The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-03-25
AN OVERSEER'S OVERSIGHT

an error or be miSled and few will notice it. The
man placed in a high position can not escape so
easily. The fierce white light that beats about
the high places among men, reveals in it's glare
the spots and stains that human carelessness
and pIOnenesS to err Invariably leave.
That is why the world gaspS in surprise when
a man like Dr.. Vincent Wehrle, Roman Catho-
lie bishop of Bismarck, slips into Inaccuracies
and allows himself to be led into putting his
name to statements that are obviously errone-
Gus.
The good bishop, in an article in the "E1xten-
sion Magazine for March (Which magazine,
by the way, is published by the Catholic church
Extension society at Hammond, Ind has left
himself open by some glaring and inexplicable
mlSstatements, to expressions Of amazement
that a man in his position should permit him
self to make such gross mistakes.
Under the title of The Nonpartisan League
Experiment" the bishop outlines very clearly
the cause for the organization. But when he
goes furthel-he stumbles. For instance he
gives $3E ,268,612 as the amount of the 1919
taxes III LaMoure county alone. Yet the taxes
of the entire state-including state, county,
schools, cities-do rot total more than 7,0O0,-
600. To credit one county with paying MORE
taxes than is paid by ALL the counties of the
state is surely a g~revious error.
In another place the good bishop declares
that Governor Frazier issued a letter which in
structs all banks to refuse to show their books
v oily uCpuCy oCdtC Odllh Adllll SlLIO
they have FIRST been notified by the State
Bank Examiner of his coming. The inference
from this statement is that the State Bank
Examiner must "tip off, the bank to be ex-'
amined in advance of the coming of the examin-
er. Now the facts are, and the good bishop
might we'll have discovered them for he lives
in Bismarck and can get them, that the COVER
nor issued no letter. He did issue a statement
advising banks not to permit pretended exam
iners or persons not carrying with them the
required certificate as deputy bank examiners,
to pry into their books and financial affairs.
Only those persons authorized under the law
are permitted to make examinations of banks.
Sometimes a bank is deceived and allows an ex-
animation by an unauthorized person. The Gov
ernor simply warned the bankers to ask the ex-
aminer to "shOW his papers," as a protection
both to them and to their patrons-whose pri-
vate affairs must be so safeguarded, which is
quite a different state of affairs than that out
lined by the bishop Of Bismarck in his astonish-
ing article.
If the bishop desired to make an effective ar
gument against the Nonpartisan League, he has
wisdom enough to know that it cannot be made
by giving such gross exaggerations of the
amount of taxes or by such obvious misinter-
pretations of the Governors statement. He
knows that such a course merely goes to null
ify his argument. Therefore, we are inclined to
the opinion that Bishop Wehrle has listened to
politicians and taken what they said as truth,
rather than going direct for his information
to the actual records which are on file in the
state offices and which are open and public to
every citizen. The bishop is too shrewd not to
see that the errors he has made in his article
can not but destroy the effect of his attack up
on the farmers organization. He has overshot
his mark. We do not say that he is not entitled
to his opinion and to oppose the League if he
thinks best to do so. That is his privilege, but
within the privilege there remains the duty to
assure himself of his facts before he publishes
them in a publication of such standing and cir
%culation as the Extension Magazine.
Greek and means "Overseer." As an overseer
is careful and assures himself of all the facts
before making a decision or proceeding to an
end. But an "overseer" of things political he
does not exercise the same care evidently, and
as a result we have the overseer's oversight.
Among the first thirty-six returned soldiers
to receive a bonus of $25 a month for each
month of service from the State of North Oak.
was a brother of the editor of the Wahpeton
Globe azette-a paper bitterly antagonistic
to the farmers and their organizatin. Evident
ly the officials in charge of the bonus distribu-
ton do not play the game as Kositzky does. He
paid all the I. V. A.. legislators their salaries
and railroad fare for the special session and has
not yet paid those legislators who are members
of the Nonpartisan League. Christ defined the
difference between Christianity and heather
dom: "If We love them that love you, what re-
ward have ye? Do not even the tax collectors do
the same?
Patriotism was the motive that urged on SEN
- L. -~~n~,~A kA~. ~ 4A