The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-10-28
LANCER DUTY
TO REMOVE LID
SAYS ROBINSON
Venerable League Justice. De.
clares Attorney General
Should Act at Once.
FIDDLE AS ROME BURNS
Jurist Says We Face Disaster as
Grave as the Recent Min
neSOta Fires.

Declaring it the duty Of Attorney
General William LANCER to publicly
proclaim the removal of North Da-
kotas bone dry lid, in order that al
cohoNc liquors may be obtained for
the prevention or treatment Of iniluen-
"a, Associate Justice James Il. Robin
son today gave to the press his fourth
letter on the subject of ''tlu and zoose,"
which is as follows:
"Iuvc we no governor, no attorney
general, no judges? \ great calamity
is upon us--calamity as disasterous us
the Minnesota forest 1ircs-and we
fiddle while Rome burns. The cry Is
what must we do to be saved; how
may we get liquor and quinine to ward
Off the pestilence that is upon us?
"Now the question is up to the at
torney general, and his duty is Is to
speak and to act promptly and in Il
way to save the lives of the people.
With the greatest zeal and rigOr he
has carried on prosecutions to enforce
the fake, bone dry statute which was
never passed by the senate. The re-
suit is, that liquor has been excluded
from the state and the express com
panies refuse to carry it, and the peo-
pie are denied the best remedy against
the pestilence.
"Now the attorney general must no
longer keep mute. He must either pro-
claim that the dry bone statute is a
pure fakeund that 1t was never pass
ed by the senate. or declare that the
senators are all linrs, because mt the
extra session last January the senate
passed resolution, without a dissent
ilgs vote. declaring the supposed act
a fake, and that it had never passed
the senate.> The truth of that resolu-
tion is we'll confirmed by the journals.
which show that on March 1st; 1917.
at four =. NJ. Senator Pullman offered
ten amendments to the bill known as
House Bill 80. These amendments
were adopted by the senate.
<ts"The bill as amended permitted any
person within each period Of 80 days
to receive and possess for his personal
use, four quarts Of spirituOns liquors.
five gallons Of wine, or e quarts or
beer or malt liquors. In lieu Of that
amendment it appears there was sub
stituted. engrossed and filed a fake
amendment making it II crime to re-
ceive. deliver or possess Intoxicating
liquors. for any purpose whatsoever.
The trick was turned in this way -
On March End, 1917. at the close Of
the legislative session, near midnight,
when the members of the house were
fatigued by long continued, hurly-bur-
ly work and by the taking Of yea
and nay vote on - bills. there was
presented grand opportunity for
some fake work. Then it was that
few members Of the house caused the
bill with the fake amendments to be
engrosscd and recorded rs passed by
the house and senate.
"Now it appears that since July 1st,
1917. the attorney general and all his
forces have been ut work to enforce
the fake statute. OF course it was
done innocently, but it was done with
out proper care and caution. And the
result has been a sad calamity, and
now it is for the attorney general to
use all his force and power to undo
the wrong and to proclaim that the
bone dry statute is a pure fake, and
telegraph the express companies to re-
ceive, carry and deliver liquor for any
person to any part Of the state. The
emergency permits Of no delay. We}
must not fiddle while Rome burns. :!
(Continued on Page Four.)