The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-01-29
0. I. RlSH0FF CAllo
INTERVIEW A fake
SAYS HE WAS QUOTED WITH
WORDS HE NEVER SAID
OR THOUGHT

s...- OR THOUGHT
In the week ending Jan. 10, there
appeared multaneously in number
of I. v. A. newspapers throughout the
state under Bismarck headline, what
purported to be an interview with o.
T. Rishoff, formerly manager of the
Publishers National Service Bureau.
The interview" pretended to quote
Mr.. Rishoff's actual words and was a
severe denunciation of the activities
of the Bureau. it's managers and it's
methods. It was evidently mimeo-
graphed, presumably in the I. V. A.
press headquarters and sent out to all
gang weeklies, for the same story ap-
peared in the Beach Advance, the
Wahpeton Globe Gazette, the New
England Herald, the Starkweather
Times, Farmers Advocate and others.
An Entire Fake
The interview was made out of
whole CLOTH" It is a piece of unex-
ampled mendacity far beyond any
thing in this line perpetrated in the
state. That a man can be credited with
remarks and sentiments that he new
er uttered and that these can be put
in his mouth, surrounded by quotation
marks, and be publised broadcast over
the state, shows to what depths the
gang newspapers have fallen and how
much they have been lowered in the
ethics and decencies of the profession
by the political contagion of the I. V.
A. leaders. AS Mr.. Rishoff says in a
personal letter; "Can you beat it?
Had known to what depraved depths
members of the profession could sink,
/ would have gotten out Of the news
paper game years ago."
Rishoff's Signed Statement
e. Some of the papers containing the
fake interview were forwarded to Mr..
Rishoff at st. Paul, and upon receipt
Of them he sat down and wrote this
statement: ......
tsMy attention has been called to a
purported interview in the Beach Ad-
vance, under Bismarck headline Of
Jan. 8. am quoted at some length by
"a representative of The Advance" in
a wholesale denunciation of the Pub
fishers National Service Bureau and of
individuals. 3-' -.
'1 can only marvel at the audacity
Of this journalistic crook. A detailed
denial Of such a tissue of falsthood
would be dignifying it. l resigned
from the Service Bureau for purely
personal reasons and did not demand
the firing of Brinton for the simple
reason that he was in no way con-
nected with the Bureau and conse-
quently 'could not be fired" | have
never been in Beach, nor have l been
in Bismarck for almost year. have
never been interviewed by any rep
resentative of the Beach Advance, nor
have l the slightest idea who that
worthy may be. My resignation was
not discussed with Lemke at any time.
Vitally Important Service
"Hav:ng no further connection with
the Service Bureau or the League in
any capacity, I can speak OF these
things without prejudice. ara not on
'"Townley's pay roll Nevertheless,
my close knowledge of the farmer
owned newspapers of the northwest
and also my familiarity with the
functions of the Service Bureau leads
me to state, without qualification,
that this department of the organiza-
ton is more vitality important to it's
success than any other single endeav-
or of the League. It's extensive aid,
service and advice is Indispensable to
the more than one hundred co-opera-
teivly owned newspapers in North Da-
kota and adjoining states. Without
this central Bureau, maintained CO.
operatively easy for the unscrupuious
opposition to "get to" the editor and
one by one, wreck or destroy the eff
ficiency Of these publications.
Would Destroy Bureau
= "Recognizing the tremendous I'M
portance of the Bureau to the farmer
weekly it is little wonder that the
/. ". A. hirelings will resort to the
most contemplate means in an effort
to discredit and, if possible, wreck it.
Farmers Of North Dakota! Do not
be misled. The Service Bureau, as the
directing head of your local newspa-
ner, is the most formidable weapon
YOU have with which to meet the en-.
envy. If you once realize the vital inn
portance Of the work done by this de-
partn1cnt of your organization, you
would not hesitate in making any
sacrifice, however great, in It's sup
port and maintenance, rather than
listen to the siren song Of the forces
of evil now attempting to destroy it.
"The Service Bureau has q great
task q difficult one. Its fun tons,
NAV sometimes be misunderstood, ev-
a by it's friends. That it will be mis-
represented, vilified and slandered by
the prostituted press Of the state IS
...1.sS ~, 10 nxrocfnd Rl1t with YOUR