organized and conducted a vigorous and successful fight among the House members to prevent its passage in the House, or securing a two-thirds vote. He raised funds to circulate petitions remonstrating against the passage of the law, employed detectives to secure evidence of suspected bribery and corruption, inspired the publication of articles in the press opposing the lottery scheme, secured protests and letters from prominent business men and bankers of St. Paul, Minneapolis, Chicago and New York, all of which petitions, protests and letters were presented to the House and appear in its journal, and commanded representative men of all professions and classes in the state, who hastened to Bismarck and aided him in his efforts to defeat the bill. On its votes taken on the question of its reading and on motions to postpone its consideration, or resubmit it for amendment, the measure commanded only thirty-nine votes in the House, less than two-thirds vote of all the members elected. The Congress of the United States enacted a law prohibiting the carriage of lottery tickets by corporations engaged in the transportation of interstate commodities, and lottery and gift enterprise tickets were denied the use of the United States mails. The lottery advocates thus seeing their "occupation gone,” as no lottery scheme could be worked to any advantage in the United States, abandoned the fight and on February 10th the House agreed to indefinite postponement of Senate Bill No. 167, and thus the lottery scheme went to its death. Governor Miller's administration of state affairs was satisfactory to the people. They admired him as a man, believed in his policies and regretted his refusal to be a candidate for a second term. Upon the expiration of his term he moved to Duluth, Minn., where he engaged in a grain brokerage business and died there, October 26, 1908. ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW H. BURKE Andrew H. Burke, a banker of Cass County, who was the successor of Miller, served as governor from January, 1890, to January, 1892. The leading feature of his administration were laws enacted by the Legislature for a military code authorizing the issuance of state bonds in the sum of $150,000 to pay North Dakota's share of the indebtedness of the Territory of Dakota, a general election law, a law to promote irrigation, and a law empowering the governor to appoint a commission to compile the laws. This commission discovered in searching the statutes, that there was no law for the election of presidential electors; its absence debarring the people from voting for the President, or for a state canvassing board to canvass the vote cast for Congress, presidential electors, state, legislative or judicial officers. The commission reported this fact to the governor in May, 1891, who called a special session of the Legislature to convene at Bismarck on June 1, 1891. In the meantime, the commission prepared bills to remedy the defects, and Governor Burke submitted them to the Legislature, which enacted them and the state voted for electors the first time in 1892, when Grover Cleveland was elected to the presidency. Governor Burke vetoed a bill favored by the farmers' alliance, which compelled railroads to lease sites on their right of way for the building of elevators and warehouses, for the storage of grain, on terms and conditions obnoxious to the railroads. The farmers' alliance The governor considered the bill unconstitutional. resented his action and joining forces with the democrats formed a fusion party and although Burke had been nominated by the dominant republican party for a second term, defeated him at the polls. Like his predecessor, John Miller, he left the state and engaged in the grain business at Duluth, Minn., but was unsuccessful. When he was appointed through the influence of Senator Nelson, of Minnesota, an inspector of United States land offices, he moved with his family to Washington, D. C., but toward the close of McKinley's first administration moved to the State of Colorado, and later to New Mexico. THE SHORTRIDGE ADMINISTRATION The farmers' alliance, the populists and the democrats of the state fused and elected Eli C. D. Shortridge, of Grand Forks County, as the successor of Burke. As forty-nine days of the session of the Legislature which convened during his regime as governor were consumed in the election of a United States senator, there was little time for law making, and outside of appropriations for the maintenance of the public institutions of the state the principal laws enacted and approved by the governor, were a law authorizing the issuance of $50,000 of bonds to construct the south wing of the capitol building. The governor was chairman of the building committee and constructed this wing in 1894; a law creating a commission to revise and codify the laws; a general drainage law; the purchase of an executive mansion; and