The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-12-22


the Time.
Washington, Dec. 21.-TSpecial.1 -Po-
| liticians at this end of the wire who
have been watching the Idaho sena-
torial fight in order to see what good
will come to the Republican party out
Of the unprecedented middle into
| which the leaders have thrown it, can
not see how the open letter of Sweet
to Shoup will be of much benefit in
the interest of harmony. In it Sweet
has thrown down the gauntlet. He
has said openly that The made the dec
laration in Idaho that Senator Slloup
had retired, without any reservation
promised to him a clear field for the
toga. There is no mincing of matters.
If Shoup mas made the declarations
about his candidacy that have been
credited to him lately in the Idaho
and Salt Lake papers, then Sweet
stands as accusing him Of unqualified
falsehood.
In Washington it was said for sew
eral months before the state conven-
ton met in Idaho that Senator Shoup
had determined to retire from politics.
1t is true that at the time the wise
acres shook their heads and suspected
that Dubois had been doing some ma
nipulating to get his colleagues out of
the way, and the more astute felt
sorry that there was on appearance
that Shoup had been made the victim
OF a bunco game at the hands of the
younger men of the delegation. How
ever that may be, politicians and
newspapers announced without contra
diction of any sort that Senator Shoup
had voluntarily retired; and he did
not hesitate to announce it himself
through his home paper and various
j eastern journals
However. at the time that the state
convention met in Idaho it will be re-
membered that there was a proposition
on foot to have a fusion on the legis-
-latiye- and congressional tickets be-
tween the Democrats and Populists, at
which the Republicans became greatly
alarmed. Senator Shoup was not less
alarmed over the threat than anyone
else. Right on top of his alarm came
letters from his friends in the state
informing him Of a thing he had long
believed, but had never dared give
great expression to. That thing, which
had come like a sweet dream in his
reflective moments, was the notion that
he is the strongest man that can be
placed before the people of Idaho.
Shoup's Idea of Himself.
Under the spell of this idea he SEEM
ed to look upon himself in the light OF
one who had mission to perform. He
felt that the life of the Republican
party Of Idaho was at stake and that
it should fbe his province and his alone
to pluck the gigantic aggregation from
the jaws of a political Nirvana. Con-
temptation assured him that the task
was too great for Sweet or the gentle
and enthusiastic Mcconnell, or even
the smooth and golden Hepburn, with
all his backing from the mine owners
of the Occur d'Alene.
In fact he felt that the occasion was
crucial and that no man of small men,
tai Galore could step into the breach
and preserve intact the victorious lau-
rels of the Republican party of his
adopted state. Realizing this and
egged on by his supporters into a be-
lief that his own ability was a neces-
sity in the case, it was but a short
step for him to determine that the
salvation of the party was greater
than any considerati tons of personal
friendship, or, in the light of Sweet S
letter. honor or Of logic.
To tell the truth Senator Shoup's
plea that he made his promise to re-
tire contingent upon the decision of
the state convention to nominate a
senatorial candidate is laughed at.
Long before there was any hint Of a
desire to take any such action and in
fact before it was known that Sweet
would desire to have this matter
placed before the people of Idaho, it
was known that Senator Shoup mad
withdrawn and Was ostensibly sup
porting Sweet for his successor. Even
if. as he says in his interviews, he
made this a condition on an occasion
before Sweet left for Idaho, it places
him in the curious position of having
persuaded a man to enter into q race
with a promise of support and then,
after the step had been irrevocably
taken, making conditions that would
have deferred the entry if the ,candi2
date had known of them before he
took the decisive step.
Of course Senator Shoup has evidence
on which to base something to con-
tradict the plain. bold and embarrassing
statements of Sweet. At present, how
ever, he seems sadly to lack good
case on the face of matters. The
documentary evidence in the matter,
the memory Of Dubois, the gossip of the
correspondents and the utterances OF
Senator Shoup in his letter to the Boise
Statesman, all tend to bear up the word
Of Sweet. More than that the loyal
support given by the Republicans of
the northern part Of Idaho in the nomi-
nation and election of Edgar Wilson to
Congress shows that they were given to
understand that the election of a north
ern senator had been fully agreed upon.
If they had not believed that it would
have seemed the greatest folly for them
to have surrendered the only congress
sional representative they had, depend
ing on the fortunes of politics to give
them something more.
To Buck Him Out.
The plea that Sweet and Dubois
worked together to retire Senator Shoup
from politics, or to buck him OUT as
Colonel Shoup is reported as saying,
is amusing At the time the rumors
were around that Shoup had retired and
was supporting Sweet it was well
known that Dubois and Sweet were at
swords points and that Dubois had
made threat that he would drive
Sweet out if he ever had a chance to
do so. In the face of this he was throw
ing his whole support to Hepburn, in
the fond hope of killing off both of his
enemies in Congress With one stone.
1t was not until election that Dubois
finally came to the conclusion that he
had better throw all his influence to
Sweet. The reason he did so was that
he had been UP in the northern. counties
and while there had heard how i'm
possible it would be to give Hepburn