The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1919-12-11
MACDONALD AND STANGELAND INSTILL
POISON INTO THE HEARTS OF PRISONERS
Representative Burtness Tells of
Library Survey of the State
Prison by Educational Ex-
pert" end Educational Ad.
wiser" and Its Results-Ex-
poses Vile Attack Upon Cath
olicism and Other Religious
Creeds

olicism and Other Religious
CreedS
Asserting that N. C. Macdonald
educational adviser, and C. E. STANCE
land, educational expert, OF the state
board of administration made a "sur'
vey" of the penitent!ary library which
preceded the appearance there a few
days latr Of History of Great Amer1
can Fortunes IAN attempt appa-
rently to instill poison into the hearts
of the prisoners sent there by the
judges Of this land, by the courts OF
the land, that they have not been
fairly dealt WITH" and quoting
vicious attacks on all religious creeds
from Upon Sinclair's Profits of Re-
ligion," which is in the states travel
ing library, and which contained pas
sages relating to Catholicism which
were declared too vile to be read in
the house or at any other place, Rep.
resentaitve Burtness yesterday after
noon renewed his attack upon the
state board OF administration and his
! demand for the passage of House Bill
2S, which would have restored control
CT the public school system to Miss
Minnie j. Nelson and have abolished
the state board Of admins tration.
Burtness also charged that Madame
Signe Lund. appointed by the board
of administration to head Mayville
normals music department, had pre-
sented to members of the normal fac
ulty petition for the pardon of Kate
l,lcharus O'Hare, sentence in this
city in December, 1917, to serve five
years in Leavenworth prison for Sc
dition, and who in an address at
Bowman in July, 1917, ikened the
mothers of North Dakota's fighting
men to brood sows, and said that the
best service the blood and bodies OF
our boys could render humanity
would be to fertilize the fields of
France.
Efforts on the part of the majority
to block Burtness from reading ex-
tracts from the Sinclair book and
from History of Great Fortunes,
which he declared an attack on the
courts and the laws of the land, and
which he asserted had been placed in
the hands of felons whom the state
is attempting to reform and who were
convicted by these courts for the VIC
latiOn of these laws, were blocked by
Walter J. Maddox of MOuntrail, and
other league leaders, who co-operated
with the minority and insisted that
Burtness be given all the time he
wanted.
Burrness ushered in his defense oI
House Bill % by declaring the bill
creating the state board Of admins
tration, referred last June, was ap
proved by the people on misrepresen
tat:on of facts. He recalled the his
tory of the BILL how it was amended
following storm of protest so as to
apparently reserve to the state super
intendent of public instruction all pow
ers previously enjoyed. He declared
league speakers from President Town
ley down to Governor Frazier had
quoted this amenment when cam
paigning for the bill and had declared
Miss NELSON'S powers as state super
intendent broadened rather than Cir
cumscribed. He told how Governor
Frazier had gone to the secretary oI
state and insisted that this promise
be repeated in the Official ballot sub
mitted to the people, which specifi
cally refereed to the provision that
the powers of the state superinten
dent be so abridged, and he then told
how Chairman George A. Totten, al
the first meeting of the state board
of administration, had informed Miss
Nelson, when he proposed to take
over the fixing of the course of study
that the act undoubtedly did restrict
here powers, and this statement, SAID
Burtness, was made by Totten before
the suprmee court had been asked tC
rule in this question.
Either the administration from the
very beginning attempted to fool the
people, or it was mistaken"
Burtness declared again that the
contents of the state library justified
his condemnation Of the board of adj
ministration; that the report of the
house committee appointed to investi
gate the library bore out this state
ment. He quoted from Stangeland's
report to the board of administration
to show that Stangeland had found
the state library deficient in works o.
this type. He then told of the inves
tigation of the penitent:ary library by
Slangeland and Macdonald and how
a few days later History Of Grea
Amberican Fortunes" an attempt ap
parently to instill poison into the
hearts of the prisoners sent there b,
judges in this land, by the courts o
the land, that they have not beer
fairly dealt WITH had been sent ou
to the prison.
Mr. Burtness referred to another
splendid appointment of the boare
of administration, which he declared
had placed in charge of the music de
apartment Of Mayville normal Madame
Signe Lund, who has presented II
the members of the faculty of tina
institution a petition for the releas,
of Kate Richards O'Hare, convicted il
federal court here in 1917 of sedition
He declared he was not surprised tt
and Madame Lund and Stangeland OF
Mrs. O'Hares mailing list.
Quoting from Profits of Religion,
4 to whcih he calle the attention o
every minister in North Dakota, II,
declared pages q and 2S devoted tt
Catholicism, 50 sacreligious, so terri
BILE that l would not read it in TIM
house or any other place." and h.
asked the Catholics among the mem
| harc of tho ho,1so if fhnv wic1,ad thai