Wikipedia

Carl R. Kositzky

Carl R. Kositzky (April 7, 1876 – January 18, 1940) was a North Dakota public servant and politician with the Republican Party who served as the North Dakota State Auditor from 1917 to 1920.[1]

Carl R. Kositzky
North Dakota State Auditor
In office
1917–1920
GovernorLynn Frazier
Preceded byCarl O. Jorgenson
Succeeded byDavid C. Poindexter
Personal details
Born(1876-04-07)April 7, 1876
Yankton, South Dakota
DiedJanuary 18, 1940(1940-01-18) (aged 63)
Bismarck, North Dakota
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEstelle Gaskill

Biography

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Early years

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Carl Reinholt Kositzky was born on April 7, 1890, in Yankton, South Dakota. After living in South Dakota and Nebraska, Kositzky moved to North Dakota in 1901, settling on a farm near Sterling. In 1902, Kositzky married Estelle Gaskill.[2]

Burleigh County Treasurer and Commissioner

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During the early 1900s, Kositzky became involved in local politics, serving as county treasurer and commissioner of Burleigh County from 1908 to 1916.[3]

In early August 1912, while serving as county treasurer, Kositzky started, and reportedly won, a fight with Commissioner E. G. Patterson in the halls of the courthouse. Patterson, and his friends, maintained that he was unhurt and that Kositzky struck him from behind while he was walking with his hands in his pockets.[4][5]

E. S. Pierce, an eyewitness to the altercation, filed a complaint a few days later, charging Kositzky with assault and battery. Kositzky appeared before Judge Olson and pleaded guilty. He received a fine of $5.00.[6]

According to the Washburn Leader, the fight may have had something to do with Kositzky discovering that E. G. Patterson and Alexander McKenzie were receiving suspicious tax breaks.[7]

State Auditor

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In 1916, Kositzky decided to run for the office of North Dakota State Auditor. He received the endorsement of the Nonpartisan League (NPL).[2] Kositzky defeated incumbent Carl O. Jorgenson in the Republican Primary in June,[8] and then he won the general election in November by more than 55,000 votes.[9] He was reelected again in 1918.[10]

In 1919, Kositzky was growing dissatisfied with the NPL and its leaders. Kositzky, along with William Langer (Attorney General) and Thomas Hall (Secretary of State), openly denounced and defected from the NPL.[11][3] In the fall of 1919, Kositzky and other opponents of the NPL formed the Citizens Economy League and began publishing a vicious anti-NPL magazine called The Red Flame.[12][13][11]

For their defection, the NPL labeled Kositzky, Langer, and Hall as traitors, and the NPL-controlled state legislature would retaliate by slashing the appropriations of their respective departments.[11][14][15] The State Auditor was also removed from the State Auditing Board, State Board of Equalization, and the Emergency Commission.[16][15]

Undeterred, Kositzky continued to undermine the NPL. The Red Flame continued its monthly publication until October 1920.[12]

In September 1919, Kositzky was charged with assaulting C. K. Gummerson, a reporter for a pro-NPL newspaper the Courier-News. Reportedly, Kositzky, angered by Gummerson's articles, attempted to take Gummerson over his knee and administer a spanking. The case later went to trial. In January 1920, the jury could not agree on a verdict and the charges against Kositzky were dropped.[17][18][19]

During the 1919 special legislative session, Kositzky helped instigate a book scandal with the state library. The newly created, and NPL-controlled, Board of Administration, which oversaw the state library, wanted the library to expand and diversify its collections. Kositzky provided the legislature with copies of invoices for recent books purchased. The opponents of the NPL, particularly the Independent Voters Association (IVA) and Rep. Olger B. Burtness, pounced on this opportunity. They used the books, which they deemed to be radical and socialist, to their advantage by publicly challenging and smearing the NPL and the Board of Administration. They claimed the NPL was using the Board of Administration, and subsequently the state library, to circulate radical books to schools and children. A special committee was formed to investigate. The state library and the Board of Administration were later exonerated, but the NPL's reputation suffered.[3]

Also during the 1919 special legislative session, Kositzky got into another fight. In December 1919, Kositzky was refusing, or at least delaying, to issue warrants (expense checks) to legislators. A committee was appointed to investigate this situation. The committee chair, Senator A. A. Liederbach confronted Kositzky in the halls of the Capitol, which reportedly resulted in a fist fight between the two men.[20]

Kositzky was defeated in the 1920 election by NPL-endorsed David C. Poindexter. Kositzky. He did not run again for the office.[1][21][22]

Later years

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Kositzky worked in the State Land Department from 1922 to 1932. He then served as a Burleigh County Deputy Sheriff from 1935 to 1939.[23][24][25][26][27]

