The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-06-27
EXT0RTION EFFORT
DEALT SEVERE BLOW
BY UNANIMOUS VOTE
Employees Of Institutions Mott
fled Jobs Not At Stake
II They Refuse
THOMPSON, HUSKY ACTIVE
Resolution BY Latter to Fire
Sanatorium Secretary
Is Rejected
THOMPSON, HUSKY ACTIVE

Efforts to extort five per cent Of
the salaries of state institutional
employees for support of q political
newspaper were dealt q severe blow
by the state board Of administration
Monday.
This board, members Of which had
heretofore taken the attitude that
solicitation Of institutional employees
was none of its affair, unanimously
went on record as advising employees
of institutions under its control that
they will not be discharged from
their jobs for failure to subscribe"
five per cent Of their salaries to the
newspaper enterprise.
It also voted to reappoint DR..
Charles MacLachlan, superintendent
Of the state sanatorium at Dunseith
who recently became leading figure
In the fight against the five-per-
cent squeeze" DR.. MacLachlan re-
instated eight employees who had been
discharged by Secretary L. F. Wetsch,
an appointee of Governor William
LANCER, because they had refused to
make the five-per-cent subscription.
The effect Of the boards vote is
to protect institutional employees from
further political solicitation OF kind
unprecedented In North Dakota. by
inference, it relieves employees who
already have pledged five per cent
Of their salaries from paying on
the subscriptions II the contributions
were made under duress, express or
implied.
The motion to take definite stand
against the solicitation was offered
by Arthur r. Thompson, superinten-
dent Of public instruction and ex-
officio member Of the board. It was
unanimously approved.
Wetsch Keeps Job
Previously the board had considered
q proposal by John HUSKY, commission
er Of agriculture and labor and also
an ex-officio member, asking Mac
Lachlan to discharge Wetsch as sana-
forum secretary. It was determined
that this action would be illegal
since the head of an institution is
the only one empowered to remove
GA CA1P1OyC, 04AA q AO1 ulo1 ulVtAOA1s
which had been prepared by HUSKY.
was not offered. HUSKY said Wetch,
was the personal appointee Of the gov
ernor, although the law gives the
latter no control over institutions.
The motion passed by the board
regarding the five per cent assess
n1ent stated THAT 1t be made pub
lie that no employe In any institu-
ton which is under the supervision
of the board of administration will
jeopardize his or her position or Job,
because of failure to contribute q
five-per-cent assessment for a news
paper and that we instruct the secre-
tary to so notify the heads Of the
institutions under the jurisdiction Of
the board"
Nelson Sauvain, chairman Of the
board, In announcing the action, said
several members of the board had in
dividually told heads of institutions
employees were not required to pay
the assessment for the newspaper.
Vote on reappointing MacLachlan
for q two-year period from July I,
was four to one, with HUSKY voting
against reappointment. Thompson,
Sauvain, Laura B. Sanderson and r.
M. Rishworth approved the action.
Following the dismissal of the eight
sanatorium employees by Wetsch,
MacLachlan said this was done with
out his consent and ordered them re-
instated.