The Board of Administration bill itself sparked controversy upon its submission and discussion during the regular session of the state legislature in 1919. Several prominent members of the Nonpartisan League (NPL) spoke out against it publicly. They did not see the bill as staying true to the original NPL platform.
Nevertheless, the bill passed and became law, but the problems did not end there. During the first few years of the board's existence, it would face one controversy after another.
Book Scandal of 1919
During the special session, on November 28, 1919, House Bill 28 (or HB 28) was introduced to replace the already controversial Board of Administration.
Sponsored by Rep. James A. Harris of Stanton, HB 28 was "A Bill for an Act creating the 'Board of Supervisors' for the general supervision and administration of all state, penal, charitable and educational institutions of higher learning in the state of North Dakota, and fixing and determining the powers and duties of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction with respect to the high schools and common schools of the state, and providing for the creation of a State Board of Education, fixing its duties and powers, and transferring the powers and duties of the Board of Administration, and to repeal Chapter 71, session Laws of 1919."
HB 28 quickly received a "do not pass" recommendation from committee. However, before it could be voted down by the House's NPL majority, Rep. Olger B. Burtness of Grand Forks, a strong opponent of the NPL, helped instigate a scandal for the board and State Library Commission.
On December 1, 1919, Burtness gave a sensational speech in the House chamber. He said he had seen a list of radical books that had recently been ordered for the library. Burtness also said he went to the library and saw that these books were ready to circulate.
The NPL's opposition, particularly the Independent Voters Association (IVA), used this book scandal to their political advantage by publicly challenging and smearing the NPL and the Board of Administration. The IVA accused them of obtaining books related to free love, Bolshevism, socialism, and/or anarchism with the intent of circulating them to schools.
The House formed a committee to investigate the issue. After a few days of hearings, the committee released its report on December 10, 1919. The State Library Commission and the board were exonerated, and HB 28 was easily defeated the same day. Much of the blame for this issue fell on Charles E. Stangeland, a consultant for the board, who was previously hired to provide a review of the library.
The board survived this scandal, but its troubles continued.
Excluding Nielson
An additional outcome of the book scandal was the public and the legislature learning that the board had been excluding Minnie J. Nielson from meetings and not providing her with meeting minutes. During the House committee's investigation of the book issue, the Board of Administration was put under the microscope. It was then discovered that the board had been holding meetings haphazardly, sometimes without Nielson in attendance.
When Nielson protested the board holding meetings without her, Chairman George A. Totten reportedly replied with:
"We're not going to chase after you every time there's a meeting. If you want to attend the meetings, you'll have to do the chasing."
In an interesting parallel, the exclusion of Nielson by the NPL-controlled board was made public around the same time the NPL-controlled legislature was voting (during the 1919 special session) to support women's suffrage. However, Nielson was not excluded because she was the only woman member of the board. Rather, she was being excluded because she was the only non-NPL member of the board.
The board faced immense backlash over its treatment and exclusion of Nielson. So much so that it was forced to back away from its plan to eliminate or change the state superintendent's position. The board eventually adopted better practices and procedures, but issues with the board would continue.
Attempted Removal of UND President
In February 1920, the board came under fire for attempting to remove Dr. Thomas Kane as president of the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks. Rumors began circulating back in December 1919 that the board had plans to remove Kane. In February 1920, these rumors became a reality.
Reasons for Kane's removal included his handling of the influenza pandemic and (reportedly) his refusal to add Neil C. Macdonald to the university's staff. It was also rumored that Totten, chair of the board, wanted to replace Kane with someone more sympathetic to the NPL.
Members of the board remained largely silent on this issue, except for Charles Liessman (the board's executive secretary), who denied everything in the press, and Nielson, who was appalled by the idea.
Some members of the UND faculty and staff joined the campaign to remove Kane, particularly E. J. Babcock, Orin G. Libby, John M. Gillette, and A. J. Ladd. During the NPL and IVA era, Babcock was associated with the Lignite Survey Fund and reported to the Industrial Commission. Libby was a professor of history at UND, secretary of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and former member of the Public Library Commission.
Alumni and students rallied to Kane's aid. The board of the UND Alumni Association passed a resolution calling for the resignation of Totten. One of the board members was Olger B. Burtness, state legislator (and future U.S. Representative), lawyer, and opponent of the NPL. Students at UND refused to register for classes for the new semester until the issue was resolved satisfactorily.
Seeing public opinion was against them, the board backed down and retained Kane as president. Kane went on to serve as UND's president for several more years, resigning in 1933.
Infighting
The next issue facing the board was infighting, which was an issue that would also plague the NPL as a whole.
In the early months of 1920, reports of infighting between members of the board appeared in the press. Seemingly, John N. Hagan (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor) was dissatisfied with Totten's leadership of the board.
Hagan disagreed with Totten's plans of injecting Dr. Stangeland and Signe Lund into the educational system of the state. Lund was a Norwegian composer and socialist who briefly held a teaching position at Mayville State Normal School. Hagan also disagreed with the attempt to remove Dr. Kane as UND's president.
Although Totten denied there was any strife, the Grand Forks American, a pro-NPL newspaper, repeatedly called for Totten's resignation. Hagan served as president of this newspaper.
A cartoon depicting Rep. Olger B. Burtness as a jack-in-the-box. He holds a dictionary and proclaims to have found a book containing anarchy. The cartoon was published in the pro-NPL newspaper the "Burleigh County Farmers Press" a couple of days after Burtness gave his speech in the House.
An anti-NPL cartoon that appeared in "The Red Flame" (v. 1, n. 11, September 1920). The cartoon depicts the exclusion of Minnie J. Nielson (Superintendent of Public Instruction) from meetings of the Board of Administration. Chairman Totten says the board is not going to chase her every time there is a meeting. If she wants to attend, she will have to do the chasing.
An article from the front page of the "Grand Forks Herald" on February 23, 1920, announced students at the University of North Dakota (UND) had rallied in support of Dr. Thomas Kane in opposition to the Board of Administration's plan to remove him as president. Many students refused to register for classes until the issue was resolved fairly. [Image courtesy of Chronicling America (Library of Congress).]
An anti-NPL cartoon that appeared in "The Red Flame" (v. 1, n. 9, July 1920). The cartoon depicts George A. Totten and John N. Hagan (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor) as animals about to fight. The cartoon references claims that the two men often clashed while serving on the Board of Administration. A. C. Townley, William Lemke, Lynn J. Frazier, and Walter Thomas Mills all race to break up the fight. Neil C. Macondald is also included in the cartoon.
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