The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1919-11-20
SOCIALISM UNMASKED
In the Grip of a Real Autocrat

was ''hold-over" senators elected in
1914 for term of four years and all
of these "hold-overs" were practically
all patriotic Republicans.
Townley sprung his Secret Caucus
to bind by oath 81 members of the
House and Is members of the Senate,
who pledged themselves to do his bid
ding in every particular.
Then, as out of a clear sky, came
the astounding proposal to revise the
Constitution of the state-not by
convention of delegates elected for
that purpose and specially equipped
for the great and solemn task of re-
building the basic law of the state,
but by the sudden, revolutionary, I'M
precedented method of having the
state legislature pass a bill revising
the Constitution.
The state fairly gasped with amaze
ment at the wicked scheme to, at one
swift blow, demolish the Constitution
under which the state had risen to
prosperity and to substitute for it a
document that was the very essence
of destructive Socialism.
At once the battle lines were drawn
between the forces of Socialism and
the members of the legislature who
refused to throw the state into a chaos
of financial, economic and political
turbulence which would ruin the
credit of the state and wipe out the
constructive work of half a century
under which the state had become one
of the foremost agricultural empires
of the nation.
The fight in the legislature was a
bitter one. The publications control
led by Townley stopped at nothing in
their denunciations of the Senators
and Representatives who opposed
House Bill "A Meetings of members
of the league were held in the dis
tricts of these members of the legis-
lature and resolutions were forced
through denouncing these men.
The Socialistic leaders of Townley-
ism thronged the Hobbies of the cap
itol and the hotels, using every means
known to clever workers to try to in
timidate or cajole the steadfast oppo-
sition. Political oblivion and loss of
business prestige were threatened.
Few legislatures, of any states, ever
saw members more tried or harrled.
But when the final vote came in the
House there were % who stood their
ground to the last The 81 members
bound by the oath of the Secret eau
Gus voted "aye" in parrot-like success
sion.
Saved from Orgy of Socialism
Four days later House Bill "A came
to a vote in the Senate where the
Townley members tried all the tricks
of clever parliamentarians, being
coached from the side lines by the
leaders who were not members of the
Senate, but when the final vote for
indefinite postponement was an
nounced there were % votes for thus
killing the measure and 81 in opposi-
ton to this action.
House Bill "A was dead-and North
Dakota had escaped, for the time al
least, from being plunged into ar
orgy OF Socialism such as no state hac
ever before even considered seriously
1t is interesting, at this point, to re
view some of these Socialistic calaml
ties so narrowly averted. As intro
ductory to this it might not be amls:
to revert to the fact that the Constl
tuition of North Dakota provides am
pie methods for amendments in regu
lar and legal form.
1t also prescribes that each membel
of the legislature take an oath of Of
flee, saying (Sec. 211) 81 do solemn!
swear that will support
the Constitution of the State of Nortl
Dakota" and yet in the Preamble thi
Socialist Constitution speaks of tn
things it is proposed to do and say
"Whereas the Constitution of thu
state at this date prohibits the doini
of those things by this Legislative
assembly," etc. Thus the member
who voted for House Bill Al voted t
do the things prohibited by the Con
stitution and thus violated their oath
of office, but adhered to their Town
ley Secret Caucus oath.
Throwing down the Bars Entirely
The Declaration of Rights of an
Constitution sets forth the principle
on which a Constitution isf ounde
and therefore cannot be amended c
changed except such action carries
revision of the Constitution. This
logic and is also accepted IN law
Therefore the fact that House Bill 4
carried new section into the Declal
alton of Rights, providing for tn
brcadest kind of Socialism throughor
the state, demonstrates the intent c
Townley to tie this onto the common
wealth in the most radical form. Tn
new section of the Declaration {
Rights reads:
Sec % THE RIGHT OF TIL