Evening star., 1898-10-27
DENSE APATHY. IN MICHIGAN
Voters Express Little Interest in the Present
Campaign,
Senator Burrows Friends Claim He
Will BE Re-EIected--PinEre
Political Antics.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich, October -, 1873.
The republican nomina tiups for the legis-
lature are now all in and the friends of
Senator Burrows are claiming that 81 of
the 132 nominees are pledged to him. This
is thirty more than necessary to elect, ii
all of them succeed at the polls, and, under
any circumstances, leaves a substantial
margin for shrinkase. Albert Packs claim
bureau is not saying much just yet, but ii
is intilnated in that quarter that between
fifty and sixty of the nominees under
mortgage to Pack, and that there will be
very little shrinkage, the candidates are
| mostly located in sure districts.
AS election day approaches there are
signs of an awakening interest in the cam
paign, but the apathy is still SO dense it
can be cut with a knife, and that the vote
will be very light is looked upon GER
tainty- The policy that Governor Plngree
is pursuing is not calculated to arouse any
| unbounded enthusiasm in republican cir
cles, and, as for the democratic campaign,
1t is n feeble affair at best, and the issues
pushed to the front are political chcstnats,
which the voters resolutely refuse to be-
come interested in.
PinEree Hits Right and Left.
Governor Pingree seems to think it his
mission to jump upon everything in sight,
and is doing 1t with both feet two and
three times day. During the summer
when the legislative arrangements
were being made in caucuses and
conventions, Pingree was too busi-
ly engaged in the war to give them
much attention. The Burrows forces had
practically everything their own way, and
when Pingree received his denomination on
September p and opened his campaign he
q
concerned, very little was left for him to
do. He does not like this situation. and is
endeaVoring to play even by denouncing
all the cherished traditions of the party
He is making two and three speeches daily
and in every one of them attacks Senators
Burrows and Mcmillan. and for variety he
goes for the state supreme court rough
shod and holds local nominees for the leg
islature, pledged to Burrows, up to scorn
Ihe Michigan republicans are not accus-
TONED to this from candidate of their
own nominating, and there seems an in
creasing heat under the party collar against
the old man." He will certainly be Sc
verely cut at the polls by his own party
but is hoping to make good his losses with
votes drawn from democratic and other
sources. He is counting on receiving
1orlty of at least 100000. and had he taken
to the woods Immediately after his renomi-
nation he would not have been disappoint-
ed. On the pool boards it is even money
now that he will not receive 10000 plurali-
political circles that he is steadily losing
ground. The situation is mixed that the
most experienced political guessers are at
sea as to what the result will be- and there
would be no great surprise if Pingree were
defeated y H.
The democratic canfpaign-s being conduct
ed almost entirely on free silver lines, and
free silver is not the issue it used to be to
catch the crowds. Within the past week
the proposed retirement of the greenbacks
mas been pushed to the front as a second
crime OF 73 that is contemplated, but it
does not seem to be arous.ng any great
alarm as yet. The war atrocty issue has
peen almost entirely dropped.
Outside Democratic Talent.
The democrats have Prof Mills of. Chica-
go and Ex-Governor John P. St. John in
the state to help out,th local talent. They
have also been doing much still hunt work
in the way of personally looking up the
voters. but the lack of funds makes this
far from thorough. Handbills dwelling
upon the extravagance of, the Pingree ad-
ministratfon are being scattered over the
J state and the republican indifference as to
what happens to Pingree facilitates their
circulation.
The democrats now hope to carry the
third. eighth and tenth districts, and count
the sixth debatable They are centering
tnelr efforts in these districts in the hope
or making good their claims, but the repub-
iicans are also rushing in the speakers and
literature. 1t is possible the democrats
may elect one of the three representatives
sney are counting as sure but they will
hardly DO better than that.
Ihe popuEsts have made nominations in
most OF the districts. and as the m.ddle-of-
the-roaders dislike the fusionists more cor
oiaily tnan they do the republicans, they
Will do all in their power to poll full vote
Tor their own candidates for the express
purpose of drawing from the fusion vote.
Ihe populist campaigns will be especially