St. Paul daily globe., 1896-03-06
ST. PAUL REPUBLICANS WANT
HIM TO STRAIGHTEN OUT A
TANGLE.
HIS FRIENDS ARE BUCKING
ID. MUM GO TO ST.
LOUIS.
Reported Reasons for the Ex-Gov-
ernOr,s Decision Not to Be
Delegate Himself.

William r. Merriams visit in the
South has been interrupted. Things
have not been going along smoothly
in st. Paul, in a political way, as it
was expected they would when he went
away, and for that reason he has, &C
cording to report, been summoned to
Chicago to meet G. A. Severance and
help straighten things out. For they
are said to be in most unpleasant
tangle at this time. Some of the party
men are acting badly in the govern
or's absence, and he is needed at once,
otherwise it is feared that the pres
ent plan of sending a Davis delega-
ton to st. Louis will fan.
There is a long story to it, which
has been wound around w. r. Mer-
riam'S original determination to go to
the convention as a delegate himself,
and later his change Of heart. It is said
that two years ago. when Mr.. Merriam
was down South where he has recent
ly been enjoying himself, he met the
Mckinley managers. There was moth
ing beyond the little everyday discus
sions, when they first met, but before
they separated, it is told, the McKin-
ley men intimated that Mr.. Merriam
would be a valuable and acceptable
man for a cabinet position if certain
things could be accomplished. One of
these was that Mr.. Merriam should
go to the Republican convention in 1896
with a Minnesota delegation for the
champion of protection. Mr.. Merriam,
after thinking it over, closed the deal,
as it were. He agreed to line up Min
nesota for Mckinley, and when he re-
turned to Minnesota began laying
plans to da so.
Things went along all right for a
time, and it began to look as if the
st. Paul banker could deliver the
goods without difficulty. Then Senator
Davis appeared in the field as a pres
idential candidate. Minnesota would,
therefore, be expected to support him,
but Mr.. Merriam figured, it is told,
that Mckinley delegation to the con-
vention, bearing a Davis label, would
in the end be as good as an out and
out Mckinley delegation, so the plans
were altered to change the name of
the delegation, but not the intent of
1t. Here is where the country papers
began to get suspicious Accordingly.
when 1t was said that st. Paul would
probably send a delegation, headed by
UP the cry that it was simply a move
OF Mr. Merriam to advance his own
interests in some way. Proof was, how
ever, ofered that the Davis boom
was the genuine article, whether Mr..
merriam went to st. Louis as a dele
gate or not, so the papers became paci-
ned, and another obstacle in the way
of the ex-governor's ambitions had
been removed.
When these and other obstacles had |
peen removed, another appeared, which
was built upon Col A. r. Kiefer's
wrath at discovering that w. r. Mer-
rlam was among the number who be-
lleVed that the colonel was not entitled
TO life lease of the position of con-
gressman, and that Stevens ought to
nave the nomination at the next con-
gressional convention. Such a position
on the part OF Mr.. Merriam made the
congressman more anxious for war
than the Venezuelan incident He sent
word to st. Paul that he would come
nome and fight Merriam and his plans
to the end, if he persisted in his de-
termination to go to the convention. |
1t is told that this determination of |
Congressman Kiefer, with all the other
objections that had been made to Mr.. |
Merriam sending himself as one of the |
delegates at large from this district to |
the Republican national convention. led |
to the decision that he would give up |
the idea of going, and allow some |
BODY else to go. So he declared he |
would not be delegate packed I'D his |
grip and went South.
Then arose the question who would |
they send. M. D. Mum wanted to go. |
and G. A. Severance, Senator Davis |
law partner, said he would be accept |
able. So it was decided that George |
thompson and M. D. Mum should be |
the two to represent the district. This
started the trouble. 1t soon developed
that there were whole lot of Repub-
hcans in st. Paul who would not hear
or Mr.. Severance'S arrangement They |
claimed that Mr.. Mum was in no way
entitled to the honor in the first place.
Then the fact that he is George |
Thompson's attorney was considered
another reason why he should not be
allowed to represent the district 1t
was too much like sending two mem
bers Of one firm, which was thought |
unnecessary. With all these al
legged grounds for opposing Mr.
Mum, number Of the fine workers of
the party, including Tams Bixby. A.
C. Clausen, Oar Reese and others. de-
clared that Mr.. Munns ambitions
must be curbed. They certainly would
not approve in any way the arrange
ment that Mr.. Severance had planned.
and unless this were changed, an effort
would be made to send straight, out
spoken and instructed del cation to ST.
Louis in the interests of Mckinley.
This was the situation that presented
itself to Mr.. Severance and the Davis !
men the other day, and as soon as the
force of it struck Mr.. Severance, the |
wires began to warm up with messages
to Mr.. Merriam to come home and help
smooth things out. If he could not
core home he was, according to report.
asked to come to Chicago where Mr. |
Severance is to meet him this week.
The men who can frame up the dele
gates to the convention are the men
who are opposed to Mr.. Mum, and it
remains to be seen whether their re-
spect for Mr.. Merriam's wishes is
greater than their objections to the
plans of the Davis managers. If so,
George Thompson and M. D. Mum will |
go to st. Louis; if not George Thomp-
son and some other man yet to be de-
termined upon will be the delegates
from this district. Mr.. Merriam nay
yet find it necessary to go himself de-
spite Congressman Kiefers conditional