The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-05-02
BATTLE ROYAL IN IOWA.
The State Campaign Will Soon Be
Opened, and Then War
Will Begin.
Gov. Boies and Farmer Wheeler
Are Stated az the Oppos-
ing Candidates.
Democrats Cheered Up With the Triumph,
of Last Fail-Prohibition as an
Uncertain Element.

DEs MolNEs, May lit will be bnt few
days until the campaign i'll Iowa will be in
| augurated and only y short time until the
initial steps are taken for the selection of
| a candidate for governor by both the
democratic and republican parties. call
has been issued for the republican state
central committee to meet in this city,
Wednesday, May 6, for the purpose of de-
Gliding the time and place for holding the
next state convention. A similar call was
issued short time ago for the democratic
state central committee, which convened in
Des Moines April 30 for the same purpose.
AS soon as the two parties finish the pre-
| llminary work, one of the warrnest fights in
the history of the state will be inaugurated.
! 1t is conceded by all that Gov. Boies will
receive the nomination again by the demo-
Gratis. His chances for election are con-
sidered good, but the fact that Iowa farm
ers have not forgotten his famous corn
Speech which, it is claimed, so misrepre-
sented the state, will have a decided effect
on the result.
Since the meeting of the Farmers alli-
ance in this city short time ago, when
they indorsed Farmer Wheeler, it is almost
tll open SGCFGb Llittb uo Will receive inc nom
nation for governor at the hands of the
republican convention. His strength among
the farmers is something wonderful not
| withstanding the fact that for years he has
had the reputation of doing all his farming
by telephone. Two years ago Mr.. wheeler
was candidate for governor before the re-
publican state convention. There were
three candidates in all, and great deal of
strife and contention arose Mt that time
among them. This year, nothing of the
kind will occur Then, Capt. Hull was the
Grand Army favorite, and Capt. Hutchin-
son was third. with miscellaneous but
compact and we'll organized following of
about half the strength of Hull. Wheeler
| led in the balloting; but soon it became ev-
ident that he could not be nominated. FL
nally. about noon of the second day of the
convention the break came. Wheeler q
forces went to Hutchinson and secured his
nomination. The democrats nom. mated
| Horace Roles, and when the result Of he
election was known, Hutchnson's sefcat
was attributed to his moEoLolistic record
and to Il pronounced desire among the
farmers for governor with views and hab-
its more in line with theirs. This led to a
pretty general belief that Wheeler would L 9
the next republican nominee for governor
| practically without opposition.
| Over month ago the Sioux City journal,
the leading republican paper of the state.
made public the line upon which the cam
paign would be fought. The issue will be
trimmed down to question of license or
| no license. j. Ellen Foster has been work
ing for the past week i'll Iowa i'll the inter
est of the prohibitionists, and the fact that
several other strong speakers are also at
work this early in the fight, shows
4 y.
anxious. Tue usual prohibition plank
will be inserted in the republican
state platform this year, and the democrats
will adopt a straddling policy. They will
fight shy of the prohibition question in
small towns and in the country if such a
thing is possible. and devote all their oner-
gies to convincing their rural brother that
the tariff is tax. In the cities they will
try to make the issue one of license for the
saloons. How we'll their scheme will sue
! ceed it is hard to predict.
hefarming element of the state is so thor
oughly worked up through the alliances in
favor of reform of the tariff that it will
probably be hard work to wean them from
their hobby even if an effort is made to CEN
ter their ideas on the question of prohibit
ton. With them prohibition has been Il
decided success and they are not caring par
ticularly for a change. This straw Is the
only one the democrats cling to in their
hopes for success.
1t is needless to say the republicans are
watching the record Gov Roies is making
very closely, and in their scrap books they
have many valuable speeches and papers
filed away for campaign purposes. Two
that will be the most useful are the speech
delivered at New York before the tariff re-
form club and the one that was delivered at
Council Bluffs just last week at the opening
of the new hotel in that city. Each is ex-
actly opposite to the other. In one he paints
Il pen picture of the suffering of the Iowa
farmer and in the other at home he la1Cs to
the skies the wonderful fertility of iowa
soil and congratulates the farmers for their
independent condition and prosperity. In
the latter speech he showed how, in few
years, the railroads have turned n vast area
from its unproductive state into garden.
Every foot of this vast state. some g., 100000
acres. the governor said, had heen more
than doubled i'll value by this construction
of the railroad system. which touches every
county i'll the state From the first speech
the farmers drew the impression that they
were slandered; from the latter they begin
to see through what they term thin schema
to catch their votes Even the governors
most intimate political friends fear that his
speech making will be one of the most
effective clubs used against him i'll the cam
palgn.
Flushed with the victories of the last coll
gressional election, the democrats of Iowa,
like their brethren elsewhere, are manifest
ing Il spirit of hrnyndo relative to the final
outcome. The republicans are quietly at
work and will perfect ono of the most com
plete organizations i'll the state ever known.