The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-01-14
INDEPENDENTS
0PP0SEREPEAL.
OF B0ARDLAW
Will Fight Any Attempt To
Abolish Board of Man
ayers of State Mill
POLITICAL VIEWS
Independents See 1t Having
Il, Effect on Throwing Re-
spOnsibility on Them

If bill to abolish the board of
managers of the North Dakota Mill
And Elevator association is intro
duced in the state Legislature within
a reasonable length Of time there
will be no effort made on the part
Of the Independent members of the
state industrial commission to force
Governor Sorlie to fill the vacancies
now existing on the board until the
bill has been acted upon.
If such bill is passed, even with
out the emergency clause it will au-
tomatically do away with the neces-
sity Of the governor filling the ex-
listing vacancies. The Independent
members of the Industrial commits
sion realize that there would be no
particular use in attempting to get
Il board together the members of
which would know that they were
to go out of office on July 1.
1t would be difficult to find five
men of the caliber needed who would
accept appointment under such cir
cumstances it was pointed out to-
day.
To Resist Effort
But while there is no disposition
on the part of the Independents to
force the governors hand in the
matter of the appointment of mill
board, the leaders of the Independ-
ent faction are likely to resist
strongly the efforts which the Non
pArtisans are expected to make to
d. away with the board.
Their feeling in the matter is that
board should be named by Cover
nor Sorlie, and that the governor
should be given free hand by the
remaining members Of the industrial
commission in selecting the board
members. Then the responsibility
for the operation of the mill should
be borne by the governor and the
new board which he has selected.
Governor Sorlie is given full Gre
dit for an honest desire to oper-
ate the mill and elevator enterprise
according to his own ideas, but the
action Of the legislative leaders of
the league in seeking to abolish the
board of managers, and place the
active management of the enterprise
in the hands of the industrial COM
mission will be, in the opinion. of
most of the Independents, an at
tempt to dodge this responsibility
and make the Independent members
Of the Industrial commission the
scape goats in the event that they
fail to operate the plant profitably
Must Act on Mill
1t is pointed out that if the In.
dustrial commission is again given
active control over the plant, tho
attorney general, and the commits.
sioner of agriculture and labor must
bear equal responsibility with the
governor for the policies adopted
and must either approve or disap-
prove every step taken.
This would mean that they must
either be prepared to give consent
to all plans put forth by the gov
ernor regardless Of their real opin.
ions as to their wisdom, or mus,
met the charge of hamper.
ing the executive in his efforts to
make the plant success. If the
Industrial commission is again giver
active control over the mill, and the
enterprise is not successful the
blame for its failure will be placed
by the Nonpartisans on the shout
ders of the Independent members Of
the commission, while the credit fol
any success will go to the governor
Such at least is the way most of the
Independents size the matter up.
On the other hand if the board Of
managers plan is retained, and tn,
governor given an absolutely FREE
hand in the selection of the board
then the responsibility for success!
or failure must be borne by him ap(
his own appointees. This, most o.
the Independent leaders believe
should be satisfactory to the gov
ernor, and his supporters, and il
the only fair way of handling tn
Situation.
To Fight Bin 1t
Under these circumstances tn
disposition of the majority Of tn
Indepe dents seems to be to figh
any bill which may be introduced
to abolish the board Of managers
and if this is adopted as part.
policy, the Independent majority il
the senate would be able to defea
the, measure which the Nonpartisan
"a expected to introduce.
is still uncertain just when tn
Comparisons will introduce thei
bill along this line, and until that i
disposed of, one way or the othe
the mill and elevator situation ma,
j expected to remain in status quo
Governor Sorlie will leave toda,
for Grand Forks to discuss mum
Der of matters in connection wit
the operation of the mill with tn
five department managers he ha