St. Paul daily globe., 1890-07-31
FLETCHER'S FIX.
The Wheelock Editorial That Pre-
cipitated the Joint Debate.

ciDitated the Joint DeDate.
Pioneer Press. July &c.
Hon. Loren Fletcher, of Minneapolis,
is in another ''hell of a fix" to use the
classic language of his famous telegram
from Winnipeg, and which has been
current for years as descriptive OF the
various predicaments in which his ad-
venturous spirit has involved him. Not
a few of these fixes have arisen from the
fact that the chief object OF his life, Tor
many years, has been to make all un.
picturesque ruin OF st. Paul ana OF
any st. Paul man who had the
temerity to aspire to state OF
congressional honors. All the beau
titul enthusiasm of his nature has
been devoted to this amiable purpose.
There are plenty OF Minneapolis people
who are so earnestly in love with their
own city that they are jealous of It's big
rival down the river. But these men,
when not excited by some local contro-
yersy, are capable Of all the generous
and neighborly sentiments and offices
which are consistent with a noble
rivalry. Butt CLEAN of warm or gem
erouS feeling ever penetrated the dark
and narrow labyrinths of FletcherS
subterranean soul. He hates st. Paul
sweet creature that he is-with sui
len, concentrated and implacable hatred
which never sleeps and never wearleS.
And recent events have intensified this
tender passion by furnishing new and
personal occasion for it. For Loren
Fletcher was the leading and most act
i've member of the citizens census
committee which was entrusted
with the disposition of the funds
l>,v fln nif
bv private citizens to 'sassist" Mr..
Davenport in taking the census of Min
neapolls. 1t was upon the urgent adj
vice of Mr.. Fletcher that the notorious
Ed A. Stevens was placed in charge of
the assisting" annex to the super
yisor's Office. 1t is not to be supposed
for moment that Mr.. Fletcher ex-
pected Stevens to do any crooked work.
Oh, no! Everybody who knows Mr..
Fletcher will at once recognize the un-
Sophisticated innocence of his intention
in this regard. But when the secret
padding factory in charge of Stevens
was invaded by the United States mar
shall, and the mystery of its criminal OPP
erationS laid open to the world, Mr.
Fletcher found himself in an inferno
of ''a fix' from the point of view OF an
uncharltable and evil-disposed public,
from which there seemed no escape
except through a combination of all
the. influence, political, business and
social, which could be welded by the
united strength of Minneapolis. Hence
the tremendous demonstration, in
spired by Fletcher and his confederates,
of popular feeling at Minneapolis over
the alleged outrage perpetrated by st.
Paul in discovering and exposing the
frauds of the Stevens annex. Hence
the declaration of war upon st. Paul;
the threatened boycOtting OF its busi-
ness men unless they took the side OF
Minneapolis in upholding the census
frauds: the demand that the st. Paul
members of the Dual City Banking
association should denounce the tout
rage' Of exposing these frauds, fol-
lowed by the withdrawal of the Mime
apoliS bankers from the club when the
st. Paul bankers refused to thus side
with the defenders of crime; the with
draWal of the members of the Twin
City Commercial club for the same
the Minneapolis members from other
Twin City clubs. Hence the pow
erful array of influences which be-
sieged the census bureau and the de-
partment of justice at Washington with
a view to defeat any vigorous judicial
investigation of these frauds especially
by the attempt to keep Eugene S. Hay
in sole charge of the prosecution. And
hence, finally, the election by conven-
ton presided over by Mr.. Fletcher of a
delegation of forty-five at Minneapolis
bound by the unit rule to vote as one
man in the state convention, 0StenSibly
for the purpose of defeating Merriam,
but actually for the interior purpose of
making this phalanX the center Of a
combination strong enough to extort
compromise as the price of Merriam's
nomination, the contemplated result of
which was that the prosecution of the
census frauds would cease to be pressed
by st. Paul influences. 1t is no secret
that an attempt was made to effect
bargain of this sort.
All these schemes of Mr.. Fletcher and
his cOnfederateS have diSaStr0uSly mis-
carried. He failed to frighteD or bull
doze the Pioneer Press or the business
men of st. Paul into a passive acquies-
cence in the census frauds of Mime
apolis. he failed to prevent the census
bureau or the department of justice
from taking vigorous mea ures to inves-
tigate these frauds. He failed to defeat
Merriam'S denomination, or, what was
of vastly more consequence, he failed
to eXtOrt from st. Paul any compromise
of the interests of Justice by threaten
ing the defeat of Merriam. Finally. the
whole gigantic edifice of the census
frauds conspiracy has completely col
lapsed, leaving Fletcher sprawling in
the ruins and revealing to his indignant
fellow tOwnsmen the full extent Of the
disgrace which he has brought upon
them by trieking them into the shame
full position of defending the criminal
operations of the Stevens annex.
This is the fOuieSt sfiX" of all the