St. Paul daily globe., 1891-01-25
Judges Of Election Pay More
Attention to Whisky Than
to Their Duties.
Now Legislators Propose to
Stir Up the Dry Bones Of
State Sinecures.

amount of legislation for restricting the
powers of railroads Is desirable-nay,
necessary-but there is disposition on
the part of members to 'go off at half
cock" In attempting to remedy the
evils complained of, they ignore the
interests Of the stockholders, and, NOR e
important still, the welfare of the rail-
road employees. There are hundreds of
thousands of citizens of the state who
depend upon railroads for their daily
bread, and whatever legislation is pro-
posed to regulate the operations of
these great iron highways, this class of
constituents are deserving-indeed they
ought to cOmmand--SOme consideration
from legislators. The hands of railroad
companies must not be so restricted
that, for the sake of retaliation, hun
dreds OF men are thrown out of EN-
ployment.
There must not be any haste in franz
ing proper laws for the government of
railroads. The interests Of the state
greatly depend upon railroads, and too
much tinkerng with the laws harnesses
and detracts from their general eff
cheney. Let legislators place around these
companies adequate safeguards to secure
the operation of the roads to meet the
needs of the people, but it would be
manifestly unfair to hamper them just
to meet the wishes Of one class of citi-
zens. Protection for the farmer is all
very well in its way, but there are other
classes to be also considered. In the
bills now before the legislature this
fact is apparently lost sight of. The
hA.. 10, ,l,nr 0f tln
road committee may, however, be de-
pended upon to see that adequate just
ice is done-juStice to the railroads and
justice to the people. No favor should
be shown to either.
One of the most disappointed men to-
day is r. G. Dunn, of Princeton. He
was certain of success in his contest for
the seat of E. E. Price, and to be de-
feated in the end is bitter pill to swal-
low. Bob is a genial, whole-souled fell
low, and his appearance in the house
would have been hailed with pleasure; ;
but it must be admitted that he was not
entitled to the seat. He was victim
of the landslide which befell his party
last November, and should face the
music with the best possible grace.
There was something very suspicious
about that recount at Little Falls. 1t
was shown'that the man who had charge
of the ballot bOX-a cigar boX-did not
possess the best of regulations, and the
appearance of the Dunn stickerS was of
itself sufficient to raise grave doubts.
Mr.. Dunn claimed twenty-nine votes on
the recount at Little Falls. There were
thirty-two StickerS counted here for
oh q FIJI
lowing facts were brought to light:
That only three were creased; that five
of the stickers (uncreased) were placed
over creaSes in the ballot paper.
There was strong evidence going to
show that the ballots had been TAM
pered with after the official canvass.
Evidence was also adduced by Mr..
Price taat the ballot papers were over
hauled after the recount by interested
parties. The original canvass of the
vote was, however, loosely conducted,
and gave Mr.. Dunn ground for claim
Ing recount. TO count $50 votes the
judges and clerks of election were en-
gagged from the evening of Nov. to
the morning of Nov. 6. Their cOndi-
ton at the close of the count may be
judged from the evidence given that
during the thirty y-eight hours they were
thus engaged the whisky bottle was
constantly on tap.
An evening paper credits R. G. Dunn
with saying: ''Some people will hear
from me two years hence" This is
very silly on the part of the Princeton
man. He has been squarely defeated.
and to cover his defeat with threats
about what he will do In the future is
what might be expected from school
boy and not an editor, in whom you
naturally expect to find man with
certain amount of common sense.
There remains one more election con-
test to be decided in the house, in
which E. w. Durant IS seeking the
seat of John Daly,ot Washington. Part
of the evidence in this case is now be-
fore the committee, and decision will
be reached by Tuesday at the latest.
Opinion is divided as to the success of
Mr.. Durants contest.
The special committee to investigate
the state prison will be underway this
week. ]. A. Keyes, who is the chair
man, is determined that the investiga-
ton will be of the most vigorous des-
criptiOn and is authority for the state
hitherto suppressed will be called for
and given to the public.
The existence of the state board of
corrections and charities is threatened.
A bill has been introduced into the
house to abolish the board, and there
are indications that it will receive con-
siderable support. One reason for this
is that Secretary Hart, in the perform
ance of his work, has interfered with
the schemes of legislators desirouS of
securing big appropriations for the state
institutions located in their districts
He has also criticized the management
of some Of the institutions, and the
officials are on the warpath thirsting for
his scalp. Though this feeling enters
into the opposition against this board,
there is the higher ground that its work
is of no practical utility. The expenses
of the board are certainly entirely be-
yond the work accomplished. The men,
berShip of the board and the clerical
loss to the end in view when it was Gre
ated.
A word of praise IS due Speaker
Champlin. His decisions up to the
present have been characterized with
great fairness, and he has displayed a
knowledge of parliamentary law which
has pleased and delighted his friends.
Speaker Champlin is credit to the
farmers of the state, and has certainly
demonstrated his fitness for the high
honor which they saw fit to bestow
upon him.
G. E. McAlIIster is thorn in the side
of S. A. Stockwell, the Hennepin repre-
sentative, who is ALWAYS protesting
against any expenditures over employees
or supplies. Mr.. McAllister is not only
terror to Mr.. Stockwell, but he is also
steadily becoming the champion of the
Democratic forces in the house. He is
a clean-cut and incisive speaker, aud
his whitening arraighment of Repub
lican tactics are hugely enjoyed by the
house, excepting, of course, the repre-
sentatives of that party.
Why do members waste so much time