Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-01-02
The Speech that Won.

Things were running pretty close
in Titusville that fail. Both parties
felt sure of success, the candidates
jubiIantly confident To both, in fact,
it looked like a dead sure thing. .
That's just about how matters StO1J. +.
and Is the election day drew near IT,
absolute certainty on both sides WIS
only more thoroughly confirmed.
why, bless yer heart" said Ton
Brown. the postmaster, there nev-r
wus surer thing sence I've been
inter politics, an that's nigh on fQ"'2 .
year
sur fiddlesticks,'' remarked
Squire Dent. when wasn't it a
sure thing with you fellows, I'd like
to know"
Before election ye NAME" insin-
uated Ted O'Rourke.
That's it exactly, Ted" aSSented
the squire. before election, and on
paper at that. Ha, ha, ha! But when
it comes TO voting, Ted somehow or
another. there's always a discrepancy,
~h?"
\ fallin' arr as it were" said Ted.
'Aye. a falling Off"
We'll. it won't happen this time"
said Brown, bristling up. ''Sure
enough you caught us nappin' a year
ago but afore that. when was the
likes of you Eol1in' office in this here
county for the past thirty year?"
t'You are right" said the squire,
but then You know the farmers
were with you. Now, however,
everything is charged; they're doing
some thinking for themselves, and
as a result, we have whitfield your
majorities down TO good fighting
basis. This year, | tell you, we are
going to win again"
Not by a col burned sight"
granted Brown, as he LETT to attend
to a waiting customer.
TituSviIle was in the thrOeS of a
great excitement. For nearly thirty
years the democrats had held posses .
sion Of every office in the county, so
that it had come to be pretty gener-
ally understood that a nomination
would take care of itself. But the
enemy were by no means lacking in
diligence True, they had for years
been buried beneath Il majority of ap-
palling proportions, and chances had
seemed Of the Slimmest; still they.
like others, were troubled with as
pirate as far reaching and I'M
Quenchable as such conditions, under
such circumstances are generally ad-
mitted to be. SO they kept on peg
ging away, driving Il nail in here and
there slowly but surely undermining
the foundations of the party in
power, until one fine morning, that
institution awoke to find itself OuSted
from its vested rights: rights it's
priority to which it at least had never
questioned And though the major
ity was but small. "miserabIy. piter-
fully small" as one of the defeated
was heard to remark it was enough,
and 50 the other fellows went in.
All this Occurred a twelvemonth be-
fore SO now, as the anniversary Of
their humiliation approached, the
democrats were up in arms, anxious
and eager to wipe out the ignominy
and disgrace which had been put
upon them. Both conventions had
been largely attended, both had been
more than ordinarily enthusiastic,
and both resulted in the nomination
of what each party considered the
strongest ticket that could possibly
lions. workers for both sides had been
constantly afeId. laboring with dill
gence throughout the territory in
yolved until a day or so before elec-
ton. when the supporters of each
ticket. after having carefully can
vaSsed the situation, became thor
oughly satisfied that their men would
win in canter.
Matters stood thus: The Repub-
licanS had captured the previous elec-
ton by just au even hundred; this
majority. at least. they expected to
hold intact To win back but little
over half of these meant victory for
the Democrats: land who" as Sagely
remarked Jack Doolan Of Sedgewick
could help votin' fur sich whalin'
coed reIlerS as Tim Feerey and thin
other hys Nv ournY But underlying
all this bombast and rant, the leaders
of both parties knew that a perilous
element existed in their midst: a dis
turbing. uncertain. disquieting ele-
ment, to gain which they must bend
al their energies.
To be more explicit, the voters of
he seventh "deestrict," as Postmaster
Brown was wont to call it. numbering
some sixty in all. We're. to say the
least of it. a very uncertain quantity.
Not that they were viciously inclined
ii any stand they might chance 20
take. but simply. that party utilization
had no particularly pertinent mean
ing. that is. as far as they were con
acerned. For that matter. they we're
decidedly friendly to men in both
pa11ies, but drew the line always,