Evening star., 1925-07-08
RADICALS future
INN. D. At STAKE IN
LADD'SSEAT FIGHT
Political Lines Drawn For
0ut-and-Out Battle of
Factions.
S0RLlE MAY MAKE BID
FOR G. O. p. LEADERSHIP
Republican Success in 1924 Sus-
pected of Arousing Ambition
of Governor.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE,

Stan Correspondent of The Star.
BISMARCK. n. D.. July S.-Edwin
r. Ladd'S seat in the United States
Senate is the object of the same sort
of scramble as there is for the toga
of Robert NJ. La Toilette. In North
Dakota. as in Wisconsin. there are
many aspirants and numerous cross
currents. AT Bismarck. as in Madi.
son. TOO. there Is a governor who is
sparring for time and confusing the
situation by refusing to indicate his
intentions. Whether Gov. Arthur G.
Sorlie, the so-called conservative Non.
Partisan League ruler of the State
will appoint a successor to Ladd or
call a special election is at this hour
the acme of uncertainty.
Today at Bismarck a rump conven-
tion of the Non-Partisan League,
called by some OF its extremist lead
ers, Is in session. Its purpose is TO
force the governors hand by indors-
ing Lacquer whom IL would be EN-.
barrassing for him TO ignore. But
Sorlie has given no sign that he Is
ready to be stampeded
North Dakota's laws on the subject
of senatorial vacancy are highly
complicated. They make no direct
provision for appointment by the gov
ernor. He has certain constitutional
rights to fill vacancies in State Offices.
The question over which the best
lawyers in the State are differing is
whether the United States senator
ship Is a State office or a Federal
Office, with which the governor has
nothing to do.
Soriie Urged to Act.
Sorlie is being urged to take a
chance on the law and appoint q
Senator without delay. Contrary TO
the advice of his attorney general
he has indicated mis- purpose of doing
so in due course. II would then be
for the Senate to say whether the
man the North Dakota. governor sends
to Washington Is entitled to Senator
Ladd's seat. 1t Is admitted there
are the seeds of bitter fight on the
floor of the Senate in this program
Sorlie is in receipt of plenty of ad-
vice on the subject. One piece of
such counsel is that If he appoints
conservative who would be accept.
able to the Coolidge administration
and Chairman Butler of the; Repub-
ncan national committee, there would
be no doubt that the precarious Re
publican ma jority in the Senate would
welcome him with open arms.
Such a man would go to Washing
ton on the understanding that he
would support Coolidge policies on ma
jor occasions. domestic and foreign.
and concur in presidential appoint
ments. His reward for such "regu-
larity" would be control of North Da-
kota patronage and the cor sequent
ability to build himself an effective
machine in the State. This is the
sort of speculation rife In Bismarck,
Fargo and other North Dakota polit.
ical centers. What Gov. Sorlie's &C.
tual intentions are no man knows. He
is a brother in silence with Gov.
Blaine of Wisconsin, under almost
identical circumstances.
Suspected of Conservatism.
Although elected governor as an out
and-out Non Partisan Lacquer, Sorlie
is suspected by the most stalwart radi-
Gals of being conservative. If he ex-
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