Grand Forks herald., 1919-12-24
LANCER STARTS
MOVE TO FREE
NORTH DAKOTA
Challenges Man Outside,
States to Railroad" Him
to Jail.
The Deplorable Conditions
Foisted Upon People
Explained.


Valley. City, N. D., Dec. 24.-At-
torney General William Langer fired
the opening gun in the 1920 cam
paign here last night, when he ad-
dressed a crowd of over 1900 people,
one-third of whom were farmers of
the district.
/ The meeting was one of the most
successful ever held in Barnes coun-
ty, and the attorney general made an
exceptionally fine. impression. He
was introduced by Senator Frank
Ployhar.
Mr.. LANCER reviewed at length the
Valley City bank deal and the Scandi-
navian-American bank case. and he
frequently paused to challenge admin
fstration forces to arrest him if he was
not telling the truth. He quoted the
infamous anti-lieing bill, but did not
back water at any stage of his address.
Senator Noltimier, strong Lacquer
and caucus member, was not in the
audience, to hear Mr.. Langer's direct
challenge to him. .
The attorney general said in part:
''My fellow citizens:
II have always believed that a. state
official when lie made a speech before
his constituents should tell the truth.
That was the theory Of the campaign
in Towner county last month. Mr..
Kositzky, Mr.. Hall, and L were up
there speaking. There were also some
other state officials up there CAM
paigning. The voters of the county,
and it has been a strong Nonpartisan
Hail, Mr.. Kositzky and myself told
them. We told them the truth. You
know there are people that believe
that you can build a political monu-
ment on tissue of falsehoods but
those farmers up there in Towner
county are pretty wise fellows and
when speakers got up and told them
ted by a real ma ajority of the voters OF
the. state they kind of figured that a
speaker who would make that kind OF
= statement very likely would lie about
everything else and they voted accord
tnely:
''rhe legislature, my friends, was in
session and the result of the Towner
county election hit. certain fellows an
awful welt. We have got to keep Hall
too much. And SO they continued the
Reign Of Terror which was instituted
a; year. ago.,s I have here in my hand
asscopy 6, OF the Capital Daily Press
Of Thursday, February 9Th of Athis
gssr. The legiHiature was in session
CertAin sepatorH wire showing signs
Of fssindependence. Townley became
afraid that these legislators might not
vote to attach the emergency clause on
the seventeen million dollars Of bond
bills. The Capital Daily Press gotten
UP purposely as a daily to be publish
cd during that session, edited by Fl. p.
Knappen, now editor of the so-called
League paper of Burleigh county. was
its editor. And on February 9Th an
ASitorio1 on{if1o1 tVUi1l S,Ich man no
found was published. I want to read
part Of it to you.
The legislature sl1as it's man.
date from the people and the
power to act.
traitors block the program of
progress? Will some Benedict
Arnold appear among the farmers
and betray this mighty cause by
taking the bribes from Big Busi-
ness?
1--WE do not think SO.
~ But if this should happen-if
such a. man should be found
If! any League legislator is plan-
ming to double-cross his fellow
Legislators and his constituents
: let us give him one piece of advice
in; advance:
$ "'I.et him prepare to leave
North Dakota. Let him lay his
plans to move into some remote
territory. North Dakota will be
too hot for him. He will be re-
membered forever as the Judas of
the farmers movement.
-..And if he has children. let him
= reflect that he will betray them.
too-that his treachery will mean
THEIR name is forever dis
gtaced."
."s'But such a man will not be
found. We are sure that no such
black hearted scoundrels exist ;,
among the farmers's movement:
that no man is SO weak as to sell
his self-respect. his name, the her.
. itage of his children and the re-
gard of his fellow man for the
dirty pieces of silver which the
Minneapolis monopolists may Of
fer,
ls.s Mees Alone Stood Up
:. my friends. it takes men with a
tremendous amount of backbone to
stand UP against an attack of THIS
kind. Out of all the senators, out of
| all the regular League senators, Sen
ator Mees Of Morton county alone had
the nerve to vote the wishes of his
constituents and not the wishes of A.
c. Townley and his political cohorts.
Some of the other League senators like
| storstad and Stenmo had prior to this
time voted against them. And what
happened? Townley and Brinton went
/ up to .Mees and said III You don't vote
with us We are going into your county
and we are going to burn you up.' It
was only another step in the campaign
Of terror-to terrify any business man
who dared to vote against the league:
to terrify any bank that dared to con-
duct It's business in a. way that didn't
suit Townley and his OUTFIT; to terrify
any educator who didn't endorse the
socialistic program. A few days after
this editorial appeared they had to
make their bluff good. And what hap
pened then? A representative by the
name Of Cadell,-Cadell whose influen-
tial friends had saved him from going
to; the penitentiary,-claim that a
man had offered him $4,000 to vote
against certain of these measures. The
league papers blazoned it across the
front page. A, League representative
had been offered money to vote against
eertain measures. And when l. as
Ehief law officer conducted an inves-
Eigation to find aut from this man Ca
lells who had offered him the $1,000.
Eadellewould not tell. When, the mi
ority members of the legislature got
I'M before the House of Representa-
,,.nt% %ot1 - En vAH< ~