Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1921-06-30
THOUSANDS OF
SIGNATURES ON
THE PETITIONS

Joint Campaign Committee
Sends Petitions With Over
Twenty three Thousand
Names.
Fargo, June 27.--Petitions for the
constitutional amendment that was
provided for at the state convention
of Independent voters, held at Devils
Lake on March 81, have today been
filed with the secretary of state.
This amendment when approved
by the people will reduce the possible
bonded debt of the state, without se-
$curity and for Industrial purposes
from twelve million to seven million
seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.
Bonds for rural credit purposes may
be issued by using first mortgages
5on real estate as security. It author
ICES the issuance Of bonds in the sum
sof five million dollars. If that much
lis needed, to be used to pay the
debts of the Bank of North Dakota
to townships, cities, counties, school
boards, and other creditors, and to
~
money that has been tied up in in
solvent banks, on the condition that
whenever it may be possible to sal
wage from the resources of such
banks shall be put into a sinking
fund and used to help retire these
bonds to be issued for the purpose of
thawing out frozen funds. Under
this amendment the governor, sec
retary of state and state treasurer
are authorized to issue and market
not to exceed two million five hun
dred thousand dollars worth Of
bonds to be used for the Mill and
Elevator association, or as much
thereof as may be needed, and bonds
In sum not to exceed two hundred
fifty thousand dollars for the use of
the Home Building association.
This constitutional amendment
also provided that for every bond is
sue there must be established sink
ing fund by means of the levying Of
an annual tax or other provision for
the payment of principal and inter-
sest on such bonds. The creating of
such sinking funds must be begun at
the end of the first year after bonds
are issued, and sinking funds so cre-&
ated cannot be transferred to 9TH
Ell funds and used for other purposes,
thus making the bonds to be issued
under the provisions Of this consti-,
tutional amendm ment absol dtelys gl1d-
edge security.
The bonds which the present state
administration is spending thousands
Of dollars to market do not require
the creating of sinking fund until
within five years of the maturity of
the bonds, and because of the pro-
vision in the Bank of North Dakota
law authorizing the transfer of
money from any sinking fund to any
other fund, sinking funds are not
safeguarded. Sinking funds under
the present laws mean nothing be-
cause they can be. put into Jackpot
for the use of treasury looters as has
been done with all other funds ,lbe-
longing to the state.
In addition to reducing the pos.
sible bonded Indebtedness for indus
trial experimenting from twelve mil
lion dollars to seven million seven
hundred thousand dollars, the pur-
pose of this am endment is to make 1t
possible to clean up the mess that
our state government is in now, and
put school boards, township and vii
lage boards in shape to do business
in normal way at once instead of
being compelled to operate with bor-
rowed money and other handicaps
for as many years as may be needed
to clean up the affairs of defunct
banks, many of which are now in the
hands Of political pets of Frazier,
Lemke and Hagan. b.
5S; Accompanying these petitions the
secretary of state received the fol-
lowing letter from the secretary Of
the committee for the petitioners,
which indicates that the committee
has no fear Of Lemke threats and in
situations: s4ss5 sSfa- "a.
1--WE are today shipping, you BY ex-
press petitions asking you to submit
to the voters Of North Dakota q
proposition to amend and re-enact
Section 1872 Of the constitution Of. the
State of North Dakota, as amended
by Article 81 OF amendments there
to. The petitions bear 23,450 sig
natures Of voters Of the state. Petit
tions bearing additional signatures
have come to- Headquarters since the
ones we are sending you now were
prepared for fling, We intend to.
keep the late arrivals end to use the
names on them for the purpose of
supplying additional names toy take;
the places Of cny duplication Of il-l
legal signatures that Mr., Lemke
might discover should he take a no-
ton to look them over. .5ssEs .s S5ea