Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-09-21
Is he a Traitor.

The following editorial from the Mil
waukee Republican Sentinel is worthy
at the present juncture of the attention
of all who wish to have justice done:
We think it would be well for the news
papers to grant a temporary reprieye to
Mr.. John B. Stickney, of Dane County,
before he is hung as a traitor. That
gentlemen was elected from the West
ern District of Dane County as a dele
gate to the Republican Congressional
Convention IN tue Third District. 1t is
said that he was chosen as a man favor
able to the nomination of Mr.. Reyes as
a candidate for Congress. He went to
the Convention at Monroe, and, before
there was an opportunity to ballot for a
member of Congress, the Convention
had to pass upon the claims of certain
delegates from La Fayette County to
seats in the Convention. There were two
sets of delegates from the Western AS
sembly District of that county, each
claiming to be the rightful and regular
Neglected delegates. If the KeyeS con-
testants were admitted it would give
him a majority in the Convention; if the
rival claimants to the seats were admit
ted it would give Hazelton a majority in
the Convention. The situation was one
calculated to subject the consciences of
politicians to violent stretching. But it
must be admitted that the decision as to
which of the claimants TO seats were
rightfully elected was one that should
have been given without reference to
their preferences as to candidates, in q
spirit of judicial fairness. No delegate,
though pledged q thousand times to
Reyes or to Hazelton, was justified in
voting upon that question except upon
the merits of the case as presented by
the facts. But the Reyes men and a
number of newspapers and correspond
ents appear to ssume that because
Stickney was elected as a Reyes man he
was bound in honor to vote for any
proposition which would further the
nomination of Reyes, regardless of
right or wrong. He voted in favor of
the proposition that the delegates from
Lafayette who were Hazelton men, and
whose seats were contested by Keyes
men, were the regularly-elected dele
gates and entitled to sit in the Conven-
ton to the exclusion of the others
After enume ating a few of the
ephithets which have been heaped upon
Nh. Stickney for this action the article
continues. "Falsehood and rascality.n
Now we have known this modern judi
as" as The GAINESVILLE Gazette calls
him, for a long time. He has resided
in the Village of Mazomoanie for
twenty-five years past, and has hitherto
borne a good character. He has been
a leading citizen of the place, and while
an active Republican we have never
heard of him as IN office-seeker. He
had been regarded as one of the staun-
chest Republican N that part of Dane
County where Republicans are not
numerous, and has usually been a dele
gate from it to Republicans conventions.
In view of the respectable character he
has hitherto borne and the services he
has rendered his party without asking
for office, we venture to request n sus-
pension of judgment in his ease until
the bottom facts can be ascertained re-
speeding the rival claims of the con
~testants from Lafayette to seats in the
Monroe Convention. If Mr.. Stickney,
after promising to support Mr.. Reyes,
betrayed him, we will join in comdem-
ming him. But if it appears that the
delegates from LaFay cite, who were
admitted to the Convention by the aid
of his vote, were duly and rightfully
elected, we shall maintain that Mr..
Stickney has not been guilty of bad
faith and has done nothing to deserve
censure, nothing to be ashamed of,
nothing but what an honest man should
do, and nothing but what honest men
should applaud.