On January 18, 1940, Kositzky died at the age of 63 in Bismarck, North Dakota.[28][29]

Personal life

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In 1902, Kositzky married Estelle Gaskill, and they had multiple children.[2]

Kositzky had German ancestry. His family emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1871. His father, Gustave Kositzky, was a veteran of the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. This military background later influenced his sons, three of whom served in World War I.[30][31]

See also

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Political offices
Preceded by North Dakota State Auditor
1917–1920 		Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ a b North Dakota Blue Book, 2005
  2. ^ a b c North Dakota (1919). North Dakota Blue Book. p. 559.
  3. ^ a b c Remele, Larry (1977). "The North Dakota State Library Scandal of 1919". North Dakota History. 44 (1): 21–29. ISSN 0029-2710. OCLC 6781857.
  4. ^ Bismarck Historical Society. "It Happened in Bismarck... August 2, 1912". www.bismarckhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  5. ^ Chronicling America (1912-08-02). "Patterson for Law Enforcement". The Fargo forum and daily republican. p. 8. ISSN 2688-9447. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  6. ^ Chronicling America (1912-08-06). "Kositzky Arrested". Bismarck daily tribune. p. 4. ISSN 2330-5924. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  7. ^ Chronicling America (1912-11-15). "Merited Election". The Washburn leader. p. 4. ISSN 8750-7250. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  8. ^ North Dakota (1916). "Republican Votes, Primary Election June 28, 1916" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  9. ^ North Dakota (1916). "Party Votes, General Election, November 7, 1916" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  10. ^ North Dakota (1918). "Party Votes, General Election, November 5, 1918" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  11. ^ a b c Robinson, Elwyn (2017-09-01). "History of North Dakota". Open Educational Resources: 333, 342–344. doi:10.31356/oers001.
  12. ^ a b Citizens Economy League; Red Flame Publishing Company (1919–1920). "The Red flame". Digital Horizons. OCLC 3794178. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  13. ^ North Dakota Studies. "Section 5: Dissension - The Independent Voters Association". State Historical Society of North Dakota. Archived from the original on 2023-01-28. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  14. ^ Morlan, Robert Loren (1985). Political prairie fire : the Nonpartisan League, 1915-1922. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 271. ISBN 0-87351-186-7. OCLC 12420672.
  15. ^ a b Chronicling America (1919-12-12). "Legislature quits after kicking precedent into cocked hat and making state military despotism". The Bismarck tribune. pp. 1–2. ISSN 2330-5967. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  16. ^ North Dakota State Archives. "State Agencies: State Auditor". State Historical Society of North Dakota. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  17. ^ Chronicling America (1919-09-22). "Kositzky pleads not guilty to battery charge". The Bismarck tribune. p. 1. ISSN 2330-5967. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  18. ^ Chronicling America (1919-09-25). "State Auditor arrested for attempting to spank League propaganda writer". Jamestown weekly alert. p. 6. ISSN 2332-9998. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  19. ^ Chronicling America (1920-01-13). "Jury divides over guilt of state spanker". The Bismarck tribune. p. 1. ISSN 2330-5967. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  20. ^ Chronicling America (1919-12-18). "Intense Feeling Marks Closing Sessions of Legislative Assembly". Jamestown weekly alert. p. 7. ISSN 2332-9998. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  21. ^ North Dakota (1920). "Republican Votes, Primary Election, June 30, 1920" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  22. ^ North Dakota (1920). "Party Votes, General Election, Nov. 2, 1920" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  23. ^ Chronicling America (1922-04-08). "Name Kositzky commissioner". The Bismarck tribune. p. 1. ISSN 2330-5967. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  24. ^ Chronicling America (1927-10-05). "Kositzky choice is given approval". The Bismarck tribune. p. 3. ISSN 2330-5967. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  25. ^ North Dakota State Land Department. "Biennial report of the Commissioner of University and School Lands". Biennial report of the Commissioner of University and School Lands. Public document. OCLC 1409393593 – via HathiTrust.
  26. ^ Minot Daily News (1940-01-18). "Carl Kositzky is dead at 63". Minot Daily News: 2 – via North Dakota's Historical Newspapers.
  27. ^ Bismarck Tribune (1940-01-18). "Carl R. Kositzky, ill over year, dies". The Bismarck Tribune: 1, 3.
  28. ^ Article on Kositzky's death
  29. ^ North Dakota State Archives. "Death Records: Carl R. Kositzky". State Historical Society of North Dakota. Archived from the original on 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  30. ^ Davis, Jim (2017-12-20). "The Face of War". Prairie Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  31. ^ Chronicling America (1917-12-20). "Another star for trib.: Former employe enlists in U.S. wireless service". The Bismarck tribune. p. 6. ISSN 2330-5967. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
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