Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-10-08
CONFIDENCE OF THE
INVESTING PUBLIC
81. MUST BE RECLAIMED
Continued from page is

all O0AACNc III N l
and the full discharge Of the obliga-.1
tions.of. the state. =.
Thesproblem tor the business man..
no matter what his line of business. As I
no less a pressing one than ia the
problem Of the farmer and the ofi-]
Gals Of u school districts. and many
of these business men will be forced
to the wall unless the credit conditions
OF u state are speedily improved.
Practically Destroyed.
And the worker is no less inter-
ested. II credit conditions are bad. IT
building operations have ceased, If
every farmer n business man finds
himself compelled to retrench on
every hand, there is going to be lit
tie for labor to do. and suffering and:
sacriffee will become the lot of the
laborer also. g.
For h a reason one is forced to
the conclusion thatstn order to pro-
mote the welfare OF the whole, state,
its farmers, its laborers, its business
men and its educational and other
public institutions, a restored credit
must be ours if We are to avoid in
creased disaster.
Our credit today is practically de-
stroyed and there is no sufficient rea-
son for or explanation Of this condi.
MI ouIo@A VI Iat pOllllGAi CuEInUll OIL
our state and the attitude Of the pres
ent administration. 1t Is true that
general conditions are unfortunate
and this, of course, intensifes our
trouble, but the imitation Of land
values which, has caused most Of fl
nanctal trouble and the hard times In
Iowa. Illionis and other states did not
come to trouble North Dakota.
THE chief cause for the lack of
credit in North Dakota Is political,
and is peculiar to North Dakota. This
lack OF confidence which has caused
the destruction of our credit comes
partly from certain laws enacted in
our state and partly from the char
acter of u state administration and
the apparent mismanagement of our
affairs during recent years.
Danger Of Unlimited Power.
AS Illustrations of the laws that
have helped to destroy our credit" +
would cite the provisions of thetin-
ldustrial commission law which places
practically unlimited power in the
hands of the industrial commission;
the evidence last winter indicating
that they assume the. power to do
anything within their discretion in adj
ministering the affairs coming under
The supervision of the industrial COM
mission.
Another vicious provision is that
one in the law establishing the Bank
Eof North Dakota granting the indus
trial commission. or those hired by
them to manage the affairs of the
bank,., the. power 10 divert funds for
Aany purpose within the discretion of
the managing board in promoting any
of the. enterprises coming under. the
management and supervision of the
industrial commission of their en-
ployes.
"Unlimited power should never be
placed in the hands Of any commits
sion or set OF officials. and the people
of a state should always place sum-
cient limitations around the powers
conferred upon these boards and of
~icials, and sufficient safe guards
around the public funds 50 that the
best interests of the citizenship and
be projected A. public official may
Tat the time of'his election have7stht
reputation of being honest and will
be, found deficient in this respect, OF
he may be honest at the time Of hi
election but not sufficiently strong tt
Withstand the temptations that may
come when great power and the
been placed in his hands, n a self
governing people have no right to 81
neglect their own welfare az to. ru1
the risk of placing such unlimited
power in the hands of any man o.
set Of men.
Lost Confidence. a&us
THE power to divert the money!
provided for sinking funds with which
NO take care of the interest and prin'
cipal of the bonds sold. the power II
divert moneys placed in the Bank. O
North Dakota so that the holders o.
tax certificates. where redemption ha.
been made, are unable to get tn
money that has been put in there fol
check in settlement thereof. hal
brought about a condition where tn,
buying public have no confidence il
and cannot be induced to loan an,
money or buy any mortgages In -,
state where such a thing Is not onf,
possible but where. in, part Of least
1t is being done every month. .!
SHOT only do the foremost laws and
the administration of them weaker
our credit but the general admins
trative acts of the industrial commits
Il sion during the past years have beer
such, that those who have had
chance to examine any portion of tht
records. u lose confidence in tn
state and in the credit of the STATE
where such administration is given
The people Of a state have a right tt
demand of their public officials tina,
the affairs. of the state should b
managed honestly. efficiently and eco
nomically. and the results Of the in
v~estigation last winter prove quit,
rc~onclusively that the affairs OF o u
state during recent years have no
been managed either honestly. enici
emily or economically.
Honesty In Pubic Service. ~ss'
When this il stated I do not NEAR
to say that Frazier. Lemke and Hagar
in their personal life ia not possessed
of and to not practice honesty and in
tegrity, but when we talk about hon
esty in the public service We. meal
more than merely this: that the ON
cial shall refrain from helping him
self to the public funds or to accep
mean thereby that he shall respect
observe and enforce the provisions o.
the constitution and laws Of bur atate
and that In so far as such of1cial
have been entrusted with the man
agen1entssof great business enterprise,
and large amounts of pubic fund,
that they should Also exercise goot
Judgment and follow the principles o
business honesty as they have beel
any large and honest business enter
prise.
Dishonesty Prevails.
when from the revelatfons mad,
last winter in the various tnvestiga,
ftions at Bismarck we nave come t.
the conclusion that the public bust
ness has not been honestly managed
we find that this failure to manag,
our public business honestly has ~