The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-07-23
DEMOCRATS MAY WIN SENATE RACE
 IN NORTH DAKOTA
Hope For Election of 0'Con- nor Rests in Stanch Alieg1- ance of Repubs to Non-
 PartisanILeague
By HUGH ". ROBERTS Washington Bureau, The Age Herald,
 800 Davison Building.

Washington Bureau The Age Herald.
 800 Davison Building.
 Washington, July 22.-ISpe-
 cIal.) leaders in
 Washington are awakening to
 the fact there is a possibility of
 electing democratic United
 States senator from North Da-
 kotn this fall. This hopefulness
 is borne out by reports that
 come from North Dakota. fol-
 lowing the defeat of Porter J.
 McCumber in his effort to secure
 the nomination for senator as
 against his nOn-partdsan league
 opponent, Lynn J. Frazier.
 Frazier ran as a republican,
 but the republicans refuse to re-
 gard him as one of their party
 and the same attitude is enter
 tained by them relative to Sena-
 tor Ladd. Ieaguer, who came to
 the Senate as the successor to
 Asle j. GrOnna.
 Politics in North Dakota groups around the Non-Partisan league is- sue and in ordes to understand or justify the dem . -atic hope for the election of J. +. T. O'Connor of Grand Forks, the democratic nomi- nee, 1t is necessary to review brief iN COHulllOuS III the SldlSs
 Foreign Population
 North Dakota is wholly an agra rian commonwealth. with a large foreign population, mostly Scandi- navfan. In the early days 1t was domi mated by the railroads. Tho Northern Pacific and the Great Northern cross 1t with their trans continental lines and have branches all over the state. Beginning with territorial days, this railroad in- fluence was represented by Alexan- der McKinzie, who died few weeks ago in St. Paul. Mckenzie was look ed upon as the last of the state bosses and the most ruthless and domineering of all of them.
 It was he who discovered Porter McCumber when the present chair man of the finance committee was a struggling lawyer in the equally little kown town of Wahpeton. He has been McCumber's sponsor and political representative ever since.
 Mathematician Ousted
 The Partisan league move ment was the outgrowth of the re- volt that took place earlier against Mckinzie and "McKenzieism" as tn. railroad system of politics was de- seribed. However, 1t acquired an en- tirely new trend under the leader ship of Aruthur c. Townley and be- came a movement In the direction of state socialism. After a bitter fight the Non-Partisan leaguers, who went into the republican primaries because that was the dominat party. secured control of all branches of the state government and elected Lynn ! trazier' governor. They proceeded then, to Install their experiments m state socialism. most of which have ended disastrously. YssG
 H. ". A. Is Binding
 The more conservative peonle of North Dakota felt 1t was their duty to redeem the state from what they regarded as blight and party lines were lost sight of. Republicans and democrats acquired the habit of vot- Ing together under the description of the Independent Voters association or the l. V. A. as it Is more com monly referred to. When Frazier was elected governor, the parties united behind J. F. T. O'Connor. the present democratic candidate for senator, and republicans acquired the habit of voting for "Jefty" as MT OConnor is known. The Non-Par- tisan leagues enacted a recall law and their candidate was the first vic tim of 1t. A'1itt1e more than a year ago, the voters had recourse to the recall and succeeded in busting Fra zier from the goyernorship and se- cured control of the state .adminis- trative offices.
 In the bitter fight that took place, republicans. especially conservative republicans. expected aid from Sem ator. McCumber. To their amaze ment he was indifferent and 1t later developed he had some sort of an all liance with Arthur c. Townley, pre- sumably negotiated by Alexander Mckenzie. 1t is notable that Curing the time of the Non-Partisan regime Tn North Dakota, no radical legisla- ton was enacted with reference to the railroads which Mckenzie politi- cally. continued to represent.
 White Blockade
 Two years ago. when Senator Gronna was a republican candidate for renomination, he went before the voters as an opponent of the league. The leaguers put forward the present Senator Ladd. The odds were about even, but Frank White. regular republican, now treasurer of the United States became candidate for the nomination. White was part of the McCumber- Nick enzie machine. It was well known he had no chance to win but he succeeded in getting just enough votes to defeat Gronna and elect the Non Partisan eague candidate. White received his re- ward by being made treasurer of the United States with McCumberss backing. There was no longer any doubt in the minds of North Dakota republicans that McCumber was working with the league and allow ing the league opponents to fight their own battles.
 It was this realization which de- feated McCumber in the last pri- mary.
 Early in the summer, the Non Partisan leaguers of the state held a convention and Arthur c. Townley. founder of the organization, who had just completed serving a jail sen tence in Minnesota for seditious ut terance. appeared in North Dakota and urged them to refrain from nam ing a ticket or indorsing any candi- date. The effect of this course would have been to deliver the league to McCumber. The .leaguers not only refused to do so. but charged they had been betrayed, and busted Townley from his leadership. Then they indorsed Frazier.
 McCumber Refused. The republicans also held con- yention shortly afte-y1rd and Me Cumber asked for their endorsement. This was politely but firmly re- fused and McCumber was told to seek his friends. the ieaguers. for comfort. A third candidate was put in the field 70 insure McCumber's defeat. thus meting out to him, the same treatment that had been accorded Gronna. In the primaries, the same constit- uency defeated McCunber by mar