George A. Totten

George A. Totten Sr. was born in England in 1870. His parents were Rev. Matthew J. Totten and Clara (Parker) Totten. In 1884, the family immigrated to Ontario, Canada. Totten received a mix of private and public education in England and Canada. He was also educated for the ministry, following in his father's footsteps. In 1899, he immigrated to the United States. He was then involved in missionary work in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. In 1906, Totten moved to North Dakota and was ordained a Congregational minister in 1907. He served several churches in the state, particularly in Nelson County.^[1][2][3]

Totten then moved to Bowman, North Dakota. After serving a couple of years as a minister in Bowman, Totten resigned.^[3] Some sources claim he was forced to resign due to his liberal political views.^[4][5] After his brother, Edward Totten, stepped down as editor of the Bowman Citizen, George took over the newspaper.^[3]

During this time, the Totten brothers became engrossed in a political battle with a local banker and rancher, James E. Phelan.^[2][5] The Tottens were liberal and Phelan was conservative.^[2][6] The Tottens' newspaper was critical of the wealthy Phelan, who earned his money through entrepreneurship and working for the railroad.^[5][2] This resulted in multiple libel lawsuits against the Totten-run paper.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Undeterred, the newspaper continued its campaign against Phelan. Eventually, the libel lawsuits took their toll and George A. Totten Sr. was forced out. He left the state in early 1914, moving to Tennessee, and turned the newspaper over to his son, George A. Totten Jr.^{[7][11][13][12][5]}

George Sr. was not gone long. He moved back to North Dakota in early 1915 to set up an abstract office in Wahpeton. However, he did not stay there long either, eventually returning to Bowman.^[7]

Totten returned to his old publishing duties and attempted to turn the Bowman Citizen into an organ of reform and a voice for the Nonpartisan League (NPL). However, many local business withdrew their advertisements with the newspaper at the persuasion of Phelan. The Tottens were forced to sell the Bowman Citizen, but not before the newspaper published a lengthy article about how they were being squeezed out.^[14][2]

Totten was liberal in his political beliefs and a supporter of progressivism.^[15] In the 1910s, he became active in state politics. In 1914, he was featured on the "F. O. Hellstrom ticket" as a recommended candidate for the state's Railroad Commission.^[16] Totten became active in the Nonpartisan League (NPL) in the late 1910s.^[2]

In early 1917, NPL Governor Lynn Frazier appointed Totten to the North Dakota Board of Regents, but his nomination was blocked by the senate.^[17] Totten was then employed by the NPL to help publish newspapers, editorials, and political cartoons.^[18][19][5]

Meanwhile, Gov. Frazier patiently waited for the terms of two current members of the board to expire. When they did in July 1917, Frazier again nominated Totten to the board, along with Robert Muir, who was the brother-in-law of NPL leader William Lemke. The issue of these appointments was presented to the North Dakota Supreme Court, with the NPL majority supporting the governor.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Totten served on the Board of Regents from 1917 to 1919.^[20][24][3]

By 1919, the NPL had risen to prominence and had control over all three branches of state government. The NPL began passing its reforms during the 1919 legislative sessions.^[25]

In early 1919, there were rumors, prior to the start of the regular legislative session, that Governor Frazier and the NPL would push to overhaul the state's education system.^[26][27] On January 8, 1919, this speculation was confirmed when Gov. Frazier addressed the legislature and recommended the Board of Regents and Board of Education be abolished. He also recommended the responsibilities of these boards and certain powers from the state superintendent be transferred to a new, consolidated board consisting of five or fewer members.^[28]

Heeding the governor's recommendation, the legislature created the Board of Administration.^[29][30] The board would consist of five members: the Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and three members appointed by the governor.^[29] This new board would administer all penal institutions, charitable and educational institutions, and oversee the public and common schools for the state.^[29]

On July 26, 1919, the Board of Administration formally organized. Gov. Frazier appointed Totten, a former member of the Board of Regents; Robert Muir, a former member of the Board of Regents; and Patrick M. Casey, a former member of the Board of Control. The other two members were John N. Hagan, Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor; and Minnie Nielson, Superintendent of Public Instruction.^{[31][24][23][3]}

The supporters of the NPL viewed the creation of the Board of Administration as a way for the state to increase efficiency and save money through the consolidation.^[32] However, others, like the opponents of the NPL, viewed the board as a political power grab.^[33] Upon its creation, a majority of the board, four of the five members, had ties to the NPL. Only Nielson did not.^{[34][35][36][33][2]}

Totten, already a controversial figure because of his liberal views and libel lawsuits and openly branded a socialist by his opponents,^[4][19][35] was named chair of the board.^[31][5] He served as the board's chair until the summer of 1921.^[37] As chair, the controversies surrounding him continued:

• The exclusion of Minnie Nielson, Superintendent of Public Instruction and the only non-NPL member of the board, from official meetings^{[38][39][40][41]} When Nielson protested the board meeting without her, Totten reportedly replied, "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."^[39]
• On November 1, 1919, the board's first annual report was submitted to the governor. In this report, the board included a recommendation to abolish the office of the state superintendent or make it a board-appointed position instead of an elected one.^[31] Nielson was not given a chance to see this report before it was published.^[39]
• The appointing of Neil C. Macdonald, the outgoing state superintendent and NPL member, to serve as an educational advisor and general school inspector with a salary equal to Nielson's^[30][31][42]
• The hiring of Charles Emil Stangeland to serve as a consultant to provide a review of the state library, which resulted in a number of books being added to the library's collections that were deemed provocative by the NPL's opponents^{[33][30][40][23][35][5]}
• The purchasing of a house in Fargo by the NPL's Home Building Association. The house, like many built by the Home Building Association for NPL members, had significant cost overruns. Totten and his son, George Jr., were both involved with this house.^[43][44]
• The attempt to remove Thomas F. Kane as the president of the University of North Dakota.^[45][46]

In October 1921, the NPL's opposition, the Independent Voters Association (IVA), struck a blow by initiating a special election that successfully recalled Lynn Frazier (Governor), William Lemke (Attorney General), and John N. Hagan (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor). All three were prominent members of the NPL and served on the state's Industrial Commission.^[47][48][49]

In early February 1922, recently elected Governor R. A. Nestos, a member of the IVA, demanded Totten's resignation from the Board of Administration on charges of misconduct and incompetency.^[50] Initially, it was reported that Totten would refuse to quit, but he ultimately complied with the governor's request within two weeks.^[51][52]