The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-08-06
WITH THE EDITORS

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|
THE STATE COUNCIL OF DEFENSE
The members o. the state council of defens
ought to syncronize or happen simultaneously
better > I.,...
| Failure to keep tabular arrangement Of con
temporaneous historical events brought abou
that painful misunderstanding anent the taking
over Of the elevators, and now comes far apart
ness" among the council members regarding tina
order of the council prohibiting the teaching O
German in any school building in the state. Bu
as in the elevator "unpleasantness," a scape-goa,
has been found; only this time it is a lady EN-
poye instead of member of the board.
Last May, according to the many newspapers
of the state which carried the notice, the council
Of defense prohibited the teaching of German in
any school house in the state. 4 About the first
Of June complaint was made to the superintendent
of schools in this county that a German parochial
school was being conducted in school house near
Armenia, and the complaint was forwarded to the
council at Bismarck. In reply nothing was said
about the prohbitive order, but the county super
intendent was asked to look into the matter fur
Their, and more correspondence followed, until
those most interested in the case were mean
enough to be convinced delay was sought until
after the primary election, as this was the first
complaint under the new order and affected a
large class of voters.
About the middle of June the secretary of the
council came to Fargo and was seen one Sunday
by a committee appointed to look into this par
ticular case. His attention was called to the pro-
hibitive order, but his memory was short, al
though he finally concluded such an order had
been issued, and promised on his return to Bis.
marck next day to look into the matter, and if
such an order did exist, to not only advise the
at once, but promptly put a stop
to the German teaching complained of. @a
Nothing further was heard of the matter until
after the election when the superintendent ap.
pealed for information to the attorney general
and was told prompt investigation would follow
Some time later letter setting forth the position
of the council and enclosing what purported to be
copy of the order closing the German school
near Armenia was received by the county super
intendent from the office of the secretary of the
council, and few days afterward the secretary
himself verified the correctness of the letter as
being the action of the council itself. At any rate
the school was closed.
Later complaint was made from another part
of the county against the teaching Of German in
a school house, and, acting upon the authority Of
the letter mentioned above and the verbal state
ments of the secretary of the council Of defense
the county superintendent ordered the school
closed at once. Not satisfied with this ruling the
parties interested in the German teaching ap-
pealed to the attorney general as to the right Of
the superintendent to close the school, and were,
it is said told the superintendent had exceeded
his authority, as there was no ruling upon which
such action could be based. a Ss "
The superintendent at once wrote the attorney
general asking wherefore, and in reply was told
the private secretary Of the secretary of the coun
Gil had misinterpreted the situation, or words to
that effect, and that what she had written did
not represent the action of the council little bit
just as Member Dorr Carroll carelessy dreamed
a dream in the matter Of the elevators.
Of course it is delicate matter to prohibit the
teaching of German in an election year, and no
one can be blamed for handling the thing with
tongs, yet, many marvel that there is not better
articulation between the members of so import
ant body as the council Of defense, as without q
well disciplined crew and steady hand at the
helm the ship of state is liable to wabble awk-
wardy on her course before She reaches that
peaceful haven Of safety behind the constitution
of 1919 and the legislative fortresses surround.