St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-20
TWO INDUSTRIOUS MEN ARE
BUSY THESE DAYS.
THEY ARE CLERKS OF THE CITY
ARE FINING III. THE BALLOT
BONES,
BUT RUMOR SAYS SOMETHING ELSE.
Latest Gossip of the Local PoIiti-
cal Campaigns City
Convention Called.

| Some queer stories have been float
! ing around the city hall during the last
! few days about certain business that
| is being transacted in a certain store
rccm on the fourth floor of the build
I ing, not far from the entrance to the
reading room of@tthe library at the
/ east end of the corridor. Within this
room two gentlemen have been en-
gagged for some time past, and are still
occupied in making preparations for
4 the coming election. That is to say,
\ they are busy cleaning out and wash
\ ing off the ballot boxes, getting the
stationary ready that is to be used
I in the polling places. fixing up the
I blank registration books. and doing di-
i vers and sundry other jobs in the way
/ of preparing the numerous notices that
! the city clerk is obliged to send to the
Judges and clerks of election. Nobody
! has found fault with them for perform
I ing work of the foregoing character
at the expense of the city, but the re-
port has been circulated that these two
i gentlemen, who are to be paid by the
/ day, have been spending considerable
of the time for which the city is COM
/ pensating them in an occupation
more profitable to certain private cit
iZenS than to the city. In other words,
rumor says that they have been copy
| ing some of the registration lists of
the last spring election for the benefit
of certain Republican workers who
think they have use for them.
An investigation of the matter has
not demonstrated that the rumor is
true, but it has revealed some peculiar,
ii not suspicious, circumstances attend
tI,n n-4fn np n1a ion
work. In the first place the two gen
tlemen, who are Messrs. Peterson and
! Reichart-the former being until re-
Gently employed in the city clerks Of
fice-have been working behind
locked door. True, it is a glass door,
but it no less effectively hides those
| behind it after a dark blue curtain has
! been drawn down to the lowest point.
Moreover, upon three separate oecas-
! ions, G o reporter, who knocked
upon this door, failed to secure any
| response whatever
Yesterday, however, when the
G. b e representative went up to the
room with the assistant city clerk,
| the door was unlocked and upon err.
| tering the room Messrs. Peterson and
! Reichart were discovered preparing
| the blank registration books, to com.
! ply to the new law regulating the mat
! ter of registration.
City Clerk Jensen, when questioned
| concerning the report referred to, de-
MED emphatically that the men had
| been working for any private indiv:d-
uals.
THE only copying they have doue.''
| said Mr.. Jensen, they performed ut
my request. L asked them to copy the
registration list in some three or four
! precincts of the entire city, job that
| consumed but a small part Of their
| time WhU if 10
copy the entire registration lists of
| lib precincts, it would take them IN
til next August Moreover, the vari-
Gus party committees have registra-
ton lists Of their own, which they
keep up by adding the new names
registered prior to each election. The
men will be busy with inside work
until about April 1, when their work
will be outside
|
I Frank Robert was to remain in the
| office of clerk of the probate court
until April 1, but the publication of
| the facts regarding his treatment by
Judge Willrich made it rather embar-
RAISING for them to meet daily as CO.
workers in the same office, so to re-
| lleve the judge from this awkward DO
sltlon, and himself, too, Mr.. Robert
| packed up his personal effects and
left the office Wednesday morning.
coNSC w hiiiCu lIlIueuldLely appointed
Charles b. Nebinger to succeed him.
Mr.. Nebinger had been chief assist
ant in the Office ever since Judge Will
rich went i'll there. When Mr.. Robert
was leaving, Judge Willrich expressed
| regret that the affair had gone as far
as it had, and said that if Mr.. Robert
had handed in his resignation he did
| not know whether he would have ac-
cepted it or not. There is more back
than has come out, and it is not i'm
| probable that the heat of the cam
paign will develop some good reading
matter that has not yet been printed
The heads of the city Republican Or
ganization yesterday issued the call
FOR the usual convention, as follows:
| Republican city convention will be held
| at Market hall in the city of ST. Paul on
Saturday, the 11th day Of April, A. d. 1896. at
| lC o'clock in the forenoon, for the purpose of
placing in nomination the following officers, to
| be voted for at the ensuing municipal cleo
| ticn, on the 5th day of May A. d. 1896, and
| Tor the transaction of such other business as
may properly come before the convention. The
| Offices named are the same in the recent
Democratic call, of course. The number of
| delegates will be 254, being on the basis of one
delegate for each fifty votes or major fraction
| thereof, cast for Republican candidates for
mayor in 1894, with at least one delegate to
| each precinct. The names, by precincts are
| as follows:
| Ward. 122 $3.50 10 IL 12 13 IA IL
| L.. .... .... 554 6
-. 80. 2 2 8 3422 8
g.. =. ....2111222
a.. 80. .... 21111142i 2