an appropriation for a state elevator at Duluth, Minn. This was a pet measure of his administration, and was earnestly supported by Governor Shortridge; a constitutional amendment prohibiting lottery and gift enterprises was passed by the Legislature and referred to the next succeeding Legislature to be, if approved by it, submitted to a vote of the people. Governor Shortridge as chairman of the State Auditing Board, refused to audit or direct the payment of the accounts of the compilation commission, which had been appointed by Governor Burke, and had completed its labors, and made final report of its doings to the Legislature. This commission brought an action in the nature of mandamus in the District Court of Grand Forks County, before Chas. F. Templeton, judge, who granted an order directing him as chairman of the State Auditing Board to audit the accounts, and the state auditor to issue his warrants in payment thereof, or show cause why they should not so do. Upon the hearing of this order, the state was represented by William H. Standish, its attorney-general; John G. Hamilton, chairman of the commission, appeared for it. After taking testimony and listening to argument by the respective counsel, Judge Templeton granted a peremptory writ of mandamus which ordered the governor to audit the accounts, the auditor to issue his warrants upon the state treasurer, for the amount of the same, and the state treasurer to pay them. No appeal to the Supreme Court was taken from this writ and the governor approved the accounts, the state auditor issued his warrants therefor, and they were paid by the treasurer. The balloting for United States senator began on January 18th, the leading candidates were Lyman R. Casey, a republican, and John D. Benton and William N. Roach, democrats, though many other persons received complimentary votes. The republicans who had a nominal majority of the Legislature, held a caucus and agreed upon Mr. Casey as their candidate, but through some invisible influence, twelve republicans refused to enter the caucus, or be bound by its action. On the sixty-first ballot taken on the forty-ninth day, six republicans from Grand Forks County, together with other republicans from Burleigh, Cass, Pembina and Walsh counties, voted for the democratic candidate, William N. Roach, who received fifty votes, and was declared elected senator. Alexander McKenzie, who was the principal manager of Casey's campaign, characterized the political apostasy of the republicans who voted for Roach, by saying: "I bow to the Benedict Arnolds and traitors of North Dakota." When Governor Shortridge retired from his office, he was deeply involved financially. He was appointed clerk of the United States Land Office at Devils Lake, to which city he moved and where he died, February 4, 1908. GOVERNOR SHORTRIDGE Eli C. D. Shortridge was born in Cabell county, West Virginia, March 29, 1830. When he was three years of age, his parents settled in Monroe county, Missouri. He was educated in the district schools of the neighborhood and later at an academy at Paris, Mo. In 1860 he was married to Virginia Brady of Hannibal, Mo. The first Mrs. Shortridge passed away in 1880. In 1882 he was married to Miss Anna Burton of Moberly, Mo., at which time he moved his family to North Dakota, taking up his residence at Larimore, Grand Forks county. He later owned a large farm eight miles north of Larimore, where he resided when elected governor in 1892 on the fusion ticket of democrats and populists, serving one term. He was closely identified with the early struggles of the pioneers of North Dakota, and was deeply loyal to the state and all its interests to the day of his death. His last active part in politics was the nominating of John Burke for the office of governor at a state convention of democrats at Minot; Burke served three consecutive terms, and was in office at time of ex-Governor Shortridge's death, February 4, 1908. Mrs. Shortridge and five children survive the ex-governor; three by his first marriage, Charles G. Shortridge of Thunder Hawk, S. D., and Miss Lila V. Shortridge and Mrs. D. A. Stewart of Spokane, Wash. And the twin daughters by his last Juliette-Mrs. Orville C. Duell of New Rockford, N. D. and FrancesMrs. N. C. Barrett of Church's Ferry, N. D. Governor Shortridge was a true man, a loyal citizen, a faithful executive, conscientious and competent. THE ROGER ALLIN ADMINISTRATION Roger Allin, a republican and farmer of Walsh County, succeeded Shortridge. No legislation of special import was submitted to him for approval, except the garnishment laws, laws for the protection of dairy products, establishing a fish hatchery providing for a geological survey of the state, and creating a historical commission, and the general appropriations for the support and maintenance of the public institutions of the state. The Legislative Assembly of the Shortridge |