The daily gazette., 1882-09-19
CoLoRADos CAPITAL.
An Interesting Letter From MIR. Bertqaetts
-Da1Mwmreans i'm Denver.

DENVER, sept l@IhM Political pot ls
already boiling n several states, ID q great |
many 1t has 5ust heef Rus en the are and
has not yet had NmesG@ sqeyhe. see yon
have txeated- ont bofh ana&s ON the track 1
and have got the word eco" In cur State
II Is not so, and political trainers are still
judieiously exercising their entries Ihe
State Is hopeiessly Republican and therefore
interest centers en- the Republican entries.
Most of the primaries have been held, and
by the time you get this the party Will have
had Its State Convention and will have
named the next Governor and member Of
Congress for Colorado. The situation is In
teresting, a. the choice for members Of the
Legislature Involves the Question ola united
States Senatorship. When Secretary Teller
resigned last summer 70 Join the Cabinet o.
| President Arthur, the choice OF man TO MI
| the unsxplresl term levOlved upon the 6OY-
ernor, Frederick w. Pitkin. Now Pitkin
was himself an aspirant to the place, out
| found himself In position that made u I'M
possible to 90 lust then. The Lieutenant
| Governor. IA. A. w. TABOR, of whom you
| have already heard so much, had 4 great
| longing to serve his country In that capacity
| and counted on his present Office 10 help
| him. But Tabor represented too much
money and influence to make 1t safe for the
| Governor to give him such an advantage,
| and PitItin therefore appointed Mr. Chilcott,
lawyer Of good standing In Pueblo, with
| out bonanza pile, and staunch friend OF
| his own. This enraged Tabor and
| he declared that he would be the
next Senator II work and ''inAuence"
would secure the place. Lines were
at once drawn between Pitkin and
Tabor and both went to work. A formidable
rival appeared In the field and In the person
of Judge Tom Bowen, the owner OF large
gold mines in the San Juan country and
said to be the king of all the bonanza
princes One Of these three are likely to be
Senator Hills colieague from Colorado, but
which one I viii not venture to predict.
During the past week It has been rumored
that Tabor proposed Withdrawing from the
contest in favor of Bowen, and that the
Stalwart influence was to be eentered on the
latter against Pitkin, who is u great fayorite
among the people. The party Is divided
into two factions, and Senator Hills side Is
likely TO support Pitkin while Secretary
Teller's win be for Bowen II the above
rumor proves correct. The Secretary has
been home for a month helping to arrange
the slate, and the Tabor rumor is result Of
the work. He is being assisted by ex Senator
J. B. Chaffee, who is living in New York,
but finds Colorado a congenial place Of re-
sort when political states are being made. 1t
was said that he wanted TO be returned to
the Senate himself but he has apparently
thought better of 1t.
The matter Of Congressman is being
very warmly canvassed. Judge BclfOrd, the
present incumbent, who is playfully called
"the red-headed rooster of the Rockies"
desires to succeed himself, but a strong
opposition has been aroused against him.
His competitor of longest standing is
General James McNeeley, who think is a
Halfbreed, or AFgonaut," as the term is
here. The Stalwsrt support was expected
by Belford, but 1t seems now to be drifting
TO Judge Symes, and as a result Mr.. Belford
is in great danger of being left. Judge
Decker. who was at one time spoken OF for
Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Is also
mentioned.
The Stalwart candidate for Governor has
all along been Henry Woleott, and he re-
tains the lead, though he is In danger Of
being overthrown in his stronghold by
| James Maxwell. There are a number of
other names mentioned, with various
alliances, but / fear your readers are too
much interested In Stockley and Curry
| Tor Currey) to make It wise to enumerate
them. You will hear of the result of
the convention, as | said before,
| ere this reaches you. What the Democratic
ticket will be has not been much canvassed
In this connection II will not be out Of
place to briefly outline
THE POLITICAL HISTORY
Of Colorado as Territory and State. 1t is
not long enough to be tedious, as will be
readily understood when It lis reflected that
the development of the region commenced
with the Pixies Peak excitement In 1859.
A territorial government was formed and
the first governor appointed in 1861. VII
liam Gilpn enjoyed the title and honor for
the first year, after which John Evans held
the office for three years. A. Cummings
was appointed in 1868, and held the reins
till 1867, when A. e. Hunt took them nI
and held them for two years. He was fol
lowed by +. NJ. McCook, who served til
1873, when Samuel II. Elbert held the chai
for one year, after which McCook took 1t foi
? another year. John l.. Routt was the las
r Territorial governor and the first Stat
4 governor. He held the executive office from
: 1875 till Colorado was admitted as the Cen
u tennial State in 1876. He was then elected
: for the term of two years as frs
y governor of the State His term expired II
Is 1878, when Frederick w. Pitkin was elected
:, and reelected in 1880. Ex-Governor Roui
!, is at present Chairpan of the Republica
Al State Central Committee.
le / ran down to
ID COLORADO SPRINGS
e, the other day and found 1t as pleasant
town as person could want to live In.
a has about 5000 inhabitants ia level. tn
: coy and neat 1t contains the main office
SC of the Denver and Rio Grande railroad
SO which was really the founder of the tow
er Just as the Delaware railroad founded {
nd many thriving towns in the Diamond Stat
:, Colorado City lies three miles west of Il
he springs and is called "Old Town" II
ne one of the oldest towns of the State al
,ly was the first capital of Colorado 1t Is no
eh in ruins, and the old Capitol building, no
"a a brewery, is pointed out as a relic of 4
~ terest to the tourist. The secret of Il
decay of Colorado City and the rap
growth of Colorado Springs at was GU
nm founded in 1870 is this When the r
H. Grande road was first built 1t was the intel
ne tion to run through Colorado Cit,
ne but the property owners of ii
is town conceived the idea that tn,
n were going to get rich at the expense of Il
oil railroad company and therefore put Il
price of their land up to a very exorbita
NJ rate. The railroad company tried to briI
ed them within reasonable limits but faile
lat and then reflected. The result was that
established It's depot and offices at a poi
about three miles west, laid out tow
called it Colorado Springs, and went ahea
'of New corners preferred the new town, wi
as its railroad advantages, and In few yea
vi the citizens of Colorado City moved oy,
h Since 1871 the Springs has grown to pla
of 5000 people, and the City has dwindl
nc down to half dozen families. The capt.
MS was removed to Golden and then to Denvt
in When the people of the State two years al