St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-28
POLITICAL HISTORY.
A Story, Which Is Alleged to Be
the Only True Version, About
kidder's Nomination at Elk

A Story, Which Is Alleged to Be
the Only True Version, About
| kidder's Nomination at Elk
! Point in 1873.
In 'LounSberry's "reminiscences"
concerning the scheme of division, pub
lished in recent number of the Trib-
une, is the following:
1T was in 1878 l mounted the hobby.
Judge Barnes and | were the delegates
from North Dakota to the territorial
Republican convention. and between us
we mad ten votes. We held the balance
of power and nominated Kidder.''
The story Of Judge Kidder'S nOmina-
ton by the Elk Point convention in 1873
is briefly told. And it is first in order
to state that up to the morning of the
convention it was understood that Judge
| kldder positively refused to be cOnsid-
cred as candidate for nomination as
delegate. Having been often approached
upon the subject 10y his most intimate
political and personal friends, he had
as often declined the proposed honor,
writes re. NJ. B." to the Bismarck Trib-
une. The night preceding the cOnven-
ton kidder was at the Merchants
hotel in Yankton. 1t being so well set
tied that he would not be candidate,
the Yankton delegation had been Sc
lected and elected with reference to the
nomination of John Lawrence, intimate
personal friend of Judge Kidder, who
desired the nomination of the latter. 1t
! will be well to bear in mind that at that
! tlme-fourteen years ago last fall
| Yankton carried the largest delegation
of any county in the territory, and, so
far as conventions were concerned, was
| THE territory. But to return to the
| Merchants hotel. Kidder was not there
! fol any political purpose. He was
called upon by few friends. socially,
and the subject of the convention at
| Elk Point was not preached until late
in the evening. when friend-not a del
egate. or even a partiSan-being left
alone with the judge, mentioned the
matter, and expressed surprise that he
would not accept the nomination. He
gave such reasons for his refusal as
| seemed satisfactory to him. but not
equally convincing to his friend
| Among others, in the uncertainty and
fickleneSs of
| THE AVERAGE DAKOTA POLITICIAN,
| so far as the decision of the convention
was concerned and his ability to contrib
ute to an outcome just the opposite of
| his convention convictions, there was a
| glorious uncertainty involved not at
tractive to man out!Of politics and will
ing to keep out. And, again,it should be
| remembered that this was before the ar
| rival of colonies and carloads of pOliti-
cal purity from the old states to perme-
| ate the body polite with fresh patriot
| ism, and eradicate dOuble-dealing and
| crOOkedneSS in conventions and at ballot
boxes, until the high moral standard in
| politics of to-day has been attained.
Judge kidder's friend left him with
| the impression that with a fair bona fide
nomination and reasonably honest
| canvass assured, nomination might be
| considered, everything depending on
| the tone of the convention and the char
| acter of its proceedings. AS the unpre-
| meditated interviewer came out of the
hotel at the Third street entrance, G. C.
Moody, ESQ, later Judge Moody, and
| ''Senat0r-elect," was coming down his
office stairs on the opposite side of the
street. A collision and a conversation
| ensued, Moody being a delegate to the
| Elk Point convention, and the situation
| voted favorable for the nomination of
! Judge Kidder, the Yankton delegation
| to vote first for John Lawrence as
| agreed.
AT THE CONVENTION
| Judge Barnes was elected president. In
| the course of the proceedings when it
| came to the nomination Of candidate
| for delegate, several names were pro-
! posed, and all informal ballot developed
| no decided preference. A formal ballot
was then taken, which resulted in no
| choice. Before proceeding to another
! ballot Mr.. Moody, who was chairman of
the YanktOn delegation, asked permits
| sion for the deleg alton to retire for con-
| SultatiOn before voting, which was
| granted. On returning to the conven-
ton, when Burleigh county was called.
MIR Moody arose, and in a most grace
ful,well phrased speech announced that
after consultation the delegation had
| decided, and he was so instructed, to
| cast their vote for Jefferson 2. Kidder
| for delegate to congress. And so the
ballot continued to the end of the list.
| When the vote was ''sumated," as Caleb
Gushing once expressed it, the result
was found to be all for Kidder,
with the exception of one vote,
or seventy-fve ont of seventy-siX
votes cast. The minority refused to
make it unanimous. and his very good
reason was that he had recently been on
the wrong side in a law suit before
Judge Kidder, and this was his first OPP
| pOrtunity to
GET EVENsWITH THE JUDGE.
Where the balance of power" held
| by Col. LOunSberry and Judge Barnes
came in does not seem sufficiently clear
to warrant the assertion. The Yankton
delegation certainly set the Kidder ball
| in motion, and the ten votes cast by the
| North Dakota representatives helped to
swell the sum total the same as any
position outside of the convention to
Judge Kidder's nomination, notably that
of DR.. Burleigh, one of Kidder's warm
est personal friends, who expressed it in
the strong language characteristic of the
doctor, that he wished to keep some
brains on the bench, and Kidder could
not be spared" That Judge Kidder, as
a delegate in congress, favored his
North Dakota friends in their division
efforts is not to be denied, and that Col.
LOunsberry, on Feb. 81, 1888. wrote
predicting that Dakota never would be
divided is presumably true.
Sale of Blooded Stock.
| Special to the Globe.
JAMESTOWN, Jan. 27.-At an early
meeting of the Dakota Stock Breeders
association efforts will be made to Or
ganize grand sale of blooded stock be-
longing to herds in the territory. There
are members in the association who
represent a large number of valuable
herds. The sale will be extensively adj
vertised abroad, and will draw some of
the best young stock in the country for
the inspection of purchasers. On ac-
count of the central location and rail-
road facilities of Jamestown, the sale
will probably be held here.
JamestOwn's Bright Prospects.
| Special to the Globe.
JAMESTOWN, Jan. 27.--Figuring on
spring building has already begun. Last
| year considerable more than 5000, 900
was put into building, and this year, 1t
is thought, that about the same sum will
be expended, on very conservative es-
innate. A few days ago considerable