Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-03-03
MINORITY IS
CE'NS!;U|RIE|'D |'| IN
RESOLUTION
ygpS sEsE 49, 50
Statement Signed Asking
State to Oppose League
Measures.
tBy STAR correspondent)

EF"a+-# - l-a.HE
Bismarck, N. p. March 1.-THE
closing hours Of the Sixteenth legis-
lative assembly. the most important
the state, were featured tonight by .
bitter fight which was precipitated
by an eleventh-hour concurrent rego-
luton %censuring the members Of the
minority for signing a statement sent
out by Theodore Nelson, secretary Of
the Independent Voters association,
In which the state. va asked to unite
for the fight against approving the
leagues measures at the forthcoming
referendum election.
While o. B. .Burtness was explain
ing why he had signed the statement,
after the house had passed the reso-
luton, tn senate, after q brief debate.
which did not grow acrimonious. re-
fused to consur in the resolution.
The resolution cited a communities.
ton signed by a number Of tho min
GRITTY members which expressed the
opinion that the legislature was pass.
ing a number of bills that would
plunge the state into debt that would
impair the state credit and that
through the immigration bill would
open the way TO I. W. WIS and 9TH
ers to come into the statea and main
tain the voting strength. y The COM
munication called upon the people to
organize to combat this monstrous
thing"
The resolution was introduced by
the state affairs committee, and was
adopted Sc to 81. A number Of the
men who signed the communication
did not vote. There was very little
debate. but many of the members ex-
planned their VOTE. After the resolu-
ton q Sadopted,-Burtness demanded
that the chief clerk furnish him with
a copy of the resolution. 50 that he
could comply with the wishes Of the
house and explain why he signed It.
He informed the house that he had
requested the chief page to secure
the copy for him, but that the clerk
had refused to give it to him. Mad
dock Of Mountrail. chairman OF the
state affairs committee, objected to
this, but later withdrew his objection,
and the copy Of the resolution was
delivered to Mr.. Burtness, who irdnne-
diately proceeded to an analysis OF
the resolution and Of the statement 1t
contained, which he had signed.
man who had signed the statement
was unfit to hold public Office and
that they had signed statements which
they knew were false.
Burtness Analyses Statement
iEurtness analysed h staten nt in
Nelson's letter and defended it. He
asserted that 1t was his opinion that
the statement was absolutely true,
that the laws passed would double
commit the state to socialism, and
that the people should be informed Of
the issues so that they could vote in
diligently at the special election. This,
he declared, was simply carrying into
effect what the league leaders had
pledged themselves to do in declaring
that they would give the people an
opportunity to vote on the bills passed.
He insisted that no member Of the
minority should be unjustly condemn
ed for signing the statement. He re-
ferred to the fact that. Walter Mad
dock. chairman of the committee
which introduced the. resolution, d.
clared in explanation ofihis vote, that
he knew nothing about the resolution
what it contained. He declared fur
Their that a number Of the minority
members had signed it and that they
had nothing for which to apologize.
Maddox insisted that the men who
admitted signing the statement should
be censured.
The resolution declared that the
tou OSS@i SSlI Jul vi SLhCe
stationery, and this caused a heated
discussion, which resulted in the ap.
pointment of a committee to inter
view Nelson. This committee report
ed later that they found that tho sta
tionery was purchased by Mr.. Nelson
himself and that it was simply a fac
smile OF the state stationery.
O'Connor Calls It Insult.
O'Connor, in explaining his vote,
declared that it was simply another
attempt to heap deliberate insult on
the members of the minority.
Twichell of Cass, Reishus, Of Ward
and Carr Of Barnes took a prominent
part in the debate. Carr, at one
point, informed the house that the
senate, which contained no Patter-
sons and which was composed Of men
Of mature Judgment, had refused to
concur in the house resolution. :
Then the resolution was read in the
senate, Liedback moved that the SEN
ate concur, and Senator Frank Hy-
land Of Ramsey opened the debate. {
Hyland declared that the resolution
was unfair and unjust. He called ut
tention to the fact that two years ago,
he and Former Senator Mclean and
others OF the then majority had been
viciously cartooned by Congressman
John Baer; that Baer had cartooned
him as offering to sell legislation and
that others had been pictured az