert TO be {
theatrical performance within the in
hibition of the law" The article fur
ther says that, the action OF Mr.
Kirk and the states attorney was di
rectly prompted by the complaint Of
Mr. George Register and Mr.. A. J
Nathan" and further says that, "a
number of attorneys whose profes
siOnal reputation is certainly not in
ferior to that of the states attorney
nor even to that of George Register
seriously question the applicability OF
the statute to an entertainment OF
the character which was to have been
given last Sunday afternoon" and ii
pertinently asks that, ''if sacred
concert constitutes a theatrical per,
Torrance within the meaning and in
tention of the law, why did not Mr..
Berndt and City Commissioner Kirk
give us the benefit of the doubt and
allow the. concert to be held" In
other words they ask us to wink or
connive at an open and fragrant viola
ton Of the law rather than of prevent
ing it in the first instance and ask us
to seek the punishment Of the Offend
ers at the epense of the tax payers of
the county rather than the forestall-
ing of an offense in the first instance.
In replay to the foregoing the I'M
dersigned, challenges st. Elmo Lodge,
No. 4, Knights of Pythias and defes
it to produce any poster, card or an
nouncement to the effect that, prior
to the advice of the states attorney
to the police commissioner Of the city
of Bismarck, sacred concert was
in contemplation to be given at the
time and place referred to-. True, as
an afterthought and after the promot-
ers found themselves confronted by
the barriers raised they offered to
give a sacred concert and even offer
ed to give il free of charge.
Let us see how this COMFORTS to the
facts in the case. a... -7s,.
have before me the Bismarck
Daily Tribune of Saturday, February
5, 1916 where, on Page 3, under the
heading, Royal Welsh Singers in sue
cessful, concert" it is also stated that,
they "will appear again Sunday after
noon in the auditorium in a program
Of favorite songs and the third par
will appear in the auditorium again
Sunday afternoon under the auspices.
of the Knights of Pythias and give a
program of favorite and popular num-
bers.' ''The program will begin at
$3.50 and the seats will be SOC all
over the house, In the issue of the
same paper of Sunday, February 6,
1916, at page ), an announcement as
follows: Concert this afternoon at
Auditorium by Welsh Singers; SOC
admission" appears.
Will any citizen of the city of Bis
marck, the county or state ''amen.
able to reason" and endowed with a
fair knowledge and understanding OF
the English language inform me
wherein the announcement can be-
construed to the effect that "a sacred
concert was intended to be held at
that time and place under the aus.
pieces of the lodge foregoing mention
ed?" If they can, then they read
something in the announcement not
therein contained. My understanding
Of program of favorite songs or Of
popular and favorite numbers does
not carry with it any impression OF
sacredness, but to the contrary clear
ly establishes to my mind Of thinking
the contemplation of something secu-
lar in aspect .
The undersigned defies St. Elmo
Lodge, No. 4, Knights of Pythias, un-
der whose authority and by whose Or
der the article III question is publish
ed, to produce any evidence to the ef-
feet that the action Of the states at
torney was directly prompted by the
complaint of Mr.. George Register and
Mr.. A. J. Nathan, or that the states
attorney had even been informed by
any person whomsoever that the COM
plant by both or either of said gentle
men or by any person whomsOever
had been lodged with any one.
Neither was the states attorney
informed by any one that at the time
his advice was sought tickets had
been and were then being sold, nor
that the citizens of Bismarck desiring
to attend the concert were Drawing
the inclemency of the weather in
front of the auditorium, nor does the
states attorney, as matter of fact,
accept hear-say, now know such to
have been the case and he is not en-
dowed with the three attributes Of
Deity, Omnipotence, Omnipresence
and Omniscience, but he does know
that jurisdictions other than North
Dakota wherein as yet, so far as he
knows, no adjudications on the sub
ject matter have been handed down
but wherein similar Sunday statutes
have been interpreted by the highest
courts therein even if ST. Elmo Lodge,
No. 4, is not aware of it, but which,
for its enlightenment being here stat
ed as having been referred to and by
annotations and the acceptance there
of by the legislative assembly of this
state in the Compiled Laws of 1913,