The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1919-09-18
INTERESTING HAPPENINGS
At the STATE CAPITAL

At the STATE CAPITAL
Bismarck, N. D., Sept. l7th-Gov-
ernor Lynn Frazier is no better than
any other ordinary citizen. He has
said so himself. On that presump-
tion Attorney ]. F. Sullivan of Man
dan, who is defending Sheriff Pier
zina and States Attorney Gallagher
of Golden Valley County, has SUBJ
poenaed the governor as witness
in the hearing which opened Tuesday
at Beach, following the removal Of
those officers by the governor for
alleged actions unbecoming an Off
cial. an outgrowth of the Bowen
murder case The hearing pro-
bably will continue for number
of days. The defendent officials
intend to air the whole Bowen affair
from start to finish and the gover-
nor is summoned for statements al
legged to have been made to Frank
Evens, special stockman's Investiga-
tor. A new angle in the case is the
bringing In of Bismarck Veterin-
arian whom it has been discovered
was sent to Beach by the governor at
the time of the supposed poisoning
of Bowen's cattle, and who, acting as
private Investigator for the governor,
reported no evidence of poison.
Whether or not Senator Bill No.
40 passed at the last session Of the
legislature is constitutional and
whether or not the state of North
Dakota may collect $1,500.00O in
taxes from foreign corporations on
moneys and credits held in North
Dakota rests with the spreme court
following a hearing Monday.
Senate Bill No. 40 provides that
all book accounts, moneys credits.
mortgages, notes, ETC., held against
North Dakota parties by foreign in
terests shall pay to the state mill
tax. 1t is estimated that there is at
leas $500. 100000 so held.
Attorney General William LANCER
and Assistant Attorney General F..
E. Packard defending the bill against
counsel retained blythe various COM
panies, contend that all such debts
are contracted in the state and result
from transactions within North la
kota and the state has Jurisdiction.
The plaintiffs contend that notes.
mortgages held. for instance in st.
Paul, are Minnesota owned and nom
taxable by North Dakota. The con-
tention is also raised that the bill
restricts interstate commerce in
violation of federal rulings.
During the past three months, the
attorney generals office has search
ed records on the books of the coun-
ties of the state and has uncovered
Ia vast amount of foreign owned
paper.
In addition to the chattel mort
cages. real esatte mortgages, A. w.
Carlson, who has been collecting the
data has received returns from
grain commission firms to the a.
mount of $4,000,000.
The constitutionality of the in
come tax law and the excise tax
made against foreign corporations
of fifty cents per thousand dollars Of
business done In the state, are said
to hang on the decision in the SEN
ate Bill No. 40 case.
The decision of the spreme court
on the two cases involving the duties
and the office of the superintendent
handed down until September 10 or
later, is the information given out
today. The Supreme Court has
been in almost continuous session
for ten days on hearings of various
kinds. The cases in question.
whether the educatioal commission
or Miss Nelson shall prepare the
courses of study for the common
schools, and whether she was quail
fled to take the position to which
she was elected, call for decisions
based as much on the publicly ex-
pressed statements of political par
ties as upon law, was the claim of
the attorneys.
Citing the federal constitution as
grounds for his contention that the