The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-03-28
Political BlaZes
Signal Trouble in
Red River Valley
Continued from page One)

Continued frcE. page One)
that endorsement of LANCER by the
Nonpartisan convention at Bismarck
would insure the nomination Of the
I. v. A. candidate, whoever he might
be, because LANCER would be easy to
beat. The same deal which gave
LANCER the eubernatoriai nomination
also made William Lemke, Fargo,
one Of the nominees for congress,
SO the story goes.
an effort Is being made by some po-
litical leaders to maintain the status
quo at the expense OF the Nonparti-
sans in state politics and OF the I.
v. AS or Real Republicans in ma
tional politics, there is widespread
belief that the I. v. AS are getting
ready to bury the political snicker-
snee in the heart of Cigar B. Burt
ness, I. v. A. congressman from the
present first district. That he will
be re-endorsed at the Real Repub-
lican state convention at Valley City
next month goes without saying, but
there is no discounting the fact that
Burtness will get lip-service rather
than whole-hearted support from
many of the present REAL Repub-
lican leaders. He has shown some
inclination not to take orders and,
besides, he stands in the way of fur
ther advancement by some Of the
more ambitious men in his own party.
May Knife Burtness
Weight for this theory is found in
the battle waged by Burtness and his
friends in 1891 for the bill to re-
district the state for congressional
purposes. It was opposed by L. L.
Twichell, I. V. A. leader, and was
defeated. but the controversy was a
bitter one and left many unhealed
wounds.
These are being kept open by Burt
ness friends, some of whom believe
he and the people of the state were
treated unfairly and that the I. v.
A. organization will have the knife
ready for him when election day rolls
around.
Whatever the justification for the
various theories behind their beliefs.
the plain fact is that political re-
volt Is brewing in the Red River val
ley against both Republican factions.
II you talk to the man on the farm,
IN the store or at the filling station.
you get the idea he feels he has been
crossed and double-crosSed by the
men he supported in the belief that
they offered political salvation. Many
profess to see small achievement and
less hope for the future and they be-
lieve they have been fooled. They
look for justification for this con-
viction and here and there they find
something which tends to support it..
This. perhaps, is the basis for many
OF the stories now in circulation.
AS result, they are going to ask
many embarrassing questions of per-
sons on all sides Of the political fence
More than ever before they are 60
ing to look behind the public state
ments Of public men in an effort to
get the facts. They are sick of con-
ditions as they are but they want
whatever changes are made to be for
the better.
And In this connection it must not
be forgotten that the Red River val |
ley IS the hotbed of North Dakota s /
politics. Every substantial change or
reform In the states politics has
either found its inception or has OBJ
tanned its main support here.
When political signal fires send
their smudges across the flatlands Of
this valley there is political action
ahead-in plenty.