CHAPTER VI 



MAKING A JOKE OF THE BALLOT-BOX 



IN the beginning North Dakota was settled 

 chiefly from the Middle West, from Iowa, 

 Illinois, and the like, and by a people seri- 

 ous-minded, almost painfully conscientious, 

 hard-working, and abundantly endowed with 

 the stout virtues of their race. They were pro- 

 hibitionists on the liquor issue, orthodox in 

 religion, sturdy supporters of public schools, 

 and looking upon their political affiliation 

 as part of their souls' salvation. They 

 brought to North Dakota the conception 

 of the Republican party that prevailed in 

 Iowa after the Civil War when the Repub- 

 lican majority in the state was eighty thou- 

 sand and a Democrat was viewed as a child 

 of sin. They made North Dakota another 

 Gibraltar for their party; the Democratic 

 function there was largely of a humorous or 

 nominal character. 



I do not know how, to one that recalls the 

 Twiddle West of that time, I can give a better 

 idea of the intensity of the farmers' protest 



