The Minneapolis journal., 1903-10-17

" LIE SURVEYOR, By Edward Stratemeyef
Boston: Lee & Shepard Minneapolis: N.
Mccarthy. Price so cents net.
MINNESOTA POLITICS
4Iier Horizons Candidacy for Congress,
and His Significant Van SAINT Talk
George Finn on the Examination of the
Auditors Office-Press Comment on
Politics.
St. Paul. bids fair to furnish as lively
doings politically next year as Minneapolis
at, her worst. Besides the Donahower-
Hallam controversy over the attorney gen.
eralship, Hiler Horton continues to give
evidence that he is in earnest about con-
testing the congressional nomination with |
Fred G. Stevens. Senator Horton is not |
slow to declare his intentions. Politicians !
are wondering, however, what he Is get
ting at by his declaration that Van SAINT
will be renominated for governor. Hitler
has never been a rantankerous anti |
for Van SAINT out Of personal considera- !
tions. It is evident that he expects to
profit politically by standing as a Van
SAINT man. p, ,4~ ....-.z @@ -. .-...-..
Ramsey county surprised people last
year when it gave Van SAINT a majority.
AS Tie center OIL. TdllTOdO -lnLuSnCe III the
state, every one supposed it would show a
margin on the other side The labor vote
went republican, however, and evidently
the Van SAINT influence in the county is
not to be overlooked. Senator Horton
seems to be making a bid for it. Con-
gressman Stevens has kept aloof from
controversies on state questions, and
has never been in antagonisn to the state
administration. OF course. he will not
allow himself to be smoked out on either
side in the governorship contest.
Few have counted Horton as a danger
Gus rival for Stevens but he is not at all
slow as a politician, and recent develop
ments would indicate that there is some
thing doing.''
A paragraph in this column Thursday
evening has called out an interview from
George A. Finn, manager for Bob Eunn's
political interests The statement with
which he takes issue was that Public Ex-
aminer Johnson's investigation of the
state auditors office would have much to
do with Dunn's success or failure. Mr..
Finn says that owing to the well known
unfriendly attitude of Mr.. Johnson toward
the former auditor, his report cannot have
much effect one way or the other. The
report, if fair and impartial, must show
a number Of things Mr.. Dunn has accom-
plished for the good Of the state, such as
raising the valuation of the iron mines,
settlement of the railroad land grants, etc.
Mr.. Finn and q good many others seem
to be under a misapprehension about the
examination Of the auditors office. 1t has
grown out of the legislative investiga-
tions Of last winter, when the public ex-
aminer was commissioned to check up the
auditor and treasurer. There was not
time enough during the session. It was
found that no thoro examination Of the
books had been made for a number of
years, and as the law makes it the public
examiners duty to check up these Of
fees, work was resumed in the summer
by the same accountant who had worked
in the winter, John Barry Of Minneapolis.
Mr.. Barry is not conducting political
investigation. He is a bookkeeper, and it
is his duty to see that the records tally.
If he finds that the law has not been COM
piled with, or that accounts do not come
out straight, it is his duty to so report
Mr. Dunn's achievements on behalf of the
state school fund and increased taxation
for the iron properties are well known,
and they have no place in an expert ac-
countant's report.
There is no reason to think that the ex-
animation Is conducted for a political pur-
pose, but it is bound to have a political
effect as stated the other day.
Editor Verify of the Wadena Tribune
cannot see why friends of Bob Dunn
should object to the suggestion that he
declare himself on the merger and other
public questions. Says the Tribune:
THE people of the state, as rule have
the utmost faith and confidence in Mr..
Dunn's integrity and his devotion to the
interests Of the commonwealth They do
not believe that he will if elected, be the
creature of any corporation or of any set
Of corporations. His past record is a
guaranty that he will perform any duties
which may devolve upon him in salts
factory manner. It is not believed that he
has ever gone on record in any manner
which can be construed as friendly to the
merging of any railways.
AS matter of fact, if our memory
serves us correctly, Mr.. Dunn is on re-
cord emphaticaIly as opposed to mer-
gers of any and all descriptions, and
that he is opposed to the merging of the
Great Northern and Northern Pacific, as
well as of the Duluth and Iron Range and
the Duluth, Missabe and Northern.
If these be the facts why should not
Mr.. Dunn obtain the benefit of his record.
The merger questionAis a live one in Min :
nesota politics and it is futile to assert
that it is dead. At the same time it is
not good sense or good political policy to
contend that Governor Van SAINT is the
only man prominent In republican councils
who is able and willing to cope with it,
There has been no division upon the ques-
ton in the republican ranks heretofore
and there will be none in the coming cam
paign."
Mr.. Verify is partly correct. Mr.. Dunn
did go on record, soon after Governor Van
SAINT announced his intention to break I'D
the merger. The trouble was that he did
not allow that record to stand, and about
two months later, after returning from
New York, he gave out an interview in
which he said: I believe that the fight
| against Mr.. Fill is inspired by railway
companies and I am heartily out of sym
pathy with it." He has never corrected
! that interview or amended his position,
but it is thought that he will as soon as
he decides to take the public into his con-
/ fdence.
The Princeton Union remarked recently:
Queer. Is it not, every newspaper in
the state that is sounding the praises rot
| Governor Van SAINT refers to Frank
4 Eddy in very complimentary terms? Van
SAINTS and Eddy's friends seem to have
an understanding
To which the Elbow Lake Herald re
plies:
Nothing queer about It. Robert. Those
newspapers which endorse the course OF
] Governor Van SAINT cannot consistently