St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-28


No real contest was made, its opponents
Withdrawing with the determination of car
rying the fight before the convention. The
warriors of last meeting except Messrs.
Gordon, Eustis and Hicks, did not cast a
spear this time, and the sport came from
other sources.
soBERLY AT WORK.
The meeting was called to order by Gov.
Pillsbury at $50 o'clock and Frank Stevens
was made secretary. The lplan was,taken
up where it left off week ago, the regis
tratiOn clause coming up first. 1t was read
for information and Mr.. Gordon opened the
ball just as if he had dropped his speech of
last week and picked it up again. He OPP
posed the iron clad registry, week ahead,
which was stronger than the election law,
and advocated meeting just before the
election TO allow registration with the right
of challenge always. He offered an amend
ment covering his point and spoke for some
time in support of it. Col. ii. G. Hicks
opposed the amendment, though crediting
Gordon with good intentions, and
went on to show the abuses which
might creep in, telling of various gross
frauds he remembered in certain Repub-
lican caucuses, though. in the same breath,
he spoke of the purity of the party. He
told of abuses which kept gray-haired Re-
publicans from the caucuseS, and said: "In
the First precinct of the Fifth ward. whole
wagon load of voters from North Minneap-
oils would be vouched for by reputable Re-
publicans." His argument was to show
that the provision, as framed by the COM
mittee, threw safeguards about the pri-
mary elections. Gordon rose to reply,
when diversion was created by gentle
man losing his balance and falling of the
platform. Gordon and Hicks had a run
ming debate, in which the former Grated
AGAINST CLIQUEs AND RINGS
and against the possibility of one man or
set of men controlling the election or eau
Gus. He denounced the plan submitted as
being the evident intent of the Union league
to control primary elections. @. S. Cariens
opposed the Gordon amendment as being
open to abuse and w. II. Eustis took the
same ground on the plea of purity. Judge
Rea cited the example of some back county
in the East, where he used to live and where
only the head of Thaddeus Stevens rescued
county politics from the clutches of ring
and all this to show that sometimes ma
chinery in politics is worse than no rules at
all. He favored the Gordon amendment
and exitedly declared that any good Repub-
lican should be allowed TO register
at the last moment. eff you
don't" he shouted. 1.-THE only men
who will register ten days in advance, will
be the men of the ring and not the work
men and the business men," j. T. wy
man said they were all fighting for the
same end by diffenent routes and offered an
amendment providing for registration the
Wednesday before the Saturday on which
the primary election is to be held. DR.. D.
j. Evans tried to fire in a point of order,
but was "Oh! pshawI'-ed down. r. G.
Evans president of the Union league. in a
voice which he said was utterly devoid of
passion, but was pitched to high G of
frenzy, made speech in which he said the
UNION LEAGUE WAS NO MACHINE
as had been charged, but was simply de-
sirous of bringing out a reform (which
God knows is needed badly enough. We
want free ballot and fair count, and the
best minds of the party are now at work on
this question. and God speed them in their
work" He went on. and in one breath
spoke Of the God-given purity of the Re-
publican party, and of the crying evils
practiced in Republican caucusses. He
spoke for great while favoring the original
plan, while Col. Gordon paced the floor
absorbed in thought. Groups separated
and chatted; fragrant cigars sent clouds of
smoke to the ceiling; W. II. Eustis joked
j. l.
ton was heard over the room, and still he
talked. Judge Rea compIimented him by
saying he stopped before he got to the
argument, and proceeded to get into con-
troversy with Col. Hicks as to what was an
intelligent challenge. THE fraudulent
voting will all be done on the names first
registered for the Republican primaries"
he declared. Don't give the party away"
demonstrated voice in the rear. This led
Col. Hicks, when he responded. to refer 10
that wagon from North Minneapolis as a
wagon OF Democrats" though he had
already referred to it as body of Republi-
cans to be vOuched for by prominent Re-
publcans. Everybody was getting weary,
ana the end OF Col. Hicks eloquent address
was drowned in roar of question: The
Gordon substitute was defeated, and the
colonel Immediately
LOST INTEREST
in the proceedings. Then the Wyman
amendment came up and the speechifying
was resumed, but as quickly drowned in
cries for the question. The amendment
was promptly voted down and the mo-
crowd tried to call down A. III. Num-. who
had an amendment; he wanted TO strike
out the proviso requiring every voter who
presented himself for registration to be
known to at least one of the committee.
This was also lost, and the only
change made was to compel any
unknown voter to procure two
witnesses, one of whom shall be known 10
one of the judges. The gag of the pre-
yious question was applied and the much
mooted registration clause was hurried
through unchanged. Then the remainder