Omaha daily bee., 1898-08-30
DISCORD AMONG FUSIONISTS
Almost Every Portion Of the State Has Its
Troubles, Great and Small.
PASS HOLDERS ARE HAVING A HARD TIME
Democrats and Popuiists at outs in
Several
tion over Legislative
Nominations.

| LINCOLN, Aug 2s-(special THE
quarreling. back biting and threatening
among the reform forces is not all con-
I fined TO Richardson county. although there
I Is more trouble there to the square mile
! than in any other part Of the state There
never has been good feeling in Otoe be-
tween the democrats and pops and the
failure to fuse on the county ticket last
year widened the breach There is a pre-
tense OF unity there on the state ticket this
year. but those who are well acquainted in
the county say that there will be a great
turningover this fall. the republican gain
coming about equally from the two reform
/ parties.
In Cas- county the democratic delegates
/ who left the congressional convention
shouting "hurrah for Burkett' are still
causing trouble and the assertion made By
certain popocratlc oficeholders that "the
! boiling delegates are without character or
| influence and cannot control their own
votes" has induced the boilers and their
/ friends to take the field and work openly
against the fusion candidate for congress, in
an endeavor to furnish proof that they can
influence several votes besides their own.
striking sample OF fusion harmony"
comes from Gage and Saline counties and
4
county Independent. the leading popullst
paper Of the county, which says:
Last Saturday Dan Freeman of Gage
| county held populist float convention al
! this place and nominated himself a candi-
4 date to be voted for by the fusion parties
Of Gage and Saline for the Legislature. The
convention was called by the committeeman
OF Gage, but he had previously been nctif'ed
| by this county that we were not ready TO
| hold joint convention. Saline was tn-
! titled to the candidate according 10 q IreCe-
| dent long established between the two coun-
| ties, but the old homesteader seemed to be
| much stuck on the honor OF receiving the
nomination though defeat was sure to fol-
low that brand of politics. Not a delegate
| from Saline was present, but Daniel was
satisfied. Two years ago the same fellows
/ did the same thing. They came here with 4
| delegation, picked up few voters in Dewitt,
! held convention. nominated their pet, Mr..
| Bush, and got glorlously defeated at the
polls. That kind OF political trickery never
| will result favorably to a party and Mr..
| Freeman will find it so in November. When
! the populsts meet in convention al Pleas
| ant Hill in September they must not forget
to place In nomination a good honest Saline
county man for the Office OF float representa-
tive and show the bulIdoZets from Gage that
their way Of doing political work is not the
kind we want in Saline.
In Adams county the principal democratic
paper made vicious attack on Representa-
tive Fernow. who is candidate for re-elec-
ton, which leads the Hastings Public Jour
nal, populist paper, to remark:
Had Mr. Fernop been q democrat the four
column article which was published last week
would not have appeared in their sheet. Cry
fusion and harmony and give every populist
q stab in the back who will not agree TO
stand pat.
In HoIcomb's Home County.
In Custer county Representative Webb
was turned down in the county convention
because he was known to carry a railroad
pass. Now Webb and his friends, while
making a show of supporting the fusion
ticket, lose 70 opportunity Of reminding
! their farmer friends that Representative
Eastman. who was renominated. also carries
pass, and that the state officials are break
ing the record in the pass business. Custer
county "reformers" are also in trouble be-
cause they have in their ranks q defaulting
county treasurer, defaulting county Judge
and so many defaulting tax collectors and
popocrstic postmasters that there is polit-
ical scandal in almost every precinct. The
decent people there are tired OF Bill Greene,
and Senator Beal, who served as a member
OF TIE "Mutz shifting committee" is also SO
unpopular that he is sure to be beaten by
F. NJ Currie, his republican opponent.
l IN county tkSpIcScutHLlNt W ASSiti
another member Of the shifting commit
tee" was rerominGted a few days ago, and
when he started 10 make a speech accepting
the honor an old farmer asked him II be
| accented railroad passes. Wheeler was cor
| nered and Rad to admit that he carried
passes on two or three roads, but made the
excuse that all the other members OF the
legislature did the same. This was not par
ticularly reassuring TO the farmer voters OF
Furnas county, and it is said the pass scan
dals will induce many OF the populist vot-
ers 10 desert the party.
In discussing the general political situa
tion few days ago prominent populist OF
the southeast part Of the state. who was
| one of the earliest free silver shouteEs and
who has the credit of having converted
Bryan TO the free coinage belief, said 70
Tho Bee reporter: 1T Jocks like the money
question is played ou;. for the present at
least Along about ten years from now
We will have another spell of hard times
and then there will be another struggle
over the financial question, perhaps in a
different form. The silver agitation was,
l have come to conclude. natural out
growth Of the hard times and 1t has been
showed under by the good times. The re-
turn OF prosperity is losing US many votes,
particularly among the foreign element and
would not ne surprised 10 see the NnoIe
fusion ticket whipped this fall" In speak
ing further OF one of the campaign lodges
now being adopted by the state officials, the
old populist farmer said: 1T won't do.
Il is too easy 10 see through They boast
about the amount Of money they have piled
up in the laEt two years. hut IN the change
in the times the republicans might have
done just as well. The state oficers act as
II they were coming that money out of
nothing. as II the taxpayers ell over the
state have had no part in furnishing the
money"