The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-12-11
BURTNESS AT
TACKS LIBRARY
THE ALLEGED BOOKS ON FREE
LOVE- AND "ANARCHY" PUT
THERE BY OLD GANG

LOVE- AND IAN ARCH PUI
THERE BY OLD GANG
The, tables were completely turned
on the I. v. A. legislators early in the
week following an attack by O. B.
Burtness of Grand Forks on the poll
cy of the travelling library when it
was discovered that most Of the So
called Socialist, "bolshevist" "anar-
chist' and "free love-, books named
by Mr.. Burtness had been placed in
the library by the old gang admins
tration in 1911 and 1912.
Following the attack of Mr.. Burt
ness, in which he charged that the $50
cialist" administration was poisoning
the minds Of the young with 'Red"
and "Free Love" literature, COM
mittee was elected to investigate these
charges.
Burtness Seeks: Sensation
The committee already has made
sufficient investigation, to find that
the charges preferred by Burtness
were without foundation, and were
the result of his desire to create SEN
sation for the kept press. It developed
before the committee that the works
Of Ellen Key, the famous Swedish au-
thoress whose works are on every Ii
brary shelf of consequence, were pur
chased as far back as 1911. One book,
"Love and Ethics," was recently ac-
quired by the library to complete the
series which the former library COM
mission had purchased.
Talking in the Nonpartisan League
caucus, Rev. John Flint, pastor of the
Norwegian Lutheran Church, declared
that he has three of Ellen Keys books
in his own library. II would not i'm
pugn Mr.. Burtness' motives in de-
nouncing these books" Rev. Flint said,
"but I would say that any man who
objects to standard works Of this
quality being in reference library is
an impudent ignora1nus."
The investigating committee also
learned that these books and others
Of economic nature are not circulated
promiscuously through the travelling
library, but are kept as reference
books in the reference library, and are
sent out only on specific requests from
adults. This is in refutation to the
charges Burtness made from the floor
of the house. .=--.
Makes Poor Choice
An amusing incident occurred in the
committees investigation. Among the
list of books which Burtness objected
to was John Spargo's ".Bolshevism." I"
When the committee looked inside the
covers of the book they found that it
was a vigorous attack on the doc
trines of the Bolsheviki. Another book
which Burtness objected to as being
'tsocialistic, immoral and bolshevistic'
was Howe's "High Cost Of Living"
A look into the records and books
on the shelves of the state house
proves by Mr.. Burtness' standard, that
the Burke and Hanna administration
have been frankly socialistic and i'm
moral. On the shelves were found four
other books of Ellen Key of the same
series as that from which Mr.. Burt
ness quoted extensively. They were
purchased gefore the farmers league
was in existence.
The book "Love and Ethics" is the
fifth volume written by Ellen Key, of
which four other volumes, "Love and
Marriage" t"The Century of a Child,''
"The Young Generation" and "Ro-
mances of Motherhood" are to be
found in the library.
Nearly every one of these books
were in the library before the board
took control, and all but a very few
before Nonpartisans were even in con-
troll Of the state.
immortality From Herald
Nor are these books the only ones
that were in the library, put there by
former administrations.
False Modesty," by E. B. Lowry, well
read since early in 1914, discusses
snch kindred subjects as "The Virgins
Sacrifice" and Teaching the Science
Of Motherhood"
Also filed in the library is clip
ping from the Grand Forks Herald, is
sue of October 20, 1916, under the
heading "Birth Control Gives Holland
Stronger Race" in which long parts
from the speech Of an eminent doctor
are quoted; in which he favors birth
control for this country as well as Hol-
land. and discusses the problems at
tendant.
Mr.. Burtness made the statement
that he found among these radical
books and others on socialism and boil
shevism book by Trotzky, two on
the Russian Bolsheviki The profits Of
Religion" by Upton Sinclair, as well
as several others Of q more or less
progressive nature.