Grand Forks herald., 1917-01-29
STENM0 TELLS
WHY Hf IS NOT
FOR lib. NO. "a
Grand Forks County Sena-
tor Says He Cannot Vote
For the Measure.
Replies to Statement From
Walle Township Farm
ers' Club.
Mr.. o. A. johnson,
Secretary Walle Township Farmers

Club,
Dear Sir:
am in receipt Of your letter trans
mttting to me the decision agreed up
on by the club. 1 fear the members
have taken a snap judgment upon the
matter which is now arousing so
much discussion throughout the state.
Before asking me to support House
Bill No. a., you should have explain
ed to me what emergency has arisen
within the last three weeks to Justify
the introduction of this bill. During
the year just past. our state went
campaign in it's history. And yet 1 do
not think that you would be able to
show me in the pages of the Nom
Partisan Leader. or from the speeches
Of Mr.. Townley and his associates. one
single hint that a revision of our con-
stitution along the lines proposed in
H. B. "A would be attempted at the
present session. 1t must be apparent
to everybody that the issue as an issue
has only come up since the Legislature
met, and that it did not originate
among the Non-Partisan members
themselves. but has been created by
Mr.. Townley and his associates. have !
put the question up to him sQuarely
brought up for discussion last sum-
mer, and I have received the very
lame answer that he did not know
until recently how difficult 1t would
be to put through the league program
in the face of the present limitations
in the constitution! Now the method
Of amending our present constitution
Is well known, and 1t Is hard to imag-
inc that a man of Mr.. Townley's acu-
men could be unacquainted with 1t.
That the league program was to be
enacted into law by the amendment
route was the understanding Of every
one with whom I discussed the mat
ter. and that this was the method
contemplated is expressly stated in the
Republican state platform last year.
The only satisfactory explanation
of why the revision plans were kept
secret until the legislature met would
seem to be. that had they been divulg-
ed earlier there would have been
time for thought and discussion, and
the people would have been almost
certain to disapprove of any UNDER
taking along the lines proposed. The
deep-laid. premeditated program
seems to have been somewhat as fol-.
lows: Have all the details carefully
mapped out beforehand, keep the peo-
pie in complete ignorance Of the re-
vision plan until tho opportune mo-
ment, spring 1t upon the legislators
suddenly on their coming together at
Bismarck, have all the Noh-Partisan
members bound and gagged by maxi
ing them Sign up" in the meantime.
keep q strenuous propaganda in order
to intimidate possible insurgents. and
the hold-over senator's. distract the
peoples attention with various acts
Of executive authority, and while this
was going on a new constitution would
be hurried through the legislature in
double-quick fashion.
In future years the people Of the
state will be disposed to raise monu-
ments to the senators who blocked
this nefarious attempt to foist upon
representatives not only had not
drawn up. but which they had receiv-
ed no mandate from the people to
draw up. In my judgment. were to
vote for H. B. ~, would violate the
oath I took upon entering office II
was sent here to aid in securing good
laws. not to tamper with the funda-
mental law of our state. The distinc-
ton between ordinary legislation and
the drawing-up or revision Of new
constitutions is clear and well-def1ned.
There Is no good precedent in our his
tory for a legislature revising a con-
stitution. Revision lies within the pro-
vince of the constitutional convention.
which. although not expressly provid-
the only regular and legal method
sanctioned by long-established prac-
tice in other states. True, few tin
horn lawyers have attempted to show
that revision as planned by H. B. No.
~ is regular and within the law, but
no man Of judicial temperament and
standing would characterize it as 9TH
erwise than revolutionary. What ne
cessity there is for resorting to such
method for revising our constitu-
ton, passes my understanding.
confess to some trepidation in
coming out against the leaders Of
powerful political organization to
which in the expressive words Of Mr..
Thomason in the Devils Lake Journal,
owe my political ALL" He is at q
loss to understand ."how a man who
has been picked up out of the wheat
field and placed in a position of hon
or. can then turn and bite the hand
that placed him there. There is more
honor than that among thieves, an
archists and nihilists." Being SIM
ple unsophisticated tiller of the soil
may perhaps have ideas Of right
those of the Dictograph man. and ]
certainly know nothing about the
standards prevailing among the class
es which he enumerates. But to be
considered as mere tool. to be under
ders blindly and have a Damocles
sword suspended over me. IL I only
dare! Well. IL aroused in me spirit
of combatveness. l have been threat
ened with political extinction. The in