Omaha daily bee., 1885-05-18
"A DEMOCRATIC PRECEDENT,
How the Lincoln Wings We're Out
generated in 1853.
Chicago Times.

Chicago Times.
"We have been McDanieled," re
marked a veteran Illinois democrat
speaking of the election of Weaver tc
the illinois Legislature. The older gen.
Grafton of Illinois politicians will at once
understand this remark; the younger men
may not. Thirty years ago the verb
"McDaniel" was as well understood In
Illinois as the verb ''to boycott" Is now
understood In Ireland.
In 1858 Abraham Lincoln was elected
to the state legislature. 1t was universal
ly understood that Mr.. Lincoln was to be
the whig candidate for the United States
senate. After the members of the legls-
lature had been elected 1t was found
that Mr.. Lincoln's vote would be
needed for his own election. He
did not like to vote for him
self, and, as %Ssngamon county was safely
whig by 800 q jority, hereslgnedb eforethe
legislature met, and a special election to
ill the vacancy was held In December,
1858. The wings nominated Norman
M. Broadwell, who still lives In Spring
field. and was for several years q law
partner of Gen. McClernand aud Con-
gresham Springer. The democrats
made no nomination. All that time
Isaac R. Diller, latte,ly a resident of
Chicago, and during the past winter a
temporary resident of Washington, was
the postmaster at Springfield. In mod
ern parlance he was an ''offsnsive par
tisan.' He gotJeff Ball, Bobbie Burns,
James Parkinson, Henry Carrlgan. Jim
W. Reyes, and perhaps one or two other
democrats, into his back office, and
among them they decided to get Johna-
than Mcdaniel, a democrat, elected as
Mr.. Lincoln's SUCCESSOR. Dnler and ons
OF the other conspirators were printers,
inc they got access to the Newspaper
office and printed a lot of tickets. Post
offices were not very a~bundantly dis
u through Seymour county then,
Saturday 1t was customary for farm
ers who had good teams to come into
Springfield from long distances and get
their W mail and that
of their nelghbors. SATURDAY.
before election, as the democratic
farmers came 10, Postmaster Dlller called
them one side and gave each a package
Mcdaniel tickets, with injunctlons to
let no one know of their existence, but
election morning to give the tickets
thoroughly reliable democratic neigh
bors. and charge them not to 90 to the
polls before 2 o'clock, but TO be sure to
go after 2 O'Clock. Election day came.
and during the forenoon the wings
dropped around to The polling places and
voted for Broadwell. Comparatively
few wings voted. No effort had been
made to get them out, because the county
whig BY a large majority, and appar-
the democrats were going to le, the
election go by default. After Q o'clock
democrats began visiting the polling
places pretty thickIy. There were no
ricket-peddlers, but each democrat
pulled out of his v~est-pocket a Mcdaniel
tallot and deposited 1t. The wings yery
lfickly discovered what the game was,
8 d then started out unner to get their
Q ties to the polls. 1t was too late. The
y 2 c,ds were very bad, the voters were
,lsStered, and the little democratic lob
Mcdaniel was elected by
1t one hundred and thirty majority.
lam 70 regular democratic candidate for
one bd States senator was Gen. Shields.
uld not be elected, because there
,sde our anti'Nebraska democrats who
Il mot vote for the general. They
,as' distinguished quartet in after
,ern They were john M. Palmer,
ONT W B. Judd, Burton G. Cook and
bern fo,ray. They insisted on voting
our son !u"1ui': After a deadlock OF
the ,beation the Lincoln men dropped
andlidate and voted for Trumbull,
=. but of Bs elected. And SO the defeat
'ould the ELL by Mcdaniel by exactly
in heat lctics that enabled Weaver TO
Of roi sent Trumbull, with the help
1t as Abrat ncc1n Doitsrs, instead OF