Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-10-05

= " 4AS
dent. Applied to congressional districts
this principle we admit to its full exten
and 1t is strange that MIR. Wescott shoulC
have fallen into the error of supposins
that it was denied. Both the conven
tons in this western assembly distric
stand upon the same ground precisely
SO far as this principle is concerned
The County Convention claimed no au.
thority or power to direct the action OF
either in any respect. The question
presented is in no wise between the
County Convention and the District
Convention, but between two District
Conventions, which acted equally free
from all controlling influences rom any
outside power.
The other view was urged by the ven
cradle editor of the Madison Journal,
General Atwood. 1t is this: Tie Dis.
trict Convention held at 1920, being the
first he'd, is therefore regular. Where
in the realm of politics, religion or rea-
son, General Atwood has discovered that
the first is necessarily right, we cannot
conjecture. Certain it is that the view
is entirely fallacious. If the first con
vention was a fraud, or from any other
course irregular, it is none the less Sc
because it is first, and if the last conyen-
ton held is the regular convention, il Is
none the less SO because it was the last
held.
We 10y take the reader to the Monroe
Convention, which was called to order
by Nh. Wescott, the Chairman of the
Congressional District Committee, an
an anti-Hazelton man. Mr.. Tenney, a
Reyes delegate, from Dane. first secured
a recognition from the chair, and nomi-
mated A. c. Dodge, of Green, a Keves
man, temporary chairman of the conyen-
ton. Clark, of Grant, a Hazelton dele
gate, AT once moved as a substitute, that
Calvert Spensley. of Iowa, a Hazelton
man, be temporary chairman of the con
Nention. The vote was first taken viva
voce, when, a division being demanded,
the delegates voted by rising, and the
chairman discovered that all the contest
ing delegates from La Fayette county
were voting, making IS votes in the
convention, when there should be but ~.
Mr. Wescott, the chairman of the COM
mittee, then asked fol the credentials
from La Fayette county, which were
furnished him. No one will question
that Mr.. Wescott. or the committee of
which he was chairman, had the author
ity to determine who were entitled to
vote as delegates, on the temporary or
g%anization of the convention. The
proposition is necessarily correct, from
the fact that no other power exists to
determine that question.
The convention rnuII mot determine
it, for the very question to be determined
is who compose the convention. That
must be determined in the first instance,
before the convention can do anything.
Both sides freely aequiesced in the eXer-
else of this power by Mr.. Wescott.
After a careful examination of the ere
dentials of the La Favette county dele
gates, Mr.. Wescott determined and an
nounced, that there were two sets of
delegates present from the Western
Assembly District of La Fayette county,
whose credentials were equally fair upon
their face, and that both these sets of
delegates would be excluded from par
~ticipation in the preliminary ~organiza-
ton Of the convention. There were also
credentials showing three Senatorial del
egates present from La Fayette county,
when the county was only entitled to
two. That two of these Senatorial del
egates had credentials from the County
convention of La Fayette bounty, which
were regular on their face; the other
Senatorial delegate from La Fayette
county, Mr.. Walton, had credentials
from the Western Assembly District
convention only. That the Congress
ional District Committee had deter
mined, and the chairman concurred in
that view, that Mr.. Walton's credentials
were irregular on their face. He, there
fore, held that the two Senatorial
delegates from La Fayctte, whose ere
dentials came flom the county conven-
ton of hat county, Messrs. Blackstone
and Orion, were entitled to a vote in the
organization of the convention. The
ruling of Mr.. Wescott was, beyond all
question, right, though its effect was to
break the scheme of Mr.. Reyes friends
to nominate that gentleman, right or
wrong. Their power, under this de-
cision, was limited to causing a dead
lock in the preliminary organization.
There were now forty votes in the con
vention, twenty of which were for Mr..
Hazelton and twenty for Mr.. Reyes.
Quite u number of votes were taken on
the election of a temporary chairman,
all of which were lost by a tie vote, Mr..
Wescott voting uniformly with the KeyeS
men. The Hazelton side of the house
finally nominated p. A. Orion. of La Fay
cite county for temporary chairman, and
upon the vote of Mr.. j. b. Stickney. Of
Dane county, who voted for Mr.. Orion,
he was elected, and the temporary or
ganization vas completed. 1t has sell
dom been the misfortune of any man to
receive the abuse for any act which has
been heaped upon Mr.. Stickney for tins
vote, by which Mr.. Keyes' friends lost
the organization of the convention. II
is said he was a Keyes delegate, elected
as such, and instructed to use all honor
able means TO secure Mr.. Kcyes nominal
ton. Mr.. Reyes friends construe these
instructions as if the word honorable
was not in the instructions, and that MIR.
Stickney was bound to use all means,
whether honorable or dishon0rable,
good or bad, necessary TO that end,
The Hazelton men in this convention
knew from the start that the Reyes
delegates who were asking for seats in
the convention from the western dis
trict of Lafayette county, were fraudu-
lently elected, as the initial point of a
most uniustiiiable scheme to dislrau-
chise this assembly district in the organ
izaticn of the convention, and make il
possible for Mr.. Reyes friends, if IN
scrupulous enough, to admit these frat
dulent delegates and nominate Nj.
keyes, although he was not the choice
Of the conventions; but they expected
also from the start that the Keyes men
in the convention were open TO conyic-
ton, and if convinced that the Hazelton
delegates were the regular delegates,
they would favor their admission. Mr..
Hazelton's friends in that convention,
would have felt very differently had
they supposed the Dane county instruc-
tions bound its delegates to use all
means. fair OF foul, to secure Mr.. keyes
nomination. VIII honest. honorable
men think it strange that Mr.. Stickney
should have been convinced that the
kcyes delegates from Lafayette county
were fraudulently elected, in pursuance
of a scheme most dishonorable to Its
author, whoever be may be. But why
should StIckney, more than Wescott,
be denounced as a traitor TO keyes.
They were both Keyes, or at best anti
Hazelton men, and equally bound to
use all honorable means to defeat
Hazelton's nomination. 1t was Mr..
Weseott' ruling which made Hazelton's
| continuation noSsibla ThnSp men arc