St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-29
ROW IN ATHEPOPULIST CAMP
c0Y.' LEWELLIWG TAXES THE OFF,
cAL SCALP OF MRS. LEASE.


The Governor Says 1t Is in the
Interest of Harmony and Good
Government, but the Lady Pol
ftician says That 1t Was for
an Entirely Different Reason.
and There's Music in the Air.
TOPEKA, Kan, Dec. 2s.-The Populist
camp was this afternoon thrown into
the widest excitement by the action Of
Gov. Lewelling in removing Mrs. Mary
E. Lease from the state board of char
tiles. This was done after long confer
ence with his associate state officers
and other leaders of the Peoples party,
and was no doubt in anticipation of the
war which Mrs. Lease was preparing to
declare against the state administration.
To a reporter Gov. Lewelling said:
Il don't want to say much about it,
and want you to be careful to quote
me correctly. l have removed Mrs.
Lease in the interest Of harmony and
good government. There seems to be
some lack of harmony in the charitable
institutions Of this state and consider
able trouble in the board. and l con-
cluded Mrs. Leases removal was the
remedy. and accordingly removed her.
That's all have to say about it this
afternoon"
Don't you think you have stirred up
row?"
MAYBE 1 have, but guess there will
be no great trouble grow out of it.''
Mrs. Lease. who was up to 2 o'cl ock
head of the state board of charities, was
in the city today to confer with the Pop
ulist leaders aOout the racent election
of George F. Ia uber to be steward of
the deaf and dumb asylum at Olathe
by the votes of NJ. A. Householder and
w. S. Waite, the Republican members
of the board.
Either he goes, or 1 CO." Mrs. Lease
said to u reporter, and she stamped her
foot to emphasize that fact. This was
before her removal was announced.
'It is a question of principle with me.
First, am Populist, and of the mid
dle-of-the-road sort, and do not believe
in appointing Democrats to Office. Next,
good Populists have been ignored, and
lastly, l am opposed to Tauber, because
ne was appointed to secure the beer
drinking element of the state for the
Peoples party next year. / am not that
kind of politician. do not believe in
compromising with wrong in any shape
or form. 1t is certain Tauber will have
to be retired or shall quit the board"
The removal of Mrs. Lease was a
thought of todey. Yesterday there was
no talk of it in the state house or in Pop
uIist circles anywhere. It is not be-
lieved the removal was wholly caused
by the row in the board, for that has
been of long standing and was open
and notorious. That somebody had to
go has been known fer three months,
for Mrs. Lease on the one side aud Mr..
Householder and Mir. Waite on the
other could never narmOniZe, but it was
not intended to let it be Mrs. Lease un-
til this morning, when intelligence was
brought to the governor that Mrs. Lease
had not buried the hatchet, but was
getting ready to make another assault
through the newspapers upon the ad
mlnistration. She, in conversation with
a well-known POpulist, within the past
forty-eight hours, stated that she was
not satisfied with the terms of peace
made for her with the governor. She
said Gov. Lewelling ana the entire
state house crowd ought to be turned
down, and that she was loaded with let
terS and other documents that would
make trouble. She said she proposed
to 20 after the governor on account Of
good many miSdeeds, and especially OIL
account of the appointment Of fsArtz and
Todd.
When this reached the governors
ears, it decided the question of removal
in his mind, and instead of letting out
Householder and Waite, he let out Mrs.
Lease. The removal means the admin
iStratiOn has accepted Mrs. Leases chal-
lenge to battle, and the contest will be
full of fire and interest.
Mrs. Lease takes her removal like a
trained politician. She said to re-
porter:
"Yes. have been officially Informed
OF my decapitation. l had had bint
that it was coming. But Gov. Lewelling
ought to have told you the real reas on.
1t was because went to him yesterday
afternoon and made a demand upon
him. not a request, mind you-a de-
mand that at the expiration of the
term of Mr.. Yoe. Republican
member, next April, j. r. Ken
nedy, a Populist editor of Wilson
county. be appointed. know that with
Mr.. Kennedy on the board we could
run the institutions in business-like
way and get rid of the political schemes
to which the board now resorts. But
the governor seems 10 like that way of
admins teling our state charities. 1t
was not month ago he came to US with
a demand that we remove Carter from
the superintendency of the deaf and
dumb asylum. | SAID to him that he
had no right to make such a demand;
that we, the board, were responsible for
our appointments. and the party could
not afford to have such an institution as
the deaf and dumb asylum mixed up in
small politics. But the majority of the
board did the governors bidding, and
now they are trying to find way to re-
instate Carter"