Omaha daily bee., 1883-02-02
SELECTING A SENATOR.
PIN Pi.ture Of the Thirty Days
Struggle at Lincoln.
Political Bores a1d 8 material
Cranks Developed by
thu Score.
The Mortonian Method of
Uniting ths Democrats
Proved q Failure.
The Five Hours Work OF Weaver
Finally Closed tn Wsr
REVIEW OF THE CONTEST
Edit n nj N ,espopdence of Tus BEN.

REVIEW OF THE CONTEST.
Edit ,r al 10 respondence Of The BEN.
LINCOLN, 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 before 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 b~ossfd!ly OF
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEET
done had their plans not miscsrrjed.
The best If feeling prevailed, how.
ever, among all these c~ontendiag ele.
ments, and everybody seemed to re
j)ice that the conflict wa, e1ded.
Those who were not behind tho sgeneG
may find soma, interest in a brief ou'
line of the political drama that has
Just closed.
At the very rutset 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 ,rity, how ever, was very
slim, in fact it is questionable whether
they had more than a bare majority
of straight republicans cleo ed as such.
OF the seventy.ive votes cast for
General Henderson only sixty. eight
were straight republicans or only one
more than a majority. OF the other
seven Watts was a democrat,
'Sadelek a straight anti mouopo-
list, McAllistsr, Gordon and Steever
elected on republican and anti.mon
opoly tickets. Fisher and FAbiiuger
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 a con-
solidation of the opposition composed
of democrats, straight anti monopa
and a 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 U
under the leadership of Jay S erling
Morton whose sole aim and purpose
wac to consolidate he democratic vote
~ himsotf for party ends in the
future. Morton is sanguine that the
next president will be a dem ocrat
and Morton wants to be the head
and front Of democracy in Ncbraska
60 as to command The controlling
influence in the distribution of pat.
ronage. Beyond this, Morton was
anxious to have Willard elected sem
ator, and a majority of the Norton
ians in the legislature had bargained
to go over to Willard if ever there was
q chahcs to eleo5 him. Tae opposing
wing, under tn Leadership of Senator
Brown, of Douglas, and General Dol
man, resisted Mortou's effort to rule
and deliver, and they fought him
with such spirit AID vigor It Morton
finally left Lincoln in disgust, with
the injunction to his followers never
to vote for an Omaha man. That was
intended to head Of James L Boyd.
who had entered the race and was Try
ing to consolidate the democratic anc
anti nonOp 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. 1 know he had persona
PLEDGES from a 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 Willard an,
his republican opponents number c
Millard's supporters threatened to vot
for Boyd, and evan Ca7par 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 up, from which he woul
gain votes enough to elect him. A
these plans vera, however, Illustrate
by q failure TO got M 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 monopolists who did har
together from frat to last, twenty hl