The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1916-10-19
WHO IS IN AUTHORITY!

members of the Good Government League, or
even a list of it's directors or executive Commit
tee has ever been made public.
While it appears rather a waste of time to
attempt giving any about an or
ganization so mythical in it's makeup as the ".
G. League appears to be, the Courant will at
tempt to give whatever information is available
to the public. :
In the month of July, Norman Black. Sec
rotary of the league, wss interviewed by a re
preventative Of the Nonpartisan Leader, for the
purpose of securing if possible, some intorma-
ton about this mysterious organization. Mr.
Black denied that the league was fighting the
Nonpartisan organization, in spite OF the TACT
that the Leader has published fac.siniles OF sew
eral letters written on Good Government Lea
que stationery, wherein it was plainly set forth
that the OBJECT WAS THE ANNIHILATIoN OF THE
NONPARTIsAN LEAGUE,
When asked for an explanation of the full
page advertisement published in several OF the
dailies of the state and also sent out in circular
form to the voters of the state, Mr.. Black made
the following startling statement:
That was unauthorized, You see that
advertisement was.a copy of a circular l got out
before / became connected with the Good
Government league. Yes, l got out that circu-
lar-was hired to do it. You're a newspaper
Hdu IL you huO" Via .
But the signing of the Good Government league
name to the circular when it was printed as an
ad was not authorized by the league: DR..
Guild of the Courier News just signed the lea
que name to it without any authority. l. wrote
the circular used as copy for that ad before l
was hired by the Good Government league
Asked who was footing the bills for this
publicity, Mr.. Black explained that there was a
list of sustaining members, but their names
were not for publication.
When the Leader representative asked for a
list of the members of the league, Mr.. Black
was not prepared to furnish that, but it would
be made public in due time With the tall
election only two weeks distant no such list has
ever been published. :
Mr.. Black stated that there was a board of
directors and an executive committee of proml-
nent men," He agreed to furnish a list of these
after getting the consent of Mr.. Page, the
president. After failing to make several ap-
pointments, Mr.. Page finally stated that he had
no authority to make public the names OF the
men connected with the league.
And that is where the situation stands to-
day. This is the organization which proposes
to purify the politics of North Dakota. Outside,
of the identity of the secretary and president,
who have been projected into their official posi-
tons in some unknown manner, the personnel
OF the league, It's directors, us cACCuISC wi"
mittee and it's "sustaining'' members remains
as hidden as the membership in a Black Hand
society.
You voters of North Dakota are asked to re-
pudiate the Nonpartisan League as a menace
to the State and embrace this mysterious
malta.
There is no installing the objects of this
organization, despite the protests of it's secre-
tary. 1t was brought to life for the sole pur-
pose of attempting to annihilate the Nonpartis-
an League and defeat it's candidates for office.
Perhaps a last eleventh hour attempt to carry
out this program will be made now on the eve
of election. But the futility of such a course
must be apparent even to Secretary Black.
President Page and the sustaining members.
Likely that is the reason why these officers are
now so vigorous in repudiating the program
outlined by the league in it's early inception,
The Good Government league has tailed
ignominiously in it's object, 1t is time for Mr..
Black to pack his suitcase, discharge che steno-
grapher and close up shop. North Dakota has
selected those who are to do her political house
cleaning. And they are the very ones whom
the Good Government League had hoped to
crush.
THE LOCAL PAPER.