Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-08-23
RUMoRs, OF ~RES1GNATfON.

t5T#1 Will UC IL TIC u1U
;ors which have been in circulation for. some time
concerning the alleged purpose Of Governor Frazier
Attorney General Len1ke, and Commissioner Of
Agriculture Hagan to resign their positions before
recall petitions against them are filed. The r%uniors
which have been in circulation for some time and
which have been more or less vague are given con-
crete form by a correspondent of the st. Paul
Pioneer Press who outlines what he has heard with
reference to this subject. The plan Is, as the corr
respondent gets it, for Messrs. Lemke and Hagar
first to resign, their places to be filled Immediately
by the appointment of new officials BY the govern
or. The governor is then to resign, and he will alto
j~rnatically be succeeded by Lieutenant Governor
wood. Thus the recall petitions which, have been
signed by over 10000 people, being directed against
the present officials would befva1ueless, and it be-
ing impossible to hold the proposed recall election
at the proposed time, and new petitions being nee
1essaty before, any election could be held, il might
Ibe possible to stavesoff entirely a vote on the ~initiat-
led laws for which petitions have also been signed.
The petitions for.these laws and the law governing
the subject require that a vote be taken on these
initiated bills at the next succeeding general cleo
ition. If no recall election is held, sthe next succeed
ing general election will not'be until November,
1922, and this would leave the present laws opera
tive until that time.
It has been evident for some time that what
ever the expectations of the. administrative factions
may be concerning the success Of the recall, there is
"a strong conviction that the initiated laws will be
approved by the people. Laws initiated in the same
way were passed by popular Vote last fail by ma
%jorities ranging about 10000. And. it has been
specifically stated in some Of the League press that
the passage of thee laws might be achieved at this
time, and that the hands of the administration
would thereby be tied.
Undoubtedly the administration will be willing
to go to great lengths to stave off an election. The
members against whom the recall petitions are di-
rected might go to the extreme Of ~resigning their
positions in order to do this; but it is apparent that
they are between the devil and the deep sea, because
while this resignation procedure might POSTPONE
for a short time a recall election, it could by no
means prevent it, because the answer to- it would
undoubtedly be the circulation 5df new recall petit
lions against the new officials who would be equally
under fire with their predecessors on the ground
that, they. are merely substitutes whose appointment
is a slbterfuge, and the campaign against the or
ganization would be given even greater force and
impetus than it has now.
It is quite likely that the administration will be
allowed to use its own discretion as to r~esigning or
|pot resigning, because the resignation could be
forestalled with certainty only by the immediate
filing of the recall petitions. This would precipitate
the election and advance its date by at least a
month, something which is not at all desirable, as
the purpose has been to have the election held at a
time when the outside farm work Of the state is over
for the season and when it will be possible to get
out a full vote. The governor, attorney general,
and commissioner of agriculture may rest assured;
however, that their adoption of this plan will not be
permitted to stand in the way Of the move for clean
up upor-which many thousands of North Dakotans
are fully determined. 4.