3/19/2012:
On this date in 1912, a century ago, the citizens of Rugby elected a new mayor, Erick S. Dale (1868-1945). His name was not unusual, but his political affiliation was a bit startling, for Erick S. Dale was a Socialist.
The Socialist Party in North Dakota had its heyday from 1900 until it was superseded by the Nonpartisan League in 1915. The main supporters of socialism in North Dakota were Scandinavians, especially Norwegians who had been Socialist Party supporters in the old country.
The first Socialist Clubs in North Dakota began in Fargo and in Towner in 1900 and candidates began to run for local and statewide offices. Minot became the headquarters of the N.D. Socialist Party around 1910 as the party attempted to educate the citizenry concerning state-owned public utilities, railways, and businesses. Arthur LeSueur led the way for socialism, becoming elected mayor of Minot in 1909.
In Rugby, a well-organized group of socialists nominated Erick Dale to run for the mayor’s office in the 1912 election. Dale’s party platform was simple: he said the city of Rugby should own all the public utilities. The water works, the sewer system, the electric company, the telephone system – all should be operated by the city, rather than by companies that made a profit.
Dale also ran on a platform of “law and order,” and that he would “enact and enforce laws for the betterment of the city.” He also promised to reduce the city’s budget.
Erick Dale’s timing was right. There were two Republican mayoral candidates, George Davidson and O.T. Tofsrud, and they split the Republican vote. Dale won the three-sided mayor’s race with a total of 110 votes. Tofsrud got 97 and Davidson totaled 89.
“The Socialist Party surprised the people here,” wrote the Rugby Optimist newspaper, “and we are inclined to believe they surprised themselves by the strong vote polled” in a “very close” election.
Mayor Erick Dale served just one term of two years. In that time, the city of Rugby constructed “about $10,000 worth of sidewalks” and spent $1,000 to fix its streets. Rugby also passed an ordinance to close all “pool halls . . . and bowling alleys” on Sundays.
In April of 1914, Rugby elected a new mayor named H. N. Bjornstad. Dale did not run for the office, thus quietly ending the socialist era in Rugby.
Erick Dale died in 1945. The eldest of his seven children, Alfred Dale, became a leader in the Nonpartisan League in the 1920s and 1930s.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Steve Hoffbeck, History Department, MSU Moorhead.
Sources: “Local Socialists Adopt Platform,” Pierce County Tribune [Rugby, N.D.], February29, 1912, p. 1.
“Three-Cornered City Fight Is On,”Pierce County Tribune [Rugby, N.D.], February 29, 1912, p. 1.
“Citizens Meet Ticket Named,”Pierce County Tribune [Rugby, N.D.], February 29, 1912, p. 1.
“Rugby City Election,”Pierce County Tribune [Rugby, N.D.], March 1, 1912, p. 1.
“Socialists Win Out,” Rugby Optimist, March 22, 1912, p. 1.
“The City Election,” Rugby Optimist, April 10, 1914, p. 1.
“Ordinance No. 64,” Rugby Optimist, March 28, 1913, p. 4.
“New Sidewalks At Rugby,” Grand Forks Herald, July 16, 1913.
“Mayor Of Rugby Makes Repairs,” Grand Forks Herald, July 27, 1912.
Jackson Putnam, The Socialist Party of North Dakota, 1902-1918, M.A. Thesis, University of North Dakota, 1956, p. 23, 24, 26, 27, 31, 41, 67, 102.
N.D. Department of Health, Public Death Index, “Erick Dale,” death date: July 29, 1945.
“Erick S. Dale,” 1920 U.S. Census, Rugby, Pierce County, N.D.
State Historical Society of N.D., Manuscript Guide, Alfred S. Dale Papers, 1921-1942.