The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-11
WILL ED WEAVER PULL OFF
SAID THAT HE DECLARED AT THE
TABLE HE WAS NOT A
CANDIDATE.
BLOCK AND KOERNER FIX IT UP
So That the Former Is to Get the
Treasurership About
1900.

sor yesterday noon were eight sage po-
litical heads. 1t was not display Of
anatomical odds and ends. There were,
naturally, other things at the dinner
table beside the heads. But the heads
were put together after the other mem
bers had been fed
Gov. Clough was one Of the party
The governor is not a regular boarder
at the Windsor, but since he put Col.
Monfort on his staff and found out
what rare addition he had made to
his circle of gold-lace companions the
governor has been in the habit of drop
ping in at the Windsor from time to
time, usually meal time. 1t is a COM
bination of congenial companionship
and cuisine, perhaps, that attracts the
states chief executive, but it is singu-
Lar, somewhat, that the governor rarely
drops in that there is not more Or
less conspicuous party Of Minnesota
politicians somewhere in the vicinity.
Yesterday was no exception to the
rule. Col. G. H. Graves, of Duluth,
eX-Speaker of the house, and once upon
time considered a formidable guber-
material possibility himself, sat at the
same table. EX-Lieut. Gov. A. E. Rice,
of Willmar, was one of the party, and,
if reports are true, he and Gov. Clough
seemed to be thoroughly in sympathy,
and not cross word was heard in the
party from soup to nuts. Senator A. B.
Cole, of Fergus Falls, was fourth
member of the bunch. What doc"
wanted down here was not explained,
but he has a number Of excuses, like
looking after the Game case, and that
sort of thing, you know, which make 1t
very convenient for him to HE himself
out of Fergus Falls in the middle of
the night and breakfast at the Windsor
along with Senator Stebbins, Of
Rochester, or that other shrewd politi-
cal organizer, E. J. Jones, of Stevens
county, or any other who may chance
60 to strike the hotel about the same
time that he does.
The well-fed julius Hench Block, of
st. Peter. he of the hospital location
fame, revealed in the viands which bur
dered the military BonifAces board
for a few -moments-a,:d listened in
tently to the revelations Of political
sagacity that were made as his COM
patriots discussed this scheme and that
for guiding the Republican bark
through the shoals of the campaign of
1898.
Col G. B. Ward, of Alexandria, who
is an aide-de-camp on the governors
staff felt at home amid such a dis
tinguished company, and he observed
any attempt to slight that section of
the state west of the Mississippi and
north of the cities with no little an
noyance.
A seventh member of the banqueting
II .JoJ-
rem. who came away down from his
home near Winnipeg, to attend the
meeting of the state normal school
board. which, by the way is not until
today, it was by the merest accident,
of course. that he and DR.. Cole struck
the same train coming down. Remark
able condolences, however, are so
familiar to the Fergus Falls medical
expert that his placid exterior was not
in the least ruff1ed when he found the
Marshall county statesman one Of his
fellow passengers.
The eighth member of the festive
party, possibly, to resort to the par
lance of the water, out of place as it
may be in connection with that dinner,
the strOke-oar, was Edgar Weaver, of
Mankato, president of the state fair
association, and frequently spoken of
by the thoughtful country press as a
worthy candidate TO succeed Gov
Clough in the corner room at the state
house.
From this it will be seen that the
meeting represented four of the seven
congressional districts of the state, and
there were surface indications around
that made it look like scheme to pull
Ed Weaver off the gubernatorial hobby
horse in favor Of eX-Lieut. Gov Rice.
who, 1T seems to grow surer and surer
daily, is designed by Gov. Clough to
be the lineal descendant Of the present
1ncumbent's strength. if the present
governor can swing it.
Mr.. Weaver, the G O b is reliably
informed, denied the soft impeachment
that he had been swarming a political
bee hive. He did admit that some of
his friends in the country press had
been kind enough to mention his name
in connection with the gubernatorial
nomination, but he had not the slight
est ambition in that direction. He was
too busy with the affairs of the state
fair. too, at this time, to be mixing up
in politics extensively. He hoped he
might participate, when the conyen-
items came, to the extent, perhaps, of
looking out for some Of his friends.
but further than that, he would not be
conspicuous in the Republican battle
OF 1898.
At this avowal of neutrality julius
H. Block looked from one corner of
his eye at Rice, evidently DESTROYS of
seeing whether the Willmar man
would betray, by look or otherwise
any incredulity. Block, you know, has
long had an ambition to be state
treasurer. He was August T. Koern-
er's chief opponent in the convention
of 1894, and while he did not make an
aggressive campaign in 1896, he took
good care to keep the party reminded
that if Mr.. Koerner was not to be re-
nominated, then Nicollet county had a
candidate who had once been thought
we'll Of Since then, too, the Anoka
hospital sensation had sprung up, and
there were considerations of discretion
which led the st. Peter man to keen
his fingers away from the main saw
last year. The continuation of the
hospital fray into the legislative ses-
sion of 1897, with it's accumulated ut
terness, has warned Mr. Block that
even yet 1t may be hard to break
through the ice and they do say that
Mr.. Block has assured Mr. Koerncr
that he will keep off the track in 1898.
He knows that the party needs, or is
likely to need, some good runners in
the race of eighteen that year, and
the Litchfield man has shown some
Mercurial heels to number of better
advertised politicians since he has
been mixing up with state tickets In
return, of course, Mr.. Koerner pro-
poses to do all he can for Mr.. Block
in 1900.
Now, one weapon which the friends
of Weaver, McCleary and Shell are
using to advance their favorites is
that the Second district has so long
been ignored in the distribution of
state plums that it is time change
was being made. Now should either
of these three be elected governor III
h. 70 Of