St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-26
The Iowa Republican Candi-
date for Governor a Silk
Stocking.
Horace Boies Will Have the
Easiest Kind Of a Time to
Beat Him.
Wheeler Can't Even Poll His
Party Strength in His
Own County.
A Greedy Office Seeker, He
Will Be Knitted by His
Own Clan.

lican politics of Sac county is dominated
by ring organized and conducted solely
in the interest of Hiram G. Wheeler,
the party'S nominee for governor.
Wheeler hasn't much of capacity for
a boss himself. for he is lacking in
shrewdness and firmnesS and the ca
pacity to manage men; but he has
couple of lieutenants at Odebolt who
manage to keep pretty firm grip OIL
things, and generally shape them to
serve their masters purpose. They are
DR.. G. d. Boardman and w. A.
Helsell. Both live at Odebolt, the
home of Mr.. Wheeler, near the
southern border of the county, but their
shrewd manipulation of things makes
their influence felt all over the county.
Their chief has long been affected with
the itch for office, but it is not until this
year that his vanity has been gratitied
by a party nomination. Several years
ago Mr.. Wheeler sought the nomination
for the state senate. The district then
comprised the counties of Sac, Crawford,
Harrison and Monona. Ten days before
the convention it looked like walk
away for him so far as the nOmlna-
ton was concerned. Boardman and Hell
sell had fixed up his own cOunty's dele
CATION in his favor, there were scatter
ing votes for him in Crawford and Nom
Ona, and the Harrison county cUnVen-
ton was yet to he held. This county
was favorable to Wheeler, but to make
an impression the big Sac county farmer
decided to attend the convention and
exhibit himself. IL was held in the
court house, and, after the delegates
had been seated and everything was
ready for business, Farmer" Wheeler,
dressed in
His Most Killing Suit,
and wearing his famous S6OO-diamond,
marched down the aisle upon the arm
of the Republican county chairman and
took a POSITION upon the platform. The
convention proceeded, delegates were
selected and resolutions were adopted
without dissent instructing the Harri-
son county delegation to ''vOte first,
last and all the time for Hiram G.
Wheeler" Then there arose from all
sections of the house cries of
"Wheelerr' "Wheeler" After COM
plimenting him so handsomely the con-
ventiOn thought few words of
their confidence ought to be forth
coming. But Farmer" Wheeler re-
manned seated through an awkward
silence, which was finally relieved by
the announcement from the chairman
of the meeting that Mr.. Wheeler was
not a public speaker, but if elected
would be diStinctiVely business sena-
tor" The convention then adjourned.
An interesting sequel followed. DIR.
Logan. who drew and introduced the
resolutions instructing the Harrison
County delegates for Wheeler, huImili-
ated by that gentleman'S incapacity
for public Office. turned around and
began systematic effort TO take the
nomination away from him. He
didn't find it a difficult job. and
at the senatorial convention which fol-
lowed he wreSted the prize from
Wheeler's grasp, seized it himself, was
elected, and served four years in the
senate, while the Sac county farmers
mortgage grew considerably on account
of the campaign expenditure incurred
with no visible returns therefor Mr..
Wheeler has also been candidate for
congress, but never when there seemed
probability of his nomination. In
1889 he was a candidate for governor,
but was defeated.
Treachery Of the Farmer.
D6lllS COUtluudlly ttu OllCGSC6hSI, MS
control of the party organization in Sac
county has strangled the ambitions of
other men having equal or greater claim
upon the party, and certainly greater
qualifications for the discharge of pub
lie duty. Wheeler and his managers
we'll knew that to give any other Sac
county man place on the state ticket
would jeopardiZe his chances OF state
recognition, and in two particular in
stances they have treacherously stabbed
candidates in the back where in each
instance their prospects of getting
state nomination were certainly
bright. The first act of treachery was
toward A. d. Peck, who was candidate
for state auditor. He was Endorsed by
the Sac delegation, and Wheeler and
his friends were apparently his warmest
supporters until he developed strength
that brought him dangerously next
nomination., when they turned upon
him and in a surreptitiOus but very ar
tiStic manner, undermined him and
caused his defeat.
Charlie Lane, who was candidate for
clerk of the supreme court, met the
same fate.
This way of smothering the aspira-
tons of such men as Peck and Lane in
order that this section of the state might
be free to forward the ambitions of Mr..
Wheeler, is being resented in this part
of Sac county. Dissatisfaction with 1t
was clearly manifested in the Republic
can county convention when the twelve
delegates from Jackson township OBJ
iected to the Helsell plan of allowing
Mr.. Wheeler to select his own delegates
TO the state convention. Their OppOsi-
ton was futile. for the chair applied
the gag rule, but the incident clearly
shows that Mr.. Wheeler's hold upon
the affections Of the Republicans of Sac
county is not of the enduring kind.
Very few of these twelve delegates will
vote for him and some of them
are Outspoke% against him. There
are probably thirty Republicans
in Sac City who will not vote for
Wheeler. If one asks them why their
invariable answer is that they do not
think he is qualified to make a good
governor. He has lived in the county
twenty years. They know him thor
oughly, and, while willing to concede
that he is
Pleasant Man Socially
and good neghbor, they stoutly con-
tend that he is lacking in the strength
of intellectual character needed for the
nletAill- VI SNOA q ptSoobl1 lAlA ca OCu-
tive.
But there is at least one man here
who does not credit Farmer" Wheeler
with being an ordinarily honest man.
He is Phil Schaller,a pioneer settler, for
several terms county treasurer, and
an influential German. Schaller Is
open aud outspoken, and even bit
ter in his opposition to Wheeler. Par
ties who know them both say that this
feeling of hostility originated IN 1892 or
1885, when Schaller was serving his last
term as treasurer. In the spring of the
year named Wheeler wrote to Schaller
to send ms tax receipts to the Bank Of
0debolt and he would deposit the money.
One mcnth's penalty had then accrued.
The county treasurer complied with the
request. but. instead OF taking them up
and dePOSIting tn. money as promised,
Wheeler let them lie there until the I'd
day OF November, when the money was
paid to the bank and the receipts de-
livereh. The next day the bank failed
and County Treasurer Schaller lost