The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-10-22
CAMPAIGN DAYS IN SOUTH DAKOTA.
Local Issues That Made a Very
Lively State Election.
Senator PettIgreW's brilliant can
vass to Capture the Legislature.
Minority Representation and ProhI-
bition New Ideas to the People.
Correspondence Of the Press.l

Correspondence Of the Press.l
Sioux FALLS, South Dakota, October 10.
l met Maine man this morning who OBJ
served that he had made a discovery. He
said 81 struck this city last night. and this
morning started out to go to the place of
business Of man met in the evening after
got here.'
"What of it?"
"This. l started, and thought l was all
right He told me how many blocks his
place vas from the Office of Pettigrew 81
Tate, and Of course l supposed could go
there ali right. Do you understand SO far ?"
"Yes."
81 started, and walked the designated
number of blocks, that Is Portland blocks,
and then walked lback again. Then
turned about and walked over the ground
once more. Then turned and went back.
At the close of the forty-thiid round trip l
went into place and asked how far it was
to that store, and they told me Just the same
number of blocks that Sioux Falls fellow l
met last evening first let me down on, and so
started in again, and made the round trip
81 times more, and then asked the clerk at
the hotel how far 1t was to that store"
"What did he say?"
she confirmed what the other two said,
and mad as defeated candidate for justice
of the peace, L went out on the street and
started in to find that store"
You succeededY'
THAT remark ends all friendship between
us. didn't succeed, but made that grand
tour one hundred and nineteen additional
times, and discovered that wore the taps off
my boots, but strong in my confidence in my
moral rectitude, and fully satisfied that
wasn't an idiot by several degrees, went on
once more"
"What do you think nOwY
"About what?"
Nothing in particular, only about that
idiot business for instance?"
81 havn't had time to think about it, To
return to my story, interrupted by your
senseless question, went on until an officer
stopped me, and wanted to know what was
prancing up and down the street for in that
way. He said he'd watched me make thirty
one miles and a quarter, and If 1t was to be
race for money he wanted to go down and
place bet or two with the Mayor and City
Marshal. He observed that according to
what had been told him he'd missed all but
about fifth part of the walk, and would
like to know how far intended to 60 any
way. He added that il 1t was to be an all
the night force just for the sake OF the ex-
element"
"Then of course you did what you ought
to have done at the first, just what any man
Of common sense would do in strange
West"
81 did, and found it was the term used to
designate all the space between one street
and another. Great idea that. Wonder
what fool fellow first thought of it. What
are you laughing about, I'd like to know? If
there is anything in the Lords world that l
hate it's man who don't know enough not
to laugh at the wrong time; and that's your
case exactly. You'd probably simply, yell
with joy If your best friend were to tell you
that he'd got the quick consumption, and a
call to repentance you'd shout over. How a
man with an immortal soul can make such an
ass OF himself passes my comprehension, and
In fact don't believe man with anything
| of the sort could"
He left me, but he'll come around all right
tonight. There was good deal of truth in
what he said though. This western habit Of
calling everything that isn't block by that
name Is confusing to stranger. was lit
ness when first got here, but Pm pretty
| quick to catch on to the fact that things
aren't exactly right II they are directly
| wrong, and so only walked 10 miles before
| got the matter explained to me.
| Speaking of catching on to fact recalls a
man in Portland. He never delivers an
| opinion until he has thought it over, and
| when he does speak you can never. dispute
| the general correctness OF what he says.
| Down in the Grand Trunk yard one after
| suicide, and so dashed himself in front of a
moving engine. His head was cut off aud
| carried about rod from his body. Well the
man spoke of came up about that time, and
| was the only cool man in the whole crowd.
| He looked first at one section of the remains
and then at the other before he observed.
| boys l am of the opinion that he'll die"
Taking that judicial way Of putting things
| as model, | feel that 1 can say there has
| been an election here.
| The people are prond of it and seem to
| feel that they have passed through a most
| trying time, and that the ship of state has In
| some way been well launched in on the rag
| ing waters of the Big Sioux. In short they
| feel very much like all of us did after we got
over the effects of our first cigar, a little un-
| certain whether things had been right, but
with very definite idea that the prospect
ahead was fair to middling to say the least.
| This is driving place. A city where no.
body is out of work unless he was born tired.
| A city where business is the rule, and play
the exception; In short, the most get-up-and-
| get place in the country, and it was simply
wonderful what an interest people took in
| politics. In fact politics took possession Of
| everybody. and may be said to have obliter-
ated party lines.
| Now the above is sober fact. Politics
existed before parties were born, for Joseph
Z. Worcester, LII. D., in his valuable but
somewhat dull work, defines politics to be
"The. science or the art OF government, or
the administration of national or public af-
fairs. That part of ethics which consists in
the knowledge or the practice Of conducting
| the various affairs of State or nation" To
be sure, here nobody had any practice" of
were plenty who had the knowledge, and
| were ready to display it.
The issues of the campaign may be said to
| have BEEN
The points at issue between the Demo.
cratic and the Republican parties. Nobody
paid any attention to the above anyway
Shall there be minority representation?
Is Sioux Falls to be the temporary capital =?
Prohibition or high license.
Frank Pettigrew.
Sioux Falls was good deal in the position
of the man who wanted Bible, but at the
same time had got to stop the bears from
| Juggling off his pigs, and so was forced to
give up the Bible and buy bear trap. II
would have liked to have been the temporary
capital, but 1t was Obliged to elect Hon. w.
F. Pettigrew United States Senator, and the
issue of his candidacy completely over.
shadowed all the other Issues of the cam
paign.
Mr.. Pettigrew is personally the most popu.
lar man in South Dakota, and the people Of
Sioux Falls were simply resolved that moth
ing removable should stand in his way. HI
Is the great Republican leader of the new
State, but local pride in their distinguished
fellow citizen completely overcome all party
feelings and made party lines go out of sight
-
residence when he sights you.
| For example, man was nominated for thu
legislature by the Democrats, and there wa
the best possible prospect that he would b'
elected, but il elected what then? 1t wa
| felt that at least the county of Minnehaha,
must be solidly for Mr.. Pettigrew, ,and there
fore no Democrat should be returned iron
that county. 1t was at first gravely sug
gested that as the above named Democra
would vote for Mr.. Pettigrew for Unitel
States Senator, that he might be admitted t
the Republican nominating caucus becaus
of that fact, but the point was decided no
to have been well taken, and the popula
Democrat took himself very promptly out o
the way. This is but one Of the queer fea
lures of the oldest political-not-party-ca cam
| paign on record.
The election of Mr.. Pettigrew was tn
great issue of the campaign as far as Siou'
Falls was concerned.
The capital question was never puch OF q
issue anyway, because Sioux Falls didn't e
into the fight with an expectation of beinl
the victor, but only for the sake Of excitemen
and of that there was no lack. The city o
Mitchell was one of the rival places, and on
day just before the election, the news cam
that big delegation of men from that cit
were on their way to Sioux Falls.
"We must be ready when they come" wa
the thought of every Sioux Falls man.
That is it was the first thought.
The second thought was: "We must hay
some sort OF an organization"