The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-08-30
CANDIDATES For CONGRESS.

CANDIDATES FOR CONGRESS.
The lveliest Republican cam
palgn that the voters of Minneapolis
and Hennepin county have witnessed
for many years is that now being cOl-
Quoted by Loren Fletcher, Eugene
G. Hay and James \. Peters n for
Congress. Your Uncle Loren has
the support of Thomas ii. Shevlin, M
tional Republican committeeman Of
Minnesota. and all the corporate inter-
ests; Hay has the silk-stockinged ele-
ment OF the party among the young
men, and Peterson has the common,
plain people, who against their own
interests still adhere to the party of
plutocracy. No wonder that Mr. Shev-
lin, the lumber baron, is alarmed at
the divisions Of the g. 0. p. and favors
the repeal of the primary election law
which he holds responsible for the dis
integration. He thinks that the bad
feelings pngendered in the prelim-
mary contest for the nomination will
not die out after September 1G, but
will be alive on the ides of November
and prove disastrous to the Republic
can nominee who will he pittad
against John Lind. And Boss Shevlin
is right. The party is now in bad
shape and is daily growing worse.
Eugene G. Hay and James A. Peter
son are after Loren Fletchers scalp,
and if they do not defeat him at the
primary election they will do so later
on in November Fletcher is vulner-
able to their criticism, and he knows
it. Instead of conciliating them, as a
prudent politician should do, he only
irritates them by impugning their in
tegrity. At his instlgation one of
the corporation organs referred to
Peterson as "a demagogue" because
he worked and voted for the passage
Of the bill for the taxation of cor
pOrations in the state legislature last
old, whose hot blood courses through
his veins, Peterson resents the i'm
putation and takes up Fletcher's do
ings in Washington as given in the
Congressional Record, from which he
shows that FletGhe" acted Il double
part during the past session. While
his private secretary was telling
Fletchcr's constituents in the Mime
alolis Tribune that their Congressman
was striking the sugar trust heavy
blows. the Congressional Record
shows the reverse. Fletcher opposed
the Nicaragua canal from the begin
ming and reluctantly vote, FIR the
Panama canal toward the close of
the session, because. us he said, there
was a universal sentiment through
out the land for canal of some
kind" lie voted against the removal
Of the d:ferentinl duty Oh refined
sugar and voted fM' the sale of the
timber on Chippewa Indian lands AT
public auction to the highest bidder"
instead of only by separate sealed
bids" as in the Morris bill. This he
did i'll THE interest Of the people con-
nectel with the lumber business t,
quote his own words in Congress.
With thirty other members of the
House of Representatives he voted as
an "insurgent' against the Cuban
reciprocity bill. Peterson makes all
these charges against Fletcher and
gives the page Of the Congressional
| Record to substantiate his state
ments. AS Peterson gets no hearing
in the three Republican papers OF the
city he has to hold meetings in all
parts of the district to reach the
voters and is making an effective
campaign.
In Il speech tine ether evening
Fletcher deliberately hinted that the
sugar trust was back of Ibis oppo-
nents against him. despite the fact
that Willingly or unwittingly he
served the sugar trust by his vote
against the EEhan reciprocity bill He
said: IF it We're uut for the velvet
hand Of the sugar trust InOnkeying
around in this congressional district,
there wouldn't be so much opposition
to your Uncle Loren today
This only made Peterson laugh, but
Hay took it seriously and propounded
through his organ, the Evening Jour
nal, four questions which he called
upon Fletcher to answer. OF course.