St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-02
THE SPEAKERSHIP FIGHT
Is Narrowing Down to Van
SAINT and Gibbs, With Lit
tie Odds.
THE SENATORIAL SITUATION
From Standpoints Of Wash
burn and ComStOek Ad-
hepents.

With the dawning of the new year the
contest for speakership and senatorial
honors begins to settle down upon more
definite lines, and the participants in
the tug of war are saving their breath
for the final struggle. There is that air
of hushed expectancy which pervades
base ball audience when there are two
and Casey at the bat. Yesterday the
lesser lights, the feeble imitators of the
great leaders, had deserted the lobbies
of the hotels and betaken them
selves to their homes, under the
very common and very mistaken
idea that because there were few MEM
bers of the legislature in town nothing
OF consequence could be accomplished.
This is where the imitatOr always gets
the worst of it, ana where the real poll.
tician shines. The man who imagineS
that the members themselves have any
thing to do with the campaign is MT for
nothing higher than custodian of cuspi'
dors. OF course, they do the actual
voting, but as rule the men who exert
the greatest influence i'll the organiZa-
tion are those who tell the voters how
to vote. 1t is safe TO say that not above
a dozen OF the 16S members OF the two
houses can deliver more than their own
vote upon any proposition, while the
same number of political managers,
who might easily be named. can bring
to the support of any desirable measure
a majority Of the entire house and sen
ate. These last-named powers were in
session Yesterday, and while the hotel
corridors were in a large measure de-
serted, there was
Many Conference
in back offices, private parlors and
other places where the vigilant eye OF
the reporter could not reach them.
In the judgment of the best posted
politicians the speakership contest is
narrowed down to two men, Van SAINT
and Gibbs, with the percentage of
chances slightly in favor OF the first
named. The action of the Second dis.
trict IN adopting the unit rule does not
materially alter the situation, and, in
deed, except for the moral effect, will
have no bearing upon the result. The
Second district was for Shell anyhow,
and this action was merely formal
declaration of a well-knoWn and thor
oughly understood determination on
the part of that delegation. But it isn't
enough. and no one knows it any
better than the genial Dan
himself. Bourke Cockran's remark
about Cleveland may we'll be
applied in this case to Shell-he will be
the most popular man in the house on
every day except election day. The
Fifth and Sixth distri cts have declared
themselves unit (though they are noD
for Van SAINT; the First. Third, Fourth
and Seventh are divided between Van
SAINT and Gibbs, and Shell isn't in it.
The action OF the Fifth and Sixth in
precipitating jumping into the Van
SAINT band wagon will naturally tend to
drive the forces not already committed
to the Winona man to Gibbs, who has
scattering support all over the state.
Had it not been for the action OF pre-
sumlng member of the Ramsey county
delegation in pledging that delegation
for Gibbs without giving his colleagues
voice in the matter. there is little doubt
that this delegation would have been as
solid for Gibbs as Hennepin is for Van
SAINT. 1t is not yet certain, however,
that Van SAINT will receive greater
number OF votes from the Fifth district
than Gibbs will from the Fourth.
The information which leaked out
through sundry keyholes, and by
various routes yesterday reached the
GLOBE, is to the effect thai be-
fore the week has closed the friends
of Dan Shell in the Second dis
triet will have concluded compromise
which will leave the paceseekers of the
Hennepin delegation on the wrong
side OF
The Dead Line,
and guarantee to those outside CT Min
neapolis fair and proportionate share
of the coveted official pie. To be plain.
Mr.. Shell will consent to a union of
forces with Gibbs. the condition being
the recognition of Shells friends sn im-
portant committees and in the matter OF
clerkships, leaving the highest honor OF
the house to the possession OF the states
man farmer from Freeborn county. To
accomplish this will be very easy mat
fer. provided Shells friends remain as
Ioval to him in secondary mat
tiers as they are in his prime
capacity of candidate for speaker.
The union of these forces would IN
doubtedly be sufficient to accomplish
the election of Gibbs, provided, OF
course, both forces remained intact and
unanimous. The difficulty in the way
of the accomplishment OF this plan.
however, lies IN the fact that while such
a transfer is being made there is almost
sure to be a certain number of members
who will fall through the meshes and
be caught in the opposition net. The
allied forces of Gibbs and Shell cannot
afford to lose very many votes-not over
a dozen-and should the Van SAINT man
ayers, who, in spite Of themselves, are
to degree bound up in the Washburn
campaign, secure a feg proselyteS, it is
obvious that the election of Van SAINT
would follow. The candidates them-
selves are in the field, prosecuting their
search for unallied forces, hut their re-
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