The Bismarck tribune., 1934-01-24
Kidder Solon Has Leading Role
In Production Called Oh,
Oh, Oscar
LOUDLY DEMANDS JUSTICE
Take Back Them Words, Var.
let Is Cry Of WeIl-known
State Payroller

people OF North Dakota IN LnlS issue
The Tribune with State Senator o. Z
Erickson Of Kidder county In tn
leading role.
There are no dancing girls in thu
production and no theme song bu
the piece deserves q title and, To-
want Of better one, 1t might be callee
oh, Oh, Oscar" in euphonious alliter
alton. However. anyone may suppl!
his own name If he chooses.
Supporting the star of the piece arr
/ leading citizen OF Kidder county ant
various off-stage effects. such as tn
clash and rattle OF political musketr!
and howls Of injured innocence.
The Tribune acts merely as produc'
ing agent.
Let the Curtain Rise
The curtain rises in the office Of tn,
North Dakota Leader, Of which Sen
stor Erickson, In addition to his othel
duties, is publisher.
The lawmaker, seated In llxuriou!
rhair cushioned with five-per cen
from the state payroll, un'
folds his copy Of North Dakotas old
est newspaper and there, horror o,
horrors, he sees an item concerning
himself.
II IS headed "That Kidder Count,
and 1t reads as follows:
Add to the indictment being
prepared by Kidder county folks
against State Senator Oscar
Erickson, who also Is publisher Of
The Leader and IN employe Of the
Bank Of North Dakota, the charge
that he IS playing with the 1.v.A.'s,
foul crime in the eyes Of many
In that district.
The charge first was heard when
Erickson campaigned for Hoover
in 1852.
It was renewed when farmers In
the county formed an association
to deal with the federal land bank
In refinancing their mortgages.
There had been three or four
such associations In the county be-
fore but all were moribund and
the farmers wanted q new one.
Erickson was working elsewhere
when Governor LANCER heard
about It and ordered him into the
county to see that his old IVA
friend, the same man who had
managed the previous loan asso-
Citations, became secretary OF the
new layout.
BY the time Erickson got on the
Job, Lynn Sherman. bright and
aggressive young attorney 1t law,
had been pretty well settled on -
the man for the place.
Erickson tried to upset the ar
rangement. And was there . bat
tle7 Into the fray came John
Sherman, LynnS father and old
time Nonpartisan. who campaign
ed for congress in 1924. Erick-
son lost the battle, obtained some
new political scars in the process.
It was tho second time he had
rushed back to tell the home folks
what to do-the second time he
was ignored.
The first was when he tried to
make the Steele Ozone. Kidder
county newspaper, support the
sales tax.
All Of these things constitute Z
fine grindstone upon which to
sharpen political axes.
Hero Il Indignant
Our hero's eyes flash fire. HI
lips work In suppressed fury. H
strikes his breast In firm resolution
DeiSes hts trusty typewriter and In
diets as follows:
Bismarck, N. .
January Is, 1884,
Bismarck Tribune.
Bismarck, N. D.
Dear Sirs:
Demand FOR Retraction
Your attention Is called to your
newspaper OF date January Is,
1884, Of the last edition on page
eight under q headline Of
Turning the Searchlight
Behind the Current Scene"
and q sub-head Of THAT Kidder
County Grindstone."
The paragraph relates to the
undersigned and Is false and ma
licious.
Senator Oscar Erickson" whose
initials and name are o. E. Erick-
son, never did play with the
WAS. Mr.. Erickson was not in
Kidder county when a new Fed
eral Land Bank Association was
formed. Governor did not order
Senator Erickson there and Sem
ator Erickson did not go to Kid
der county for any purpose at that
time. The senator did not try to
upset any arrangement and there
was no battle" to win or lose con-
cerning any secretary Of any loan
association in which Senator
Erickson took any part. The
senator obtained neither scars
nor laurels because he did par
ticipate in any battle Of that kind.
The senator never did rush or 70
leisurely to Kidder county to tell
the home folks what to do. THE
SENATOR DID NOT TRY TO
MAKE THE STEELE OZONE
SUPPORT THE SALES TAX.
The whole article carried IN
implication that Senator Erick-
son Is exploiting or attempting to
exploit the citizenship Of Kidder
county and Is using that citizen
ship for his own ends. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
The citizenship Of Kidder county
= IN unusually honest, intelli-
gent citizenship and Senator
Erickson Is using every effort 70
serve that citizenship faithfully
and well and any statement Or Inn
plicatton to the contrary Il false
and malici0usly untrue.
Senator O. +. Erickson there-
fore demands that q retraction he
made In the manner provided BY
Law.
o. r. ERICKSON.
Editoes Note: The capitalise-
tion q the end of the third para.
graph is ours.
Into the hands Of . trusted messenl
er he thrusts his communication. 81
baek 70 await results.
md Of Scene One
The Dceae Changes
The 1cepe now changes.
Into tn of1ice q the 1ianare