The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-08-14

MISS NELSON
TO NAME STUDIES
Bismarck, N. d. Aug. 12-Tha
Miss Minnie Nelson, superintendent
of public instruction will name the
courses of study :. tie public schools
and that, by tkc 4cao of Townley's
campaign speeches, by the halo of E
non-frocked bisil~ i, b. the prior opin'
ions of the supreme court, the Town
ley board of adm a-stlation is not tc
select studies ard inject socialism in
the North Dakota schools is the basis
upon which Attorney General William
LANCER has written an opinion which
was handed down late yesterday aft
ernoon. It forms one of the most
interesting as we'll as amusing bits of
literature in the history of the fight
to inject socialistic text books in
North Dakota schools. 1t lifts Town
ley's fgureheads by their own politi-
cal boot-straps and boots them into
the junk-heap Of foisted plans.
Charles Leissman, former secretary
of the board of regents, now secretary
of the newly created board of admin
istration on which Miss Minnie Mel
SON gets voice Cat the ratio of four
to one), addressed letter to the at
torney general asking concerning the
preparation of the courses of study
in the public schools.
LANCER in his opinion cites the con-
stitution. But he does not stop there,
he cites a section of the board Of adj
ministration law; hoists Bill Lemke
by his own petard whatever that may
be; cites the Townley string of pa
pers; cites the Big Chief himself; calls
attention to Townley advertisements
in the Publicity Pamphlet; and then
cinches his opinion by quoting from
the nonpartisan league supreme court
justices, Grace and Bronson, on opin-
ions on similar cases.
Miss Nelson will prepare the cours- !
es Of study. And she has not as yet |
changed her mind It is hardly prob |
able that the socialist textbooks of
Karl Marx and Walter Thomas Mills
will be included in the curriculum.
The opinion in its entirety is as fol-
lows:
STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA.
Office of Attorney General.
august II, 1919. |
Hon. Charles Liessman,
Board Of Regents,
Bismarck, n. D.
l have your favor of August 9Th and
note that the board OF administration
requests an opinion as TO whether
they, through their education COM
mittee, have the duty Of preparing the
courses Of study for the public schools
of North Dakota, as provided by Sec
ton 7, Senate Bill No. 1874, Session
Laws OF 1919. Or whether the course
of study shall be continued to be pre-
pared by the superintendent of public
instruction as provided by Section
1lO9 of the Compiled Laws of 1913.
Section 1109 is as follows:
'"He Cor she, the state superintend-
ent) shall prepare and prescribe the
course Of study for all the common
schools of the state"
This section was in effect when Sec
ton 9, Senate Bill 1874 was passed last
February.
Section is as follows:
"The powers and duties OF the state
of public instruction
as heretofore provided by law shall
be subject to the supervision and con-
troll of the board of administration,
only insofar, as such powers and du-
ties were by law to the supervision
and control of any or all of the board
mentioned in Section of this act"
This bill was referended and the
Publicity Pamphlet was issued as pro-
vided by law. The National Non-Par-
tisian League, by William Lemke, d.
rector, inserted on Page 16 of this
state document, two page statement
in which they requested the following:
"Any person desiring further IN
formation can get it by writing POST
office Box 919, Fargo, N: D., and ask
ing for free copy of Facts About
North Dakota's New Laws"
The State Publicity Pamphlet, un-
der the law, was sent out by the sec
rotary Of state to every voter IN
North Dakota. Presumably hundreds
Of people sent for the pamphlet got
ten out by the Non-Partisan League.
In addition to this "Facts About Nortn
Dakota's New Laws" was circulated
among their members anu otlleIs ~
publishing the pamphlet as supple
ment to each and every one Of the
string Of newspapers which were some
forty in number. If ever a pamphlet
was circulated in this state, it was the
pamphlet entitled "Facts About North
Dakota's New Laws"
Upon referring to said pamphlet so
thoroughly advertised and circulated
we find the following language on
Page 26: ,
moreover Section 8 of the board
Of administration law, specifically pro
vides that the present powers, SHALL
NOT BE INTERPRETED WITH OK
LIMITED IN ANY MANNER. In
view of these facts it is difficult to
see how any honest person who had
read the law in question can maintain
that this act was passed to !egisiate
Miss Minnie Nelson out OF office.
When Townley, leader OF the dom1-
nant political faction, was out cam
paigning in the referendum election
and urging the farmers to vote yes on