The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1920-04-22
JOE EDEVlNEE
! SLATED TO GO

Bismarck, N. D., April 15.-He was
perhaps rot all to blame. The fathe,
fhad failed to send him to school so il
was no wonder his mental development
had been arrested. Then when he
finally was forced into school he hated
it; hated the irksoms grind of slearnine
things; hated the idea of being behind
other children Of the neighborhood;
hated the whole scheme of life; de-
spised constituted authority and loath-
ed that authority as represented by
his teacher; he resented with a
deep unquenchable smouldering re-
sentiment the sudden enforced daily
incarceration in school house. It was
no wonder this smouldering fire ac-
tually burst into fiendish flame, a
consuming genuine conf1agration
which he kindled and which did de-
stroy the school house at Bartlett, N.
D. Then he set fire to the school
house at Lakota.
The law took hand and the boy
was sent to the state industrial school
at Mandan.
The grand old man who had been
aiding and helping boys and girls all
Ehis life took hand.a personal hand in
the case. He had been superintendent
of the state schools, had fathered and
built the Minot Normal, had taught
school himself many the year, and
even been governor of North Dakota,
and for four years had been training
bent saplings so that they would grow
straight. He took a personal inter-
est in the case of this boy whom he
found 80 per cent deficient. The faith
er came. often to see his boy and
thanked the experienced educator for
his efforts which were proving so sue
cessful.
Yet the father had a close friend.
So when this close friend who was
Peter J. Iverson, superintendent of
schools of Nelson county, and the only
county superintendent in North Dako-
ia who has continuously fought Minnie
Nelson and the purity in the schools
which she stands for--when this
friend, Iverson, sought political pre-
ference and advancement, Repfesen-
tative Fred w. Keitzman, (the faith
err forgot what Supt. Joseph M. De-
| vine of the state reform school had
done for his boy. Keitzman had gone
on record in voting for the killing of
the red flag bill, voted against all the
Americanization measures and stood
solidly for socialistic Townleyism.
| perhaps there is something in her.
edity). So Keitzman had drag with
Goversaor Frazier and consequently
| with the Twice Reverend George A.
| Totten, Sr.
The wheels of the injustice started
IA G
been endeavoring to find some excuse
to tear down the system of honest
American education builded at the
reform school by Joe Devine; has en-
deavored to find some excuse for re-
| moving the keystone. of this structure
where boys and girls are bettered.
There have been meetings held by the
Rotten Board of Administrative (the
typewriter slipped forward two let
ters, it should have been "T'otten
not "R"otten-but let it stand) and
Joe Kane is slated for the axe Just
like President Kane was at the Uni
versity.
Joe Devine told his children that he
might have to leave them. He has
listened to their complaints for six
years, has aided them in school, train
ed them, gotten their honor promises
and secured jobs for some of the larg-
err boys and banked $3.50 of their saw
ings for them; has sent over forth of
them to high schools and gloried with
the seven who have graduated at the
head of their classes-while under pa
role given them.
Many of them cried. To be honest,
eo did loo Dovine a little
They were his children, all of them.
He was their guardian in their home
from which most Of the stigma of re-
form school methods had been re-
moved for those who would be good
bows and girls.
Yet the gears of Townleyism grind
inexorably. Iverson of Nelson county
proved faithful by helping Neil c.
Macdonald to fight an honest woman.
Joe Devine succeeded in raising boy
where Keitzman, the father had fail
ed Such methods must not be coun-
tenanced in North Dakota. Think Of
it. A superintendent of a reform
school proving superior to a Townley
representative in a rubber stamp leg
islature. No! Keitzman has a repu-
tation to sustain; Iverson is faithful;
Joe Devine must 60; Totten's failure
to oust one institution head must be
avenged by the beheading Of another.
The reform school hasn't been
Townleyized yet, not quite yet, but it
probably will be within a very few
days. 1t must be for the good of "the
cause" The boys and girls there are
weak saplings, they can be trained
lust right and are Just the kind Of ma
terial from which to build revolution
;sts-if they weren't they wouldn't be
there.
Joe Devine has been building them
straight. Yes indeed, Joe Devine must
go.
mIccIoNApy i Ep0AI