The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1921-01-18
W0G WINS HIS
SEAT BY LONE
MAJORITY VOTE
Senate Divides Evenly on Fac
tiOnal Lines in Contest
Matter -.
WOOD DECIDES THE ISSUE
Casts Deciding Vote in Battle
for Control of Upper
. House

seat by one vote.
Independents in the senate charged
that the Nonpartisan Lacquer sena-
tors. in voting to seat Wog. reversed
their action Of two years ago in un.
seating an Independent on the plea
that it is wrong Ito cOuntenance any
such irregularities or crimes against
free mans ballot.
Nonpattsan senator's, on the other
hand, asserted that no fraud had been
shown. and that it was evident the
voters had expressed their cOnvic'
tion. .-.....
Wog was elected by 40 votes. II
the three precincts in which irregu-
larities were charged had been
thrown out r. J. List, contestant, in
dependent, would have been seated.
The vote was 25 to "a, Leutenan!
Governor Howard Wood casting the
deciding vote in Wog's favor. Woe
was not permitted to vote by the
lieutenant governor. The vote came
after three-hour debate on the di'
vided report of the elections commit
te, five Nonpartisans recommending
Wog be seated and four independents
declaring against it. Wog, person
ally, was eXonerated Of any part IN
the alleged irregularities by the in
dependents
Riba. .Webber Case.
Independent senator's DEVELOPER
their arguments by using the pre-
cedent established at the 1919 ses-
sion in the Riba-Webber case. At that
time the league needed one more vote
on the floor Of the house to secure
Il two-thirds majority to pass emerg-
ency clauses Riba was defeated IN
Sargent county by Webber, the IT.
, regularity charged against .Webber
being the closing of the polling booth
in the town of Forman while votes
were being counted. This election
officials contended was for the pur-
pose of obeying a board CT health or
der against crowds congregating
while the "hu" epidemic ragged. The
opposition claimed fraud.
During the course Of the debate
Senator Bond of Minot summed up
the political significance of the case
by quoting from the journal OF the
1919 session wherein Walter Mad
dock, floor leader for the league in the
house was recorded as having said:
Il wish to explain my vote on this
question l base my decision upon
the evidence introduced in this house
by the committee on elections and
election privileges, and upon that EVIL
tlence only. The report shows gross
Irregularities which may constitute
fraud in the election held in the pre-
cinct in question. l believe it be-
meath the dignity Of this body to
countenance any such Irregularities
and crimes against free mans bal
lot. It does not matter who is guilty
or whether anyone is guilty. You
cannot give the sanction OF this legls-
>latiye body to such irregularities III
our elections which encourage fraud
and are certainly a crime against the
American ballot"
After quoting Mr.. Maddox, Sena-
tor Bond, insisted that the house de.
manded a rigid enforcement to the
limit of all election laws and he con.
tended that in the Wog-List case the
evidence was conclusive.
Although senator after senator eE-
pressed his views, and Fraser, Nom
partisan, Of Mclean, quoted from
scores of law books in three-quar-
ter hour speech, it was clearly evl-
dent that the vote and the fight was
clearly along party and political al
filiation lines.
Majority Report.
The majority report was as follows:
The committee finds:
First, that there was no fraud or
corrupt practice committed or par
ticipated in by the contestee or any
of the election officers in any of the
voting precincts involved in the
contest.
Second, that the official canvass
of the ballots cast in said leglsla-
tive district represents the true
sentiment of the voters therein as
represented by their ballots at sucn |
election.
Third, that while the record dis !
closes certain minor irregularities !
common to all elections your COM
mite found in. every instance after
a full and fair investigation that
the substantial rights of the con-
testant, r. J. List, were in no way
injured; that he received credit for
each and every vote to which he
was entitled.
AS an example of said Irregular
tiles the committee found that in
certain precincts there were no
Democrats, and therefore only Re-
publicans could be appointed as
election officers.
Fourth, that the election in said
legislative district was fairly and
honestly conducted and that the
contestee, Gust Wog, received the
majority of all the votes cast IN
said district for the office of state
senator.
That he is in every way eligible
to such office and that certificate
of election has been duly issued to
his as such senator.
Legally Elected. I
From the foregoing findings the
committee concludes and reports
that the said contestee, Gust WOg,
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