Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1902-08-14

cere belief that no community" in the
county had any. Ii any such bosses or
masters have ever existed in the coun-
ty or it's communities, they must have
been developed since / left the county
in June, 1895. Prior to that time after
| Dane county became part of the Third
Congressional district and down to the
time when it ceased to be part of that
district, we had no need of local "boss-
es" or masters" and no room for them
in our county or communities. We
had general ''boss" and master of
the whole district who assumed and
discharged all the duties appertaining
to ''bossing" and "mastership" himself
bv means of the "machine' which he
organized and controlled. No Repub-
lican voter in Grant county whose
memory extends back to the time when
Mr.. LaFollette represented that dis
trict in Congress, needs to be told who
that "boss" and master" was. Nor by
what means his first nomination for
Congress in that district was obtained.
Nor how his subsequent nominations
there were secured.
The primary impulse which led the
men who founded the Republican party
to leave the parties to which they had
formerly belonged, and combine to-
gether under that name was resist
ance to the further spread of African
or negro slavery. And yet you calmly
and even apparently proudly admit
that you have been, even if you are not
now, in condition Of slavery as alb
| iect, and under the control of your re-
spective -'bosses" and masters" as ab-
solutely, and owned by them as COM
pietely, as was ever the case with the
negroes.
But if that statement was ever true,
is it still true? If the state of things
there set forth ever existed, does it
still exist?
| If it does, then mot county, not a
community, but still has it's boss and
master" who in turn still has "his high
er up in the feudal system" which still
controls "the commonwealth" And
in that case Mr.. LaFollette himself
and those associated with him in the
administration of the affairs of the
commonwealth" must necessarily
have been chosen in the way and by
the agencies there described, and must
therefore be not the servants of the
people but the abject tools of the men
who bought the nomination and own
the officials" Is that what you wish
to be understood as saying when you
approve of that statement made by
Mr.. LaFollette?
If you do not mean to say that it is
true as to Mr.. LaFollette and the pres
ent administration when do you wish
to be understood as saying that it
ceased to be true and the machine"
ceased to have such control?
All of the other members of the
present administration were elected
two years before he was, and on the
same ticket with ex-Gov. Scofield.
Was it true then? Was Mr.. James 0.
Davidson of Soldiers Grove, who, |
believe, has apparently been chosen by
you, declared good enough by you now
to be your candidate for lieutenant
governor, chosen in the way and by
the agencies described by Mr.. LaFol-
lette. so that while state treasurer for
the first two years at least, he was not
the servant of the people but the ab-
iect tool of the man who bought the
nomination" and owned him? Is that
what you mean? If you wish to be
understood as saying that the mach
! inc" had not then been smashed, but
still existed, and had such dominion
and control, as is therein stated, how
do you explain his selection and cleo
ton, and that of his colleagues on the
ticket then elected? You will hardly
claim, will you, that that ticket was
selected by Mr. LaFollette? For, If |
remember, he failed, though he tried
hard to secure place upon it, and has
never been even accused, so far as L
have heard, of wearing himself out in
endeavoring to secure its election
But if he did not select and elect 1t,
who did? Was it the people? Ii so,
wwat had become of the terrible mach
! inc?
Do you wish to be understood as
charging, by your approval OF that
statement, that ex-Gov. Upham and
those elected on the same ticket with
him were chosen in the way and by
the agencies there stated, and were not
'.the servants of the people, but the
abject tools of men who had bought
the nomination and owned the otfic-
| ials"
Do you mean to charge that ex-Gov.
Hoard and those elected with him, one
of whom was, believe, one of your
selves, were so chosen and owned?
! And [ ask you the same question res
! D0CUluQ COIOIlllctu NI. IGuoh VIII, l. ~
iieve, was governor from January, 1882,
to January, 1889, and those elected
with him on the three occasions when
he was chosen, on one of which the
same citizen of your county above re-
ferred to was elected with him.
Also respecting VIM. E. Smith and
Harrison Ludington and those elected
with them respectively.
Also respecting G. G. Washburn,
Lucius Fairchild (the latter three
times chosen), James T. Lewis, Edward
Solomon, L. P. Harvey, A. W. Randall
and Coles Bashford and those elected
with the respectively. All of these
men have been chosen by the Republi-
can party since it's formation, and are
all that have been so chosen to the
office of governor prior to the election
of Mr. LaFollette, II your approval
does not include all of those men and
the officials elected with them will you
kindly tell us which of Thorn you do
mean it to include.
AS the language of that remarkable
| cooTnc tn annlu tO the mast