Dr. Charles E. Stangeland
Most of the blame for the book scandal fell on Charles E. Stangeland. He was ultimately made a scapegoat and was dismissed from the Board of Administration's service. On December 15, 1919, his resignation letter was made public, with sections appearing in the Grand Forks Herald. He wrote:
"I believe the time will come when a clearer vision will make the controversy which has centered around me and my efforts in a different light, and that light will reveal the truth which the passions and fears of the day are making obscure."
Stangeland eventually left the country and became a lecturer at the University of Berlin in Germany.
Burtness and O'Connor
Following the conclusion of the special session of the legislature, J.F.T. O'Connor and Olger B. Burtness were lauded as heroes in anti-Nonpartisan League (NPL) circles for their role in the book scandal. One author, in an anti-NPL book (The Non-Partisan League vs. the Home, p. 72), wrote:
"After the people awakened to the fact that their educational system was in the hands of this Socialist crowd, and that the system was in a fair way to be used to debauch and corrupt the entire State, it was then that Mr. Burtness led the fight that saved it from this disgrace... Mr. Burtness must be honored and held in the highest esteem by the people of the entire Northwest for the intrepid fight he made."
Burtness and O'Connor would both use their increased notoriety in the months and years to come.
Burtness decided to run for the United States Congress. He was endorsed by the Independent Voters Association (IVA). In November 1920, he was successfully elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (defeating the NPL-incumbent, and NPL-cartoonist, Rep. John M. Baer). He would serve in Congress until 1933.
Later, in 1950, N.D. Governor Fred G. Aandahl appointed Burtness Judge of the First Judicial District. He served in this role until he died in 1960.
In 1920, O'Connor ran for governor against incumbent Lynn J. Frazier. O'Connor received the endorsement of the IVA and Democratic Party. However, on election day, O'Connor lost to the popular NPL governor by approximately 4,600 votes.
In 1922, Frazier decided to run for the United States Senate. He received the endorsement of the Republican Party and the NPL. Opposing him, again, was O'Connor, who was endorsed by the Democratic Party and the IVA. Although voters had deposed him as governor in 1921, Frazier remained popular. He defeated O'Connor in the 1922 election by approximately 8,800 votes. Frazier would serve in the U.S. Senate until 1941 when he was succeeded by William Langer.
In 1933, after previously moving to California, O'Connor was appointed Comptroller of the Currency by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served in this role until 1938. In 1940, Roosevelt appointed him a U.S. District Judge in California. He served until he died in 1949.
Richard H. Walker
Richard H. Walker, Chair of the House Book and Library Investigating Committee, ran for State Treasurer in 1920. With the NPL cutting ties with Obert A. Olson, the office of State Treasurer was left open. The NPL endorsed Walker for the position. In June 1920, Walker was narrowly defeated in the primary election by John Steen, who would go on to win the election in November.
Although Walker faced some backlash from the public, especially in anti-NPL circles, for "supporting" the controversial books, he served another term in the North Dakota House or Representatives (1923-1924). In the late 1920s, he found himself in financial trouble. The Bank of North Dakota, a product of the NPL and something Walker had helped come to fruition, foreclosed on his farm in Oliver County. From the late 1920s to the early 1930s, he worked as a Deputy U.S. Marshall in Fargo. In 1933, he returned to state government when he was appointed to the Workmen's Compensation Bureau. He served until he died in 1945.
Langer, Kositzky, and Hall
William Langer (Attorney General), Carl R. Kositzky (State Auditor), and Thomas Hall (Secretary of State) were also lauded as heroes in certain circles for challenging the NPL.
After defecting from the NPL, Langer set his sights on the governor's office, and he received the endorsement of the IVA. However, to get there, he would have to go through incumbent Lynn J. Frazier, who remained popular with voters. Langer published a "tell all" book (The Nonpartisan League: Its Birth, Activities and Leaders) and campaigned hard, traveling countless miles across the state and delivering speeches. Ultimately, Langer was defeated by Frazier in the Republican primary election in June 1920, losing by approximately 5,400 votes. Langer returned to private practice for a few years. Langer later made peace with the NPL and went on to serve as North Dakota Governor in the 1930s. In 1940, Langer was elected to the United States Senate (defeating Frazier), and he served there until he died in 1959.
In the 1920 election, Kositzky lost his bid for re-election as State Auditor to David C. Poindexter, who was endorsed by the NPL. Kositzky later returned to public office and served in the State Land Department from 1922 to 1932.
By the end of 1920, Kositzky and Langer, two of the three thorns in the NPL's side, were now out of state government, and they were replaced by NPL-endorsed candidates. Only one thorn, Thomas Hall (Secretary of State), remained. Hall would play a pivotal role against the NPL in 1921.
Hall persevered through the NPL's attempts to unseat him, and he was re-elected in 1920 and 1922. As Secretary of State, Hall was instrumental in setting a special recall election in the fall of 1921, after the IVA had met all of the necessary criteria. This recall election would unseat three prominent members of the NPL from state government. Hall would later serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and again as N.D. Secretary of State.
Nonpartisan League (NPL) and the Independent Voters Association (IVA)
Although O'Connor, Langer, and Kositzky lost their election or re-election attempts to NPL candidates, the IVA did gain some ground in 1920. Because of political infighting and controversies, public support for the NPL was declining. Falling grain prices after the end of World War I also contributed. Following the election of 1920, the IVA took majority control over one house in the state legislature. More IVA victories would soon follow.
