St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-19

The expected happened in the sena-
torial caucus last night when W. d.
WaShburn did his upetus take at the
hands OF the Republican members of
The legislature. As has all along been
predlcted by the GLOBE, the caucus ad-
journed without making 4 nomination.
and, as also predicted, Washburn
showed his greatest strength on the first
ballot. dropping from 81 on that ballot
to Sc on the last, and there is no doubt,
Judging from the humor of his support
Frs at the time of the adjournment, that
had the caucus remained in session for
another hour his vote would have
dropped to 80. which has been his actual
strength for the past two days.
Nelson gained steadily from the very
first, rising from 45 on the first ballot to
GO on the last, making gains from all
Of the other candidates and at no time
suffering any net loss. His friends
stuck to him with persistency which
Indicated that they had drunk in the
obstinate courage and bulldog fighting
prOpensitieS of their chief. Representa-
tive jacobson sounded the keynote OF
the situation when lie left the caucus
room and met Nelson at the foot of the
stairs. Giving his hat a cowboy tilt
backward and graspinG the hand of
Nelson, lie exclaimed: "Governor, We'll
stand by you till hell freezes over. and
there isn't even white frost yet"
The result of the caucus was fatal to
Washhurn. OF this there can be no
doubt. His friends stood by him most
Loyalty. They we're willing to vote in
an open or a secret caucus or they were
willing not to caucus at all. They were
ready and willing to sacrifice their
personal and political convenience for
him as the representative Of them and
their set, but they could not overcome
the clearly defined and outlined opposi-
tion coming from the conservative ele-
ment OF the party.
The preparations and arrangements
for the caucus were simply lacking. No
attempt was made to provide any con-
venience for taking a report of the pro-
ceedings, and the parties in charge
seemed TO nave no END in view except
to detect and intercept the real or
fancied schemes of the politicians on
the other side. InaSmuch as the Wash
burn men had a majority Of the caucus
committee the blame for the wretcbed
accommodation naturally rests upon
them. though it Is but fair to say that at
the last moment, when they realized the
extent Of their negligence, they tried to
remedy it as far as possible.
The exclusion of the regular reporters
from the desks where they work every
day was of piece with the rest of the
arrangements. Those having charge of
the matter seemed possessed of a deadly
fear that the reporters would want to
buy some senatorial votes. There could
have been no other reason for deal by
which tie men who perform the daily
toll of reporting the session were sub
jected to the necessity of sneaking MP
Into the gallery as though they were
going TO rob hen IoOst. There was no
reason why they should have been COM
PEELED to enter physical contest with a
bowling mob of loafers in the lob0ies
and struggle for the doubtful honor of
admission 10 the galleries.
The services of these men do not
command as liberal remuneration as do
those of men who have senatorial
vote just at this particular time, but
they have as high a sense Of their duty
to the public as do the gentlemen Of the
Legislature. and the fact that they were
able to secure report at all under the
discOuraging conditions, is sufficient
evidence that they performed that duty
as efficiently as did the statesmen who
required six ballots and four hours to
find out that they did not know whom
they wanted for United States senator.