Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1883-02-02
SELECTING A SENATOR.
PIN Pi.ture Of the Thirty Days
Struggle at Lincoln.
Political Bores a1d 8 Material
Cranks Dew loped by
thu Score.
The Mortonian Method of
Uniting ths Democrats
Proved Failure.
The Five Hours Work OF Weaver
Finally Closed tn Wsr
REVIEW OF THE CONTEST
Edit II nj N ,espondence of Tus BEN.

REVIEW OF THE CONTEST.
Editor al 70 respondence Of The BEN.
LISCoLN, January 81. -. The con-
tending political hosts have disbanded
and returned to their homes. The old
stamping grounds at the Commercial
are deserted and the capitol is as quiet
as a Quaker meeting house. The
scenes at the depot betore the depar-
turs Ct the disciplined veterans who
had undergone priyations. taken part
In the weary marches and counter
marches through hotel corridors In.
hailed the dense tobacco fumes and
grappled with monomaniacs and bores
was picturesque and entertaining.
The little band of conquering heroes
who had battled from first to last un-
der the standard Ct Manderson were
proud and jubilant. The men who
had fallen into line with them on the
final home charge were exultant over
their triumph and the grim visaged
.stragglers VINO were too late to catch
on, were gloomy and reticent,
while the warriors who had gone down
to glory aud died with their boots on
seemed content with thsir record.
The camp followers fought the bst-
tie over again and talked boss fully OF
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
done had their plans not miscsrried.
The best tf feeling prevailed, how.
ever, among all these contendiag ele.
ments, and every ybody seemed to re
joice that the conflict wa, ended
Those who were ilos behind tho sgeneG
may find som, interest in brief our
line of the political drama that has
Just closed.
At the very outset when the legisla-
ture met, It became mauifen5 that the
republicans held the winning card, if
they could ever unite th,ic forces.
Their maj ority, however, was very
slim, in fact it is questionable whether
they had more than a bare majority
of straight republicans elecsed as such.
OF the seventy.five votes cast for
General Mandsrson only sixty. eight
were straight republicans or only one
more than majority. OF the other
seven Watts was democrat,
'Sadelek straight anti mouopo.
list, McAllistsr, Gordon and Steever
elected on republican and anti.mon
opoly tickets. Fisher and FAbituger
elected in Nsmaha county in opposi.
tion to the straight republican or
Church Howe ticket.
With their very narrow ma ority
and their factional division under a
dozen leaders, republicans were con-
staptly exposed to defeat by con-
solidation of the opposition composed
of democrats, straight anti monops
and few republicans. But the op.
position was never able to consolidate
because from the outset it was work
ing at cross pusposes.
THE DEMOCRACY STARTED CUT
under the leadership of Jay S erling
Morton whose sole aim and purpose
was to consolidate he democratic vote
on himsotf for party ends in the
future. Morton is sanguine that the
next president will be dem ocrat
and Morton wants to be the head
and front of democracy in Ncbraska
60 as to command ,he controlling
Influence in the distribution of pat.
ronage. Beyond this, Morton was
anxious to have Miliiard elected sem
ator, and a maj jority of the Norton
ians in the legislature had bargained
to go over to Millard if ever there was
q chahcs to eleo5 him. Tae opposing
wing, under tn Leadership of Senator
Brown, of Douglas, and General Aol,
man, resisted Mortou's effort to rule
and deliver, and they fought him
with such spirit AID vigor at Morton
finally left Lincoln in disgust, with
the injunction to his followers nevel
to vote for an Omaha man. That was
intended to head of James e Boyd
who had entered the race and was try
ing to cons llidate the democratic anc
anti tnonOp vote on himself. In
spite of Morton, Boyd auc
ceeded so far as ths democrats
were concerned, but he was never
able TO got the straight anti-monopo
lists. With them aud his 81 demo
Gratis he could have mustered 50 votes
or within eight of the number neces
sary for an election.
BOYD WAS VERY CONFIDENT
that he would have ten republican
whenever the consolidation tool
place. l know he had persona
PLEDGES from number of republicans
but l doubt whether they would hav
had the courage to fulfill thei
pledges.
On the one hand, when the fgh
grew very bitter between Millard ant
his republican opponents number c
Millard's supporters threatened to vot
for Boyd, and evan Ca7pRr Yost, G
the Republican, declared that if Mi
lard was beaten his friends would g
over to Boyd. Ga the ether hand
Boyd was confident that if Millar
carried the caucus there would be
break up, from which he woul
gain votes enough to elect him. A
these plans vera, however, frustrate
by failure TO get an agreement wi.
the anti.monopolists.
IT Is A SINGULAR FACT
that all but two democrats who vel
elected on auti.monopoly tickets, 81,
ed all the way through with the dem
Gratis, and never entered an ant
monopoly CAUCUS. OF the twent,
two anti m monopolists who did har
together from first to last, twenty hi