Omaha daily bee., 1896-06-19

the ~probablsz Hsnd Of political forces and
an almost u~nerring grasp u the possibili.
tles OF clever combinations, he has become
n political t~aCtiuian upon whom both friend
ahl Toe must reckon. As an organizer,
either FOR trials of strength at ward pri
maries or contests in local, state or national
conventions, he Is a recognized factor In re.
publican councils. and his advice sought
and followed by leaders great and small.
perhaps no better Illustrations of his 20.
ltlcal capacity could be cited than his sue
cesstul defense of Nebraska against the
invading prob bitionists in 1890, and his
equally SUCCESSFUL aggressive fight that de-
featcd Thomas j. Majors for the governor
ship in 1894 and placed Silas A, Holcomb
In the chief executives chair. In the pro-
hibition campaign. Mr.. Rosewater was
placed in supreme control of the forces ar
rayed against the proposed constitutional
amendment. In spite of the back-fre of
jealous journalistic competitors, he built
up out of nothing one of the strong
est political organizations ever used
Tor such a purpose. With an unbroken
series of business mems organizations,
personal liberty leagues and similar clubs
behind him, he flooded the state with litera-
ture bearing on the subject in all languages
distributed among the voters with whom
they promised to be effective, and met aud
bested the horde OF imported prohibition
sSitators with a corps of able speakers,
headed by himself. The great debates with
the most prominent prohibition advocates
VI ldJlbldl ItpUlp, III WHICH ne ODnelu the
system of liquor traffic regulation by high
license as against constitutional prohibit
ton, crowned a campaign of education, the
telling effect of which Is to be read in the
returns. OF the votes on the prohibitory
amendment, only so. 292 were recorded in
its favor and III ,72S against it, while in
Douglas county the vote was 1,555 for pro-
hibition and 23,91S against prohibition.
This, as against q campaign waged by the
whole prohibition party Of the United States
summarized Inv nNgfN Irn1ihfIfnp pVN,nl.. 80
prominence, and backed by nearly limitlcss
campaign contributions from prohibitionists
in every state in the union.
In the gubernatorial campaign of 1894 the
victory achieved by Edward Rosewater and
The Bee was even more wonderful because
Fought with still fewer resources and al
most without assistance. Promptly resign
ing his place as member of the republican
national committee on the announcement
of the nomination of Majors as the repub-
ican standard bearer, in order that he
might be free from obligations to the party
whose candidate he could not support. he
fearlessly, but openly, proclaimed his pur-
pose to purge the republican party by de-
feating its unworthy leader. By adroit
maneuvcring, he effected q combination of
the opposing forces upon a single candi-
date, Silas A. HClcomb. Although hampered
at times by the failure of the democratic
and populist party organizations to work
Observation-Disclosures which, as compared
with the republican machine, were scarcely
deserving Of the name-he, through his
paper and his own personal eXertions, was
able to turn the tide of the thinking voters
of the state and administer to corrupt po-
litical leadership a rebuie that will not be
forgotten for years to come. That these
almost miraculous results were to be at
tributed to Mr.. Rosewater, and to Mr..
Rosewater alone, was conceded without re-
serve by all parties concerned.
-
AS a public speaker Mr.. Rosewater is
logical, forciblc, earnest, convincing. To
fiowery eloquence and polished periods he
makes no pretense. He has a peculiar
faculty of gfouping facts and figures and
explaining to his. hearers the relations be-
tween men and measures. With his
accurate grasp Of history and his adapta-
ton of subject to audience he is able to
set men to thinking, and TO lead them to
the conclusion which he has reached.
While he seldom writes out a speech in
advance Of its delivery, he spends, as a
rule, no little time in careful preparation OF
his materials and a through mastery OF
his subject.
1t is in the running fire of debate that
Mr.. Rosewater is at his best as a public
speaker. Ills debates with Susan =.
Anthony during the woman suffrage cam
paign, with Samuel Dickie, Rev. Sam Small
A. G. Wblfcnbarger, upon the question
of constitutional 3 prohibition versus high
license, 9'and1 'hore recently with eX-Con-
gresham William j.. Bryan, the apostle of
free silver, upon the merits of 16 TO l free
coinage, showed him to be a ready talker.
capable of holding his own with the most
experienced public speakers in the country.
listeners have told ME that in
the late silver debate, Mr.. Rosewater easily
beSted his opponent so far as logical argu-
and facts and figures sustaining his
position were concerned, and even rampant
free silycrites have condescended to admit
in private conversation with me, that he
made the best presentation against l6 to 1
free coinage that they had heard or read
anywhere.
While Edward Rosewater has contributed
time. labor and money to the support OF
he republican party and the election of
It's candidates., he has never but once oc-
Cupicd public Office himself. He was
elected to the lower house of the state
in 1870. and served through the
exciting and protracted sessions that cul-
minated in the impeachment and removal
Of Governor David Butler. In the inyestiga-
lions that led up to the formulation OF i'm
peachment charges he took a principal part.
Among the measures which he introduced
and pushed to enactment were the bill
establishing the State Institute for the
Deaf and Dumb in this city and the bill
'evising the public school system and Great
an elective Board of Education for
omaha. This last named law required the
cLllliiliuh VI II Ftpplc II Z NloiS
t could go into effect and it was chiefly
o assist in the campaign for ratification
hat he founded The Bee as a campaign
'rgan.
In 1886 Mr.. Rosewater again ran for the
IS candidate for float senator
rom Douglas and Sarpy counties. but. sold
and traded off in the house OF his
riends, he failed CT election by a narrow
margin of votes.
In party councils, on the other hand, he
as almost constantly occupied positions of
.onor and responsibility. He has been
lember and chairman of the various central
Ommittees, and in 1892, by the unanimous
Endorsement of the state convention, was
ccorded the position of republican national
Committeeman for Nebraska. In that
apacity he took a leading part in the presi-
entail campaign Of that year, and was
Irgely instrumental in frustrating the
cheme for fusing the ~populist and demo-
rattle forces, and in keeping the electoral
otes of Nebraska in the republican column. s
In all his long career as private citizen,
man. politician and public officer.
'dward Rosewater has always stood for {
lteGrity in public and private life, and !
onesty in the discharge of official. duty. |
he implacable foe of jobbery, corruption c
nd the betrayal of trust, he has never f