St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-11
DOODLE DID NOT AVAIL.
How the Old Gang Was Wiped
Out in Polk County.

How the Old Gang Was Wiped
Out in Polk County.
Special to the Globe.
CRooKsTON, Mimi, Oct. 10. - The
county of Polk is the largest, as it is the
w%ealthiest and most populous in the
Red river valley, and up to two years
ago was reliably Republican by a ma
jority of from l,700 to $500. Its great
Republican majority was taken advan-
tage OF, and an officeholding ring
gained complete control of the Repub-
lican machine. The people occasionally
arose and defeated a ring candidate,
but, as a rule the party majority car
ried the nominees selected by the ring
to victory. The people, the great rank
and file. who seek no offices and have
no axes to grind, grew yearly more res
tive under the rule of the gang" and
when the Alliance party Vas organized
two years ago nearly the entire Repub-
lican vote of the county went to the
new party. The magnitude of the re-
volt amazed the leaders in charge two
years ago. and they took desperate steps,
to head it off.
The managers came to st. Paul and
placed the situation before the state
central committee. They came back to
CrookStOn with the promise that for
every dollar contributed by the candl-
dates for county offices in Polk county
would be duplicated by the state cen
trail committee. A meeting Of the "a
didates was called and the situation
placed before them. They were told
that the checks and notes they gave to
pay their $500 assessments would be
taken to st. Paul and used to get the
money out of the state committee. but
iDstead of this they were at once placed
in a local bank and the money drawn
on them. This passed them into the
hands Of an innocent purchaser" 1t
was also understood that the cnntribu-
tiunS of the candidates were not to be
used unless the chances for success
were good, and if the candidates failed
to win the county chairman was to
stand the expense.
When the notes come due some of
the candidates who had been defeated
so overwhelmingly zane up and paid,
but four of them did not and gave the
story away. The four were the caiidi-
dates for auditor, treasurer, Superin-
tendent of schools and judge of probate,
and they were sued in the district court.
They tried 10 resist payment, but as the
notes had passed into the hands of an
innocent purchaser, Judge Mills, of the
district court, decided that they must
be paid II rendered judgment ae-
cordIngly. {
They Settled the Estate. g.
The litigation growing out of the de-
crease of the Republican vote in Polk
county has a remarkable resemblance to
tie;proceedingsin selling the estate of a
dead man. The party went out of bust
ness and existence at the same time, and
the litigation which followed showed
the people a state of things for which
they were hardly prepared. The county
candidates contributed $1,000 and the
state committee as much mora. making
from these two sources no less than
$4,000. Outside parties, who have been
making something out of the ring, con-
tributed at least So, 900, II yet, after
spending this enormous sum, the Re
publican vote in Polk county did not
reach 700 out of a total poll of $3.50, the
exact vote being:
Merriam. ....... $50
wilson, Dem. S54
owen,
flnkndHl, %
The vote in the contest of 1858 in
Polk county needs to be noted to give