The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-05-16

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Keeping the Record Straight.
Editor Courant:-For several
years prior to 1913, the Ameri-
can Society had been allowed
one-half day Of the Tri+State
Grain Growers convention to
hold it's annual meeting. There
was a movement on that year to
keep the Society off the pro-
gram but after much fighting
the officers Of the convention al
the Society the last half
day, and evening. There was ev-
en- some dispute about getting
the hall in the evening. Some
representatives of the Minneapo-
lis Chamber Of Commerce were
there who claimed that they
were going to use the auditor
ium that evening as they had
paid $25O.00 for it. This looked
like a piece of work to get us
out Of the building, which we re-
fused to vacate. At that time
the building was unfinished and
the basement was patched up.
It was as cold as a barn. and
everyone had to keep their over
coats on. j. III. Worst, who pre-
sided at the meeting, said that
those who were bald or partly
so might keep their caps on that
they might not catch cold. I'M
agine these representatives us
ing such 8 building and paying
$4,000 for it.
About 8 p. m. the Chamber Of
Commerce crowd came in accom-
panied by sheriff Ross, chief OF
police Bingham and others. Mr..
Bingham created such q disturb
ance that had it not been for the
persuasion Of J. m. Anderson
there would have been a riot.
The next day the Fargo Courier
News, which at that time was q
supporter of the old gang, gave
us one Of the most disgraceful,
unjust and lying writeups that
was possible. It was copied by
the Grand Forks Herald, Bis
marck Tribune and other week
" sheets too numeroas to men
ton. The second day after the
riot we replied to the charges In
the Courier-News and Fargo
Forum. The signatures Of seven
men were under this reply OF
which the writer, is one. We
were refused space in the col
umn of these dirty, lying sheets
and were told that those papers
we're closed to all untruthful
statements, and that what had
been said about the Equity was
true. Can it be that the pres
ent management Of the Forum
think that we have forgotten
those days.
The above mentioned dailies
called Mr.. George LOTUS a crook
and all the trimmings and as
many other Infamous names as
was possible to put in print
They said that the Equity was
a good organization, but that Mr..
Lotus had thousands of dollars
of the farmers money. Yet
when he died his house was
mortgaged for every cent that it
was worth. The January 1918
Stockholders convention voted
for the Equity Exchange to pay
off the mortgage for Mrs. Lof-
tus. This motion carried unan-
.imously, with the exception OF
one vote. Every year the Equity
boys take up a collection which
varies from six hundred dollars
up for the benefit or this widow
and her family. After all this
has been made public not one OF
the dirty, lying sheets has ever,
to my knowledge, apologiZed to
the public or to Mrs. Lotus.
It seems unbelievable that a
man knowing the above to be
true could sit in that famous
tMinot convention and being
aware that he was being backed
all the time by Jerry Bacon's
Herald and Norman Blacks
Forum.
"A man that will deliberately
lie about his fellow men is worse
than a thief, for you can lock
the house against the thief but
you cannot lock the dirty mouth
Of a liar.
There are many things which
will need much consideration by
the gang papers and their ,asso.
ciates who had control Of that
Minot conventional Nav