Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1886-10-11
The Chicago Times" Reviews the
Contest in the Eleventh Con
gressional District.
MIR. Neece Likely 10 be Re Elected a.
Result Of the Continuance of
Republican Dissensions.
LOOKS WE'LL FOR .EECE.
so SAYS THE CHICAGO TUNES. ;,

furnish pretty reliable view Of the outs
look of the present campaign. The cor
respondent of that paper writing from
this city says:
The Eleventh congressional district is,
| In accordance with time hon0red prece>
dent, all torn up this campaign The re-
publicaus beyond all question hold the
balance of power. but between Jealousies,
| chickering's, and unwise nominations MIR.
William H. Neece has twice landed high
and dry in congress His first election
was owing to the ancient feud between
Maj. r. W. McClaughry and Col. b. f.
Marsh, MI. Neece made hard fight
against the republican candidate and won
| the day In 1884 Mr.. Alexander L. Pc
trie was chosen as the standard~bearer of
the republicans. NeeCe made another of
his peculiar campaigns, and notwiihstand-
ing the apparent harmony among his al
versaries, warmed Mr.. Petrle To the cx>
tent of 81 mal0rity. Rock Island cOun>
ty usually has the balance of power in
the congressional district 1t rolls up
maiOrities of from 900 to 1000 for the
republican ticket The immense manu-
featuring establishments of Rock island
and Moline employ several thousand toll
ers. and every mother son of whom Is a
voter and never negleCts to visit the polls
ing places on election day. Nccce gen
orally resolves the support of the laboring
men of Rock Island county, and this very
fact accounts largely for the nomination
| h.. h., ,,n,,hliropp Of ITNp " II
of this city. The fight is
A REMARKABLY WARN ONE.
| Mr.. NeeCe conducts campaign with
rather an unique method. He avoids the
beaten paths of travel, and takes to the
fields and farms, the hedges and the ha>
| eel brush. The gentleman seldom availS
himself of the steamCars, prefering TO
ride through the lanes and country roads
Since the DAYS of the ''une- hoss shay"
nothing like Mr.. Neeces campaign equip>
age has ever been seen. His horse Is an
old sway-backed spawned stccd, the har>
ness is rusty and well worn, and the bugs
~ is relic Of the prehistoric age The
vehicle was originally treated TO q coat or
| two of red paint This, however. has long
since disappeared, and the conveyance is
innocent of varnish For all this, how
ever, the old horse is fair single>footer,
the harness answers all practicable purs
poses, and the buggy is a very comfort
able vehicle Mr. Neece is third time
on the war-psth. His friends believe he
will win the day. aud it really looks as ii
their predictions Will be verified.
The republicans, or at least a great
part of their number. are not very highly
pleased over
A PIECE oE SHARP PRACTICE
| played at the Monmouth convention,
which resulted in the nomination of Mr..
Gest. NJ. NJ. Sturgeon and Pat OMara
had petition signed BY three or four
hundred workingmen, urging the conven-
ton to select Mr.. Gest and promising
their support. The petition has disap>
peared, but it is stated upon good authors
lty that the document in its original cons
dition simply asked the Illinois congress-
men TO favor the bill granting The EN-.
ployes at the Rock Island arsenal extra
pay for two hours time worked each day
after the passage of the eight>hour law
In some way the introduction to the reso>
IuliOi was oOSto.CN lutU
of Mr.. Gest, and the workiDgmen feel
they have been sadly duped by the politi-
cal firm of O'Mara & Sturgeon Gests
friends had an alleged workiDgman at the
Monmouth convention. This individual,
by name Horatio Michael McCarty, on
behalf of the laborers Of Rock Island.
urged the nomination Of Mr.. Gest. Nc
Carty has lived here for some years. First
he affiliated with the greenbackers, next
with the Knights of Labor, and for the
last few years has been the street cum>
missioner of Rock Island, for which posi-
ton he is indebted TO the republican
party. He is a workingman in theory
only. simply a fair ward politician Capt.
Dryden, of Monmouth, was the leading
candidate as against Gest. He has a
good army record and is a very active
republican. The Sturgeon- Mccarthy
ariifice knocked Dryden's chances into a
cocked-hat, and the ex-soldier was
shelved in the interested Mr.. Gest. Mr..
DrydenS friends. approaching the fact
that they had been cheated out of a nom
ination by political fraud. are whetting
up long knives with which 20 eviscerate
Mr.. Gest, and they ill be heard from at
the coming election.
MR.. GEsT
has resided in Rock Island quite q num-
Der of years. He is a lawyer by prOfes-
sion, and has never held an elective of,
tice other than a superintendency of the
public schools of the county. He is a
very shrewd advocate and counsellor
The gentleman has no very great personal
following in Rock Island and has never
betrayed any desire to a meliorate the con
dition of the laboring man until this
campaign. He is in thorough accord
with them at this time. and is busiy en-.
gagged in making the acquaintance of old
mechanics, who have lived side bv side
with him in Rock Island for the last
twenty years. His solicitude for the wei
fare of the wnrkingman is said TO be far,
fetched aud altogether too recent to be of
much benefit during the present cam
paign.
The communication of the life.sentence
of one Patrick Grogan, convict in the
Illinois penitentiary, is among certain
people being used as an argument in
favor of Mr.. Gest, who, by the way, was
the chief factor in securing executive
clemency. Gorgan some years ago,
through u spirit Of sheer wickeiness, laid
in wait for an old. inoffensive German
named Conrad Witch AS the farmer
was driving to his home Grogan struck
him in the back of the head with paw,
ing-stone. crushing his skull and killing
him. Grogan probably deserved hang
ing, as there was absolutely no cause for
the assault, but petit jury sent hi to
the penitentiary for life. The case was
carried to the supreme court, and that
tribunal promptly affirmed the sentence
The opinion can be found in the 9th
Illinois Reports, page 27O. Mr.. Gest
wrote number of letters in the interest
of Grogan, aud contributed largely to-
ward securing Communication Of his SEN
tenee TO fourteen years imprisonment.