Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-03-25

marck poaiical s~ituatior1as follows:
The official call for a city election has
been issued here, but so far no nomina-
tions have been made for city offices,
although it is generalb.understood that
r. G. Patterson, the present mayor, will
be a candidate for reelection, and no
candidate has yet been nominated
against him. The election will be of
especial interest this year for the reason
that it has been claimed by enemies Of
the present mayor through the state
that if he is reelected, the issue of cap
iitol removal will be forced in the next
legislature and adetermined effort made
,to remove it. Interest in the coming
mayoralty fight has been intense ever
since the mishaps that befell Editor
Moffet, of the Settler, early last year,
when his:ofice was wrecked and an at
tempt dfterward made to shoot him, al
though the general belief is that the
latter incident owes it's prominence to
ex~aggeration. But at any rate, the state
press took.up the misfortunes of Moffet,
and for several months there were bitter
roasts Of Patterson and the ''gang"
from papers call over the state. The
newspaper war on Bismarck was led by
Winship and the Grand Forks Herald,
which has always been. opposed to the
location of the capitol at Bismarck, and
claims were made at that time that the
capitol would be removed.
PATTERSON has already served two
terms as mayor and go far as finance is
conceSned has made a capable official.
The city affairs have been economically
administered and no one has any COIN
plant to make Of that score. The OBJ
lection which the political enemies of
Patterson make is that he has brought
the city into d%isrepute through his fail
ure to bring the assailants of Moffet to
justice, and that his reelection will
FORGET the capital city into a fight to
maintain the capitol. So far the oppo.
sition to him as a candidate has not
taken any definite form.
The career of Patterson in this city
has been an interesting one, and shows
that the man has a deal of native pluck,
sagacity and political shrewdness. He
came here asa barber when 10 years of
age, and remained in that business
eight or ten years. His first appearance
as a politician, peculiarly enough, was
under the direction of Motfet, E. S.
Neal, l. P. Baker and other politicians.
of the faction which isonox so bitterly
opposing him. For several years Pat
%terson, with the present states attorney,
E. S. Allen, were leaders of the .Moffet
crowd, and as bitter opponents of the
present ''gang'' as the Moffetc crowd now
is of them. After the city election of
1892, however, Patterson transferred
his allegiance to the opposition and for
seok M9ffet, since which time the latter
has been especially bitter in his crit.
cisms Of Patterson. Patterson was first
elected alderman, afterward appointed
mayor pro TEN of the city and elected
mayor in 1896. In 1897 he was re-elect-
ed without opposition, and he wants re-
election this year asa sort of vindica.
ton. He has been for the past five
years a warm friend and supporter of
Alex. Mckenzie and looks to him for
support in the present fight. His polit.
ical services to Mckenzie and Hans
trough we're rewarded by the appoint
ment of his wife ..aas postmaster, an
Office which Patterson could have had,
but which he didnot want, for the rea-
son that it would have prevented him
from taking part, in politics.