Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-09-21
Pierre and Mitchell, S. D., Now
Ready To Renew Their
Struggle
INTERNEclNE WAR AT PIERRE
Internal Discussions There Have Grown
Very Bitter, But There Are Also Ser
ious Divisions at Mitchell---Basis of
MteheIrs Claim to the Capital
Campaign BIunders.


and Mitchell having begun. ,sbout the
first of this month, their campaigns of
organization. Each of the contestants
claims to have discovered new elements
of strength and each is predicting vic
tory for itself.
The men at the head of the Mitchell
though Chairman II. l.. BrAs, repre-
sented Dawson county several times in
the state legislature. Closely associated
with him are a large number of Nit
chell's leading business and profession
al men, as an advisory board, with for
mer Public Examiner LeClaire. of Alb
erdeen, as secretary of the capital COM
mittee, and Clate Tinan OF the Kimball
! Graphic. in charge of the newspaper
end of the campaign. Mr.. Leslaire was
selected for secretary on account of his
state wide acquaintance, and Mr.. Tinan
was chosen because of his facility as
a writer ability as an organizer. and
popularity as a newspaper man. The
Mitchell working force represents all
shades of political and religious opin-
ion.
Pierre selected for its chairman John
Sutherland, a lawyer of superb organic
ing ability, who is Well known for his
gunshoe methods in politics He gen
orally accomplishes what he under
takes. While nominally a republican,
he has acted for several years with the
democrats and populists, and in 1898
he organized an "insurgent republican"
movement which defeated h. g. Phil
lips for governor. Associated with him
as his closest adviser is Taomas II.
Ayres, who has an enyiable reputation
as an organizer. These gentlrment havf
given recent evidences of their p
in their home town, where all is not
harmony.
Internecine War at Pierre.
Formerly there was a close corpora
ton composed of Congressman Burke,
Attorney Horner. and Stewart and
Banker Cummins. who ran things about
as they liked. The most serious revolt
occurred in the spring of 1902. when
the machine candidate TOR mayor was
defeated by the Sutherland -Ayres can
.didate Mr.. Burke was candidate for
nomination for congress- and the IN
surgents told him he could name the
delegation from his county, provided he
would leave off the names of half
dozen of his closest personal friends,
including the other members of the
machine. BY agreeing to comply with
the insurgents request he was permit
ted to go into the state convention with
the support of his county.
g b,,ti sci - n
on before the meeting of the last leg
islature the Pierre interests were again
placed In the hands of the machine and'
unfortunately for them, thay lost.
The capital committee WIS organized,
and Sutherland was mace chairman.
Burke and his friends resented the APP
poSntment, and made two strong EFFORTS
to have il cancelled, but were defeated
Overwhelmingly in mass meetings OF
Pierre citizens.
But Pierre has not had monopoly
of Internal dissensions. Mitchell mas
had trouble of her own. Everything
was harmonious until after the ad-
iournment of the legislature. Then dis
satisfaction WAS expressed on account
of too much power having been center
ed in Chairman Bras Complains were
made that his actions wEre arbitrary,
and finally 1t was decided to hedge MIN
q bout with committees, SO that he coula
not be too much OF an altocrat.
The Pierre committee SUM up thelr
arguments as follows: Pierre, by pop
lllar vote. was declared tie capital, II
is near the geog raph!cal center OF the
state. people are taking homesteads IN
the country west OF the Missouri river.
The people Of Pierre have invested their
money in that city with the under
standing that 1t was TO be the perna-
rent capital, and financial loss VIII re-
suit to them il the capital is moved.
The last is their strongest argument
and the one that viii have effect In get
ting votes for thefi.
Arguments FOR M tchell.
The Mitchell con- ,ntion is that Pierre
Is not suitable le alton, being remote
from the center population, with
only one railroad running into it, poor
hotel accommodations fur which high
prices are charged, town that is de-
ereasing n population and is not cred
liable as a state capital--all of which
they say, is proven by the fact that
there has been a capital removal fight
on at each session of the legislature
that has met at Pierre, and that suci
fights will continue until the capital is
located somewhere else.
Fer Mitchell they claira central To-
cation as to population, good train ser
vice from all parts of The state, eX-
cept the Black Hills, and from there
an advantage OF one days journey over
Pierre: that Mitchell has grown on
account of its superior location TO fully
three times the size of Pierre, that 1t
has in course of construction a hotel
$50 by 100 feet and four stories above
the basement, has other good hotels.
is erecting a city hall, with steel vaults
and assembly rooms and offices. much
better suited for state capitol build
ing than the one at Pierre, and which
the state can use as long as may be de-
sired, free of cost.
All of this, and much more, is pointed
out by the Mitchell mel as Favorable,
to their cause.
Some serious blundera have appeared
on both sides, even Thus early in the
campaign. The first one was scored
against Chairman Bras of Mitchell on
account OF letter he wrote to the lot
owners OF Mitchell urging them to pay
their assessments. He undertook to
tell them in how competent hands their
funds would be placed, and explained
that the Mitchell committee had done
their work so we'll tina. when the leg
islature met they controlled" every