, 1900-12-29
SITUATION.


ships will occupy the attention of con
gressmen and men engaged in nation
al politics for the next thirty or forty
days, beginning after the holidays.
Most of the recently elected legisla-
lures will assemble early in January.
Their principal business will be to
elect senators and to reapportion the
congressional districts. AS the latter
duty can not be performed until con
gress passes the reappointment act,
the senatorial contests will come off
first.
Not in many years has there been
such general interest in the senatorial
elections as at present. Competition
for seats in the upper legislative body
seems to be keener than ever before.
and in prominent states there are
prospects of long and bitter fights. 1t
Is believed that there will be fewer
-deadlocks than usual. The consistent
attitude of the ena upon the ques,
ton OF appointees following Il dead,
lock tends to discourage this proce-
dure.
AS Is well known, the senate will not
seat a man appointed by a governor
after the Legislature has failed to
elect. 1t is in the power of the legisla-
ture to thwart the will Of the majority.
with the aid OF the governor.
Those states in which the battle for
the senate will attract more attention
than others are Illinois, Nebraska,
Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
New Hampshire and Colorado. While
the terms of thirty United States sen
ators expire Marchi, next, the inter.
est Is not the same in all cases.
The contest in Illinois will attract a
great deal of attention. on account .!
the prominence of the men who will
engage in it and the inevitable stub
bcrnness of the struggle. Senator ,;ul.
lom holds the seat and Will e. ;eavor
to retain it. He has servad eighteen
years in the senate of she United
states, n has held public office. In
n shape or another. the gift OF the
people OF the state of Illinois, for for.
ty-ive years. AS City Attorney, mem,
Der OF the state house of representa-,
tives, speaker Of that body, member OF
the house of representatives of the I'm,
tied States, governor of Illinois and
United States senator, political all the
time, his career has been distinguish.
ed.
The most strenuous candidates for
Mr.. Cuiiom's seat are members OF the
Illinois delegation in the house. and
Ex-Governor Tanner. Uncle joe
Cannon, the chairman of the appropri.
atoms committee, and one of the most
influential members of the house, is
prominent in the race. He is some
thing Of an old-timer himself in office
holding. He was states attorney, be.
ginning in 1871, for seven years. and
then came to the Forty.third congress,
and has held a sea In the house con.
t~inuously since then, with the keep
ton of the Fifty-second congress.
Representative Hit. chairman of the
committee on foreign affairs. is a can.
didate. He has served eighteen wears
in congress, and was assistant secre-
tary OF state during an intermission
Of his legislative career. He is a man
OF wealth, and so popular In his part
Of the state thai no one contests his
denomination.
The voluntary retirement of Sena-
tor Thurston, of Nebraska. occurring
at a time when the Nebraska legisla-
ture, happily, is republican, has pre-.
cipitated the biggest kind of a fight in
that state. There are two senators
to be elected. Thompson. from south
OF the Platte, and Assistant Secretary
Of Wal Mieklejohn, from the north, are
the leading candidates. Editor Rose.
water, OF the Omaha Bee. is making
a desperate struggle for one of the
places, but his chances are almost
hopeless. RoSewater's chief animos
ty seems to be against Representative
Mercier, from Rosewater's city, who
a been ten years in the house. and
who has been urged by his friends to
be a candidate. There have been ru.
mors Of an anti-republican combination
in the legislature, but it Is not likely
to succeed.
Pennsylvania will furnish a repeti.
ton of the anti-Quay fight Of long
standing. A caucus of the republican
legislators will be held on the night
Of January l, which will furnish a dis.
play Of strength between his followers
and he Wanamaker forces. There is
talk Of combinations Of independent
republicans and democrats, which may
succeed In defeating Quay, but the reg
ular republicans will spare no effort
to send the veteran Pennsylvania to
the senate with credentials which can
not be challenged, as was the govern
or's appointment last winter.
In Delaware, the Addicks and Du-
bois factions promise an exciting al
though possibly brief contest. The
present outlook 10 for the election of
Addicks and ex-senator Higgins to the
long and short term, respectively.