The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-12-25
n"IEI::.|T|S FROM THE
STATE CAPIT0L,

Bismarck, n. D., Dec. II. - The
storminG of the state capitol building
Ivy 2"1 soldiers, members Of the Amer
l~un Legion Of the Bismarck Post, is
one ~. Of nist,,,. that will not be writ
tn in l.t ;NIHis Of North Dakota,
..,i'~r2ly because the special session OF
The .'lu.-i>T .,.-..- -!.;2.:,cyd to de-
eide to udjGu1n at 8 O'Clock Thursday
y, @rmber llch.
.iu|.,.vel, in the action OF the Bis
!..;,lc: l.cgioI1, - Il criterion Of the at
!Iuue OF tAe Legion men ali over The
state. The Legion met at s O'CLOCK
Thursday evening, passed resolutions
IvNl~1siiti.,I thc resignation c. George
A. Totem from the board Of ;&nsiniS-
tration; c. z. Strangaiand as iibrar-
5"!1. c-l Nine. Lunc and n. {. Nc
.5on"js Some one mentioned the So
cai,td Red + lag Bill
A motion was made and unanimous
~ carried that the members present
HypyoNiN9.~ ~ 3 IS Of them, u?arcl in
4 body to the state capitol and demand
tnc passage &. the law which would
make the flying of the rcI lag Ct an
IL say. " LIS Dletl!A itelSo : NY ~ .lo4I
Illegal But they We're ic&e. Repre-
sci .atiF&s Ness and Eettc:,on Who
the bill at the r1:yC.:.-' &es-
sion in january and agai;- p be-
loic the house, had demanded. ...s.t the
:'!! ~c brought Oh. D. v...llI.1.:ttCv. 'II..ls
-,C@4l te,t al argul4c4Iv ana a-rl-,~. 81
the Non-F&Htls;tn league naJoilty de-
>Is>l eu they had never seen sucn Hags
III North Dakota therefore did not
think suc! Il law was reasonable.
\ hot Lub:tt~ u.l:tlc,: Just before ad-
juvgnment but the league majority
5,uc!: :o!idly and voted against bring
Ing the biI4 out Of cornmiJtee-voted
TO allow the bill to die theIe-voted,
according 10 legion men by refusing
10 PASS the law as though they had
en-. orsed the flying Of the red Tag OF
ana1 chism and Bolshevism.
One member Of the house was ap-
preached by Z Leglonalre who sug-
r15ycd that such would be the infer
cnce o. the soldiers. u can take you
to Legion members right here who do
not think So
Ben Okert the sergeant-at-arms IN
the senate was suggested.
Okert was one OF the first OF the Il
soldiers in Bismarck to 'fall' for the
argument of Lester Barlow, the dis
gluntled aviation department invent
or, state organizer for the Worlds
War Veterans who accused the Legion
before a joint meeting OF the house
and senate of being controlled by Of
ficers and Wal Street. His record IS
decidedly interesting. For the war
records show the answer on his ques-
ticnaire card conscientious Object
or" to the query 'Do you claim ex-
en1ption from the draft!'
ISergeant-at-arms in the senate, high
in the favor of the leaguers, nomin-
ated for the job by Senator Fraser of
Mclean county, according to the in
vestigating committee Of the Bis
marck Legion he delivered an extern
poraneous lecture in the lobby of the
Mckenzie hotel following the Worlds
War Veteran organizers talk to the
effect that THE United States never
Should have sent soldiers to France. y
Olert's home is at Garrison, he is OF
Hunanian descent, and when finally
InducJed into the service spent an OF
his army life at Camp Custer in Mich
igan, U. S. A.
That a conscientious objector should
be given a job by the state legisla-
ture does not set well with the Legion
men who did net learn Okert's record
until practically the close Of the SEES
sion
Following the vote Of the soldiers
the members prepared to start for the
capitol to express their views to the
legislature but phone call stopped
them-the legislature had adjourned
The Bismarck Post is the first tc
take action by passing resolutions de-
handing change Il affairs. The res
olutions addressed to the governor
were in protest against the introduc
tion of the Red Flag, free love, Boil
shavik, Anarchistic and kindred liter
allure into the public library and plac
ing blame on Totten as much as Stran