River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-09-11
THE DEMOCRATIC STATE CoNVRN-
TON AND TICKET.


Il. Hudd, of Green Bay was made
temporary chairman. After the ap
pointment of the usual committees {
recess was taken till four O'Clock
Pending the recess the several com
mittees prepared their reports and al
the hour appointed the convention re
assembled. Ex-senator James r.
Doolittle, of Racine, was chosen Pres
ident, and Geo. W. Peck, Secretary OF
the permanent organization. In his
address to the convention Mr.. Doolt.
tie took occasion to denounce Republi.
can Congressional legislation in true
Democratic style though he himself
for some years as Republican United
States Senator assisted in shaping it,
but as he is soft money man and felt
assured that he was addressing hard
money convention he very prudently
| forebore giving expression to his more
ultra greenback views and contented
himself with giving his opinion as to
the sentiment that would probably be
expressed by the convention.
| The platform adopted is sadly at va
rance with the practices and teach
ings of modern Democracy and affords
a very conspicuous example of Dem
ocratic inconsistency by declaring in
| favor of honest money-coin, or paper
| convertible into coin at the will of
the holder. The convention not only
adopted hard money platform but it
| nominated hard money man, by ac-
| clamation, for Governor Alexander
Mitchell, the great railway king, of
| Milwaukee. By this master-stroke of
political management all soft money
Democrats who vote IN accordance
with their own convictions upon the
financial question are driven from the
Democratic into the Greenback party,
and with what degree of enthusiasm
the agricultural class can support an
opulent railway magnate for the high
and responsible Office of Governor we
submit to the imagination of our read
erS.
The convention proved to be some
what turbulent and noisy despite the
efforts of the chairman to preserve or
der. Upon the meeting of the con-
vention at four o'clock in the after
noon an enthusiastic admirer of Alex
ander Mitchell and Col. w. f. Villas
evidently favored a double barrelled
arrangement and proposed the names
| of these gentlemen for Governor and
Lieutenant Governor respectively,
moving the nomination of both by one
vote, by reclamation. Here arose the
question as to whether or not Mr..
| Mitchell who is now absent in Europe,
| would accept nomination; informa-
ton had been received to the effect
that he would not, on the strength of
which Col. Villas discouraged the nom-
nation of Mr.. Mitchell and divorced
his own name from the couplet by
peremptorily declining to be a candi-
date for any place upon the ticket
Villas was then temporarily dropped
and Mitchell nominated for Governor
by reclamation. Col. Villas positive
refuSal to become a candidate some
what disconnected the convention and
upon the nomination of Mitchell re-
cess till 1880 in the evening was de-
clared.' At 7:30 the convention met
and attempted to nominate Col. Villas
by acclamation for Lieutenant Gov
ernOr with the provisO that should
Mitchell decline the nomination for
Governor Vilas--should stand at
the head of the ticket. The attempt
to make such nomination by acclama-
ton failed and a roll-call was ordered,
the members with great Qnanimity
designating Mr.. Villas as their choice;
pending this roll-call Mr.. Villas enter
ed the hall temporarily checked the
voting and, fguratively speaking,
spread a very wet blanket over the
delegates assembled by again positive
ly and most emphatically refusing to
accept nomination in spite of the
most strenuous efforts of Mr.. DoOlittle
and others to induce him to reconsid
er his decision. BY this time it was
thought best to take Villas at his word
and the name of d. C. Fulton, of ST
Croix, was suggested; Mr.. Fulton in
formed the convention that he would
be unable to accept a nomination, and
. then T. R. Hudd, of Greed Bay, was
presented; Mr.. Hudd promptly declln
ed and after some skirmishing Geo
III. King, of Green county, was nomi
mated for Lieuteant Governor ,amids
great confusion. AS predicted by us
in a recent issue Sam Ryan, of Quito
gamie, was nominated for Secretary OF
State. Hon. Andrew Haben, of Win
nebago, received the nomination fo1
Treasurer; J. Montgomery Smith, o.
Iowa, for Attorney General, and Ed
ward Soaring, of Rock, for State Su
perintendent.
We regard this ticket as anything
but strong one. Three of the candi
dates thereon, previous to the meeting
of the convention, expressed desire
not to be placed upon mitchell
Smith and Searing--and it is quit,
probable that Mitchell and Searin,
, will refuse to accept the nomination
! rendered them. The geographical dis
trlbution of the candidates is not wei
calculated to inspire enthusiasm il
the central and northwestern portion
> of the State, the candidates all resid
4 ing in southern and eastern counties
9 Mitchell is in the fourth Compression
+ district, Ryan and Haben in the sixth
King and Smith in the third and Scar
ing in the first, leaving the second
n fifth, seventh and eighth district
/ without representation upon the tick
r ct.
: The eighth senatorial district, com
t prising the counties of kenosha an
n Walworth, takes the lead in nominal
T ing Republican candidate for Stat
Z l ~