The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-04-26
LOOKS LIKE DESPERATION
REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE IS
STRIVING TO SAVE COUNCIL

STRIVING TO SAVE COUNCIL
Billy johnson Comedies Kiefer's
Defeat, and Can't Understand the
Action of German Voters-The
Party Lash to Be Applicability
Clerks Office the Medium for the
Distribution of Literature.
Filler Horton remains, nominally, at
the head of the Republican campaign
committee, but Col. Kiefer has alto
gether broken with the committee, as
was foreshadowed q week ago. Horton
gives 1t out that he stays on the COM
mittee only for the sake of the coun-
Gil ticket, but the city candidates will
continue the still hunt they have been
making themselves during the past
week
I'm not like fellow that would lie
down." said Billy Johnson yesterday,
to an intimate friend, "but If the COL
onel Is elected now 1t will be by the
grace of God and not by anything that
we can do for him. If the application
of the party lash is not effective, it s
all off with us. 1 had an idea that the
Germans would gather around Kiefer
to a man, but, upon my soul, don't
understand their apathy. He has made
forty talks to them In German. The
Lord knows what he told them, but
1t seemed to be all right at the time.
Now they are laying down on us in a
fashion that shows it's off,
IT don't know where the leak is. but
suppose it's Horst. He's q pretty
weak sister. and, although the old
man has not tied to him anywhere,
and has refused to appear with him in
public, they seem to be charging his
acts up to Kiefer. The rest Of them
can do what they like, but I'm going
through with Kiefer, If he HASN'T a
with him at the finish. IT'S a dirty
shame the way they have thrown him.
Il have arranged to have
those Seventh ward fellows no
titled that they had better get
into line If they want Anything
IN the fall, but I don't suppose it will
do any good, for they can come into
convention and swamp us withiut any
trouble. The party lash is the only
thing, though, and that is all the speak
ers will use during the week. Reese
and Rogers are worth more than all
| the other takers now, and they'll warm
the chilly ones up. That police assess
ment was sucker play, and it hurt
| U.s."
1hCiC dIS pltuty u people OIL the
same opinion as Mr.. Johnson, and 1t
is absurd to suppose that the Republi-
can business men will turn the city
treasury over to be looted by the
| crowd that Is now On top in Republican
politics for the sake Of the threats of
Billy Johnson and the possible enmity
of such lights Of the Republican party
I as George Gerlich, Joe Davis, Charlie
Horst, Red Griffin and others of the
same caliFber
Col. Kiefer is much more conciliatory
and less bold than he was couple of
weeks ago. He has been reading the
signs Of the times, and he does not
want to disaffect Republicans whom he
may want to use in the fall. He feels
that Ed Rogers is too much in evidence
in this campaign, and the colonel is
self too strongly before the party with
the fall elections in sight.
If Kiefer is beaten badly-as he I'M
doubtedly will be-he will attribute his
defeat to the weight Of the ticket, a
Democratic landslide, Or something of
that kind. and proceed to use the
present county organization to secure
for himself the nomination for con-
gress. Stevens will not be here, and
is, Of course, politically dead. There is
no one in the colonel's way but Rogers,
and it is now the colonelsl policN to
be a good fellow personally with every
body, whether he gets the Republican
vote or not, and be in position TO
bold the Republican machine
Rogers feels that he is going to be
thrown, and in his speeches he talks
about national issues only, with view
to impressdng people with the idea that
he. is conversant with public affairs.
He keeps a pretty close watch on the
colonel, and insists on being on the
programme at every meeting at which
K1efer IS present. ;a, t
The efforts of the committee are d.
rected to saving as many councilmen
as possible, for, although they prac-
tically concede the election of DR..
Schiffmann, they feel that would not
be so much Of calamity If they had
the council. That ds where the fight
is. The matter Is as definitely and
positively settled, so far as the Mayor
atty Is concerned, as though the ballots
were counted.
for a majority of the council. They
count on the First, Seventh, Tenth and
Eleventh wards as sure on aldermen.
They reckon on Albrecht, Craig, Dix
and Thompson as tolerably sure on the
assembly ticket and they are after a.
few others. 1t is likely that they will
concentrate their work in few wards
W IIldhe up enough ON UneSe C1CkGCS TO
control
Practically all of the work that Is
now mapped out is to pull Knauft and
Reeves through in the Second and
Fifth.
An arrangement was made to have
the Ninth thoroughly worked, personal
ly, and through the mails, by the cler-
ical force in the city hall. But this Is
rather hopeless, this work in the Ninth.
1t will give Schiffmann at least 400 and
Murphy Is bound to run up. The work
that is being done through the city
clerks office will be supplemented by
the speakers and workers doing all they
can for Fitzgerald as second choice
The proposition is that If they can use
Fitzgerald for tool to pull some of the
Irish Americans Of the ward away from
Murphy 1t will make it easier for Lar
son. He is conceded to be an exceed
ingly dead candidate, but 1t is worth
while spending a few hundred dollars
to get him through. A couple Of clerks
in the city clerks office were working
yesterday afternoon sending out cards
and personally addressed letters to the
voters of the ward, urging them to vote
for Larson.
The machinery Of the administration
is being used as far as possible in these
ward contests. There are two men at
work in the city clerks office. Two of
the elevator men and three employees
of the court house and city hall COM
mission are out at work. The clerical
staff people in the city attorneys office
are at work; the members Of the poliee
force have been engaged in politics
only for three weeks. Davis and Pothen
were seen at work Sunday for the first
l.,