Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1919-06-05
FREES PRESS OF
GANG CONTROL
Newspaper Law Makes Peo-
pie, Not Politicians, Bosses
ofPapers, Says Editor.

Editor A. r.. Kelly, Of the Grant
County Leader, published at Carson.
n. ~, Is positive concerning the bene-
dts that Senate Bills 157 and 1853 win
confer not only upon the people gem
orally but actually upon the news
papers and their publishers. Senate
Bill 157 has been referred to the peo-
pie and will be voted on at the COM
Ing election, June 20. Editor Kelly
states his views as follows:
The Purpose Of the Law.
In order to. show up the Old Gang
and the weakness Of their argument
against the popular election Of official
papers. we give below brief outline
OF the measure. The purpose of the
Dill is to do away with political prefer
snce 10 the selection Of the public
press and place directly in the hands
OF the people the power to choose
their official paper by popular vote.
The cry Of the opposition that It will
put all but League newspapers out Of
business Is simply political bunk and
means whereby they hope to retain
the old system Of graft in the use Of
public funds. This is the bill the /.
V. A. is trying to defeat. The I. v. A.
Is the Old Gang under new name.
Follows Example Of Other States.
"a. This bill follows the example Of
many other states in providing for an
OFFICIAL paper in each county in which
all public printing and advertising re.
quired by law shall be published.
Means q Large Saving.
ID. This involves saving Of $780,
OOO year in advertising expenses and
provides more effective service for
the purposes served by such public
advertisements.
Protects Against Fraud.
&c. This will be very greatly to the
advantage of those who wish proper.
ties, sold under execution, to be fully
and fairly advertised; Of great adj
vantage to banks carrying large lines
of securities; to attorneys engaged to
protect the interest of numerous
clients and to everyone else with the
single exception of the publishers Of
the few country newspapers WHO loud
~ contend that they cannot live with
out special political patronage.
Prevents Surrender to Politicians.
I'd. 1t is curious thing that news-
papers which claim they cannot live
without political patronage, ask the
public to provide ut needless ex-
penditure of not less than $4,000 q
year for such patronage which can be
secured only through the personal
surrender Of the paper to the interests
Of the politicians who now have three
papers In each county instead of the
people themselves holding one as 10
provided under this bill.
State Board Names Until Regular
Election.
re. It is complained that until elec.
tions are to be- held the state printing
commission is to name for the inter-
vening time the official paper. Until
elections can be held someone must
name the official paper or nearly half
a million Of public funds must be
squandered in needless advertising
while these funds on the showing of
these critics themselves would be used
in the meantime Of partisan purposes.
Ends Boss Rule.
#. Under present conditions the
advertising provided for these official
papers does give support to local po-
lttical rings. With the people them
selves directly electing their official
paper, boss rule based on newspaper
patronage at public expense will be-
come impossible. Instead of its being
the means for creating political ma
chine 1t will be the means of destroy
ing certain political machines which
have long existed in the state at great
expense and with nothing other than
the maintenance of vicious influences
seeking to control public opinion
through the wasteful use of public
/ funds.''