1/11/2009:
In Bismarck, on the second floor of the Bank of North Dakota, sat a big green box-a locked steel filing case. No one knew what the box held, if it held anything.
However, on this date in 1922, the mystery was solved.
As it turned out, the "big green box" held a propaganda mailing list belonging to the bank and the Nonpartisan League.
The index included 40,000 to 50,000 cards labeled "1," "2" and "3," according to how friendly each person was to the NPL cause. Women's cards were marked in pink.
After investigation, it was reported that the box and its contents explained the expenditure of over 17 thousand dollars for postage and more than 13 thousand dollars for printing by the Bank of North Dakota in 1920.
By Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Fargo Forum, Wednesday evening, January 11, 1922, p.1