The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1922-02-04
NO POLITICAL
PROSECUTIONS,
SAYSG0VERN0R
Answers Criticism of Townley
of Charge Made Against
Him in Cass Court
HINTS FURTHER ACTION
H.
Attorney General Has Full Sup
port of Administration in
the Prosecutions

The state, administration is not and
will not engage in any political prose
cutions.'
This is the declaration of Governor
r. A. yNestos, in answer to the allega-
ton of A. G. Townley that his arrest
was the result of political animosity.
Attorney General Sveinjborn Johnson,
in instituting in conjunction with Cass
county authorities the prosecutions
against Hastings and Townley, Is only
carrying out the pledges which he and
others made during the campaign, the
Governor declared today. Attorney
General Johnson will have the whole.
hearted support of the administration
in his efforts, tho governor lndi-
Gated.
A hint that further action will be
Forthcoming is seen in the governors s
declaration that ut seems to be that
enough incompetence and crooked
ness has been revealed and admitted
so that all of the people, whether
leaguers or independents, ought to be
anxious to have the whole truth re-
vealed, and those guilty pf committing
ycrimes charged with and punished for
the crimes committed"
Eyes, l have noticed the state
ment in some of the league papers,
hat the issuance Of warrants for
Hastings and ToWnley is in the mat
Ell Of political persecution" said
he governor
Peculiar Attitude
"This is certainly peculiar atti-
tude. Since the Inauguration In No.
vember many Of these papers and the
correspondents WHO write in them have
asked the question: Why does not
the new administration prosecute
those guilty Of embezzlement?' why
does not the new administration pro-
secute the old Industrial Commission
for embezzlement and other crimes
that they claimed in their campaign
speeches they had committed" Let
ters also were received by me and
others asking why we did not prose
cute these men wnom We had claimed
guilty of embezZlcment and other
crimes. My answer to them was, and
now is, that personally never said
that the former Industrial Commits
sion was guilty Of embezzlement ]
did not know whether or not they
were guilty! What | said was that
the conduct Of the public business had
been such as to arouse suspicion,
and that if We were elected to office
we would cause. an investigation to
be made for the purpose Of ascertain,
ing how the business had been con
Quoted, and if crimes had been com
mittel, who were the guilty parties
| also promised that we would make
this report accessible to the people
and that would urge prosecution OF
those who were shown to be guilty OF
any crimes by the facts revealed IN
such a report.
/ eve have sought faithfully to re-
deem every promise made to the peo
pie insofar as it has been possible fol
us to do it. We have caused an in
vestigation to be made; not as eXten-
sive as we would like on account o.
! the shortage Of funds, but within the
limits of the funds at our disposa
have made investigation as searching
and complete as possible SO as to as.
certain the whole truth with refer
ence to the conduct Df this business
"And yet, now when as result o
that investigation, we discover tina
certain men appear to be guilty o
embeZzlement or other crimes, an
have commenced to arrest some @
those who appear from the evidenc
to be- guilty, the same newspaper
and writer's who in November an
December were crying: why don
you prosecute? now cry 'politics
prosecution 'Politics!' and that w
are doing it for political capital.
Hints Further Action
"It seems to me that enough fact
End statistics in regard to the cor
duct of the Scandinavian-Am
Bank at Fargo and the Bank pf Mort
| Dakota and the various industries ha
, been published, and that enough al
Continued on Page 81