Before the election, in the early months of 1920, the NPL was seemingly "cleaning house" and removing problematic officials ahead of the 1920 election in an attempt to appeal to voters. One such individual was Laureas J. Wehe, former legal counsel of the House Book and Library Investigating Committee. In April 1920, Governor Frazier removed Wehe from the Workmen's Compensation Bureau. Wehe was accused of continuing to engage in his private practice, which the workmen's compensation law did not allow, and his demeanor allegedly caused friction in the Bureau. Wehe, a combative man, took to the press and wrote several articles denouncing Frazier and defending his actions. He claimed his actions, while serving as legal counsel for the committee, "saved the [NPL]" but he "never got one cent." Wehe took his removal to court and eventually won back his seat.
By the fall of 1921, the IVA had gained enough political power and support to call for a special recall election. After the election on October 28, 1921, all three NPL members of the Industrial Commission were removed from office: Lynn J. Frazier (Governor), William Lemke (Attorney General), and John N. Hagan (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor). The trio were replaced by IVA-endorsed candidates: R. A. Nestos (Governor), Sveinbjorn Johnson (Attorney General), and Joseph A. Kitchen (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor). Kitchen replaced Hagan on the Board of Administration.
Two of the three IVA candidates voted into office had connections to the State Library Commission (SLC). Johnson served as the Legislative Reference Librarian from 1908 to 1911. From 1912 to 1914, Nestos served as a member of the SLC's board and President of the North Dakota Library Association.
Board of Administration
Although it had been exonerated by the House Book and Library Investigating Committee, the book scandal was a public relations disaster for the Board of Administration. It faced immense backlash. The board's treatment of Minnie J. Nielson also caused problems. So much so that it was forced to back away from its plan to eliminate or change the Superintendent of Public Instruction position. The board eventually adopted better practices and procedures, but issues with the board would continue.
In early 1920, it was rumored that Governor Frazier was going to ask George A. Totten to resign from the board. The rumors turned out to be only rumors, and Totten remained on the board for two more years.
Toward the end of 1920, Patrick M. Casey resigned from the board and Governor Frazier appointed Joseph I. Cahill to the board to fill the vacancy. Cahill, a former state senator and member of the NPL, was the original sponsor of the Board of Administration bill in 1919. Cahill was also the NPL's unsuccessful candidate for Secretary of State in 1920, losing to incumbent Thomas Hall in the Republican primary.
In early February 1922, the recently elected governor, R. A. Nestos, demanded the resignation of Totten and Cahill from the Board of Administration on charges of misconduct and incompetency. Initially, it was reported that Totten would not quit and would refuse the demand of Governor Nestos, but he ultimately complied within two weeks. Cahill, on the other hand, refused to step down. He also ignored that his replacement (Robert B. Murphy) had been appointed and recognized by the board. Both attended and participated in meetings. Cahill took to the courts to keep his seat. Murphy was represented by Attorney General Sveinbjorn Johnson, and Cahill was represented by William Langer, who had returned to private practice. In August 1921, the courts ruled in favor of Murphy, and Cahill was forced out.
By July 1923, all the original NPL members of the Board of Administration were gone (Totten, Muir, Casey, and Hagan). IVA-endorsed individuals had taken their place. Nielson was the only original member remaining on the board.
Anne E. Peterson
Anne E. Peterson (Deputy Librarian) resigned from the State Library Commission in the summer of 1920 and moved back to New York.
In subsequent years, several publications (many of them anti-NPL) held onto the claim that Peterson (often referring to her as "Anna Peterson") was an ardent socialist, which is why she was hired in the first place by the Board of Administration. These books also claim she and Stangeland were brought to North Dakota on the recommendation of Dr. Charles A. Beard, a controversial professor, historian, and author.
However, these publications do not provide adequate evidence to support their claims, and they all appear to recycle the same speculative information. Some of the excerpts included:
In August 1920, Peterson married James V. Clarke in New York. She had persevered through the book scandal, and life had moved on for her. Although, she may not have been completely unscathed. According to federal census data, she never again worked as a librarian.
A political cartoon depicting Rep. O'Connor and Rep. Burtness as heroes in the eyes of constituents. The two are greeted by a large crowd who is eager to thank the two legislators for their role in the book scandal.
The J.F.T. O'Connor for governor bandwagon. Leading the procession is a horse-drawn wagon. Behind the wagon is a long line of people waving flags, waving hats, or playing music. Ultimately, O'Connor's notoriety was not enough to defeat the popular NPL governor (Frazier), and he lost the 1920 gubernatorial election.
Women on the street shun Rep. Richard H. Walker for "supporting" the controversial books in his role as Chair of the House Book and Library Investigating Committee.
A family gathers all of their spare money to contribute to William Langer's gubernatorial campaign. Although he was popular with voters, Langer lost to the NPL's Lynn J. Frazier in the primary election in June 1920.
An article from the front page of the "Bismarck Tribune" on November 23, 1921, following the inauguration of R. A. Nestos, Sveinbjorn Johnson, and Joseph A. Kitchen.
An anti-NPL version of the same cartoon that appeared in the "Nonpartisan Leader" (vol. 4, no. 8, p. 1) in February 1917. In this version, appearing in "The Red Flame" (vol. 1, no. 7) in May 1920, a farmer paints a sign that says "This road will be opened by the people in 1920" after clearing the obstacles from the "Townley gang."
Board of Administration members, 1924
A political cartoon depicting free love being taught in a classroom. The "History of the Nonpartisan League" is also being taught over American history, geography, and arithmetic. The cartoon asks: "Fathers, mothers, what do you think of it?"
Many of these resources and programs are funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.