The Bismarck Tribune

DEBT WITHOUT
LIMIT ISSUE
BEFORE PEOPLE

S. J. Doyle Says Taxpayers Must
Decide Amount of Burden
They Will Assume

WHY FRAZIER IS AFRAID
Townley Governor Fears to Dis-
cuss Planks in League's
Socialist Platform

Hazen, N. D., Sept. 30.—Unlimited
public debt is again an issue before
the people of North Dakota. S. J.
Doyle, Democratic candidate for gov-
ernor declared at a meeting held here
Saturday night, when he analyzed the
provision proposed in one of the group
of amendments initiated by the Social-
ists who direct Nonpartisan league
policies.

Mr. Doyle pointed out conclus-
ively that instead of a $12,000,000
proposed public debt limit, the social-
ists have, in fact, absolutely
removed the limit entirely, and if
the proposed amendment to the
state constitution is adopted in the
November election, the way is op-
ened to unlimited issuance of
bonds, just as the limit was en-
tirely removed in the notorious
and discredited H. B. 44; present-
ed by the socialists to the last
legislature.

Mr. Doyle charges, too, that
just as they did in H. B. 44, the
socialists are seeking to put their
unlimited debt provision into the
constitution by stealth, having
failed in the seven months that
the amendments have been before
the people, to at any time indi-
cate that the amendment was any-
thing but a $12,000,000 limit prop-
osition.

Many Nonpartisan league members
attended the Hazen meeting at which
Mr. Doyle first outlined the unlimited
public debt plan as proposed by the
socialists. They were intensely inter-
esting in the analysis, and many of
them declared to Mr. Doyle, after the
meeting, their appreciation of his ex-
planation of the real intent of the pro-
posed amendment in question.

Afraid of Platform.

"Many people of this state are won-
dering why Gov. Frazier, who has now
had almost three years' experience on
the stump, should hesitate to meet me,
a beginner in joint discussion of the
issues of this campaign," said Mr.
Doyle. "It isn't myself that he is
afraid of, but it is the platform that he
fears to discuss, and well he may be-
cause he stands on an invisible plat-
form supporting a program full of
holes and jokers.

"The program that he is advocating
is not the same as the plans that are
being worked out for his administra-
tion in secret chambers in another
state, by cunning politicians who have
neither homes nor property in this
or any other state. Their whole in-
terest in the matter is to live in glory
while they watch us try out some uto-
pian dreams of parlor philosophers,
who never did a day's manual labor in
their life.

"Two years ago Governor Frazier
said, in his pre-election speeches,
speaking of the changes in govern-
ment, that we must move slowly and
cautiously try one one thing at a time,
because many interests were involved.
But no sooner had the legislature
convened, than he urged the passage
of a bill that proposed more revolu-
tionary changes in our constitution
than has ever been proposed in the
history of any state in the Union, and
all of them at once.

"Now we are being urged to adopt
a set of constitutional amendments,
cunningly drawn so as to seem harm-
less, and give us the same feeling of
security that Mr. Frazier's pre-elec-
tion speeches did two years ago, but
which will, if adopted, produce just as
big surprises when the legislature con-
venes next January as did H. B. 44.

"One of the amendments proposed
is to Section 182 of the present consti-
tution, the proposed amendment being
as follows:

" 'The state may issue or guar-
antee the payment of bonds pro-
vided that all bonds IN EXCESS
of $2,000,000 shall be secured by
first-mortgage upon real estate in
amounts not to exceed one-half of
its value, or upon real estate and
personal property of state-owned
utilities, enterprises or industries,
in amounts not exceeding its
value, and, provided further, that
the state shall not issue or guar-
antee bonds upon property of
state owned utilities, enterprises
or industries in excess of ten mil-
lion dollars.'

"You will notice that bonds that
the state may issue or guarantee are
divided into three classes," continued
Mr. Doyle.

The Real Purpose.

First, blanket bonds against all
property in the state up to $2,000,000.

"Second, bonds against first mort-
gages on real estate up to 50 per cent
of the value of every acre of land in
the state, both farm and city real es-
tate, and the blue sky as the limit on
this class of bonds.

"Third bonds upon real or personal
property of state owned utilities,
enterprises or industries in amounts
not to exceed its whole value and the
limit on this class of bonds is $10,
000,000.

"In this proposed amendment the
socialists have not dared to face the
people quite so openly as they did in
H. B. 44. They are apparently rais-
ing the debt limit from $200,000 to
$12,000,000, sixty times greater than it
is at present, but as a matter of fact
they are absolutely taking the limit
off debt that the state may incur."