The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-06-27
Crist OF the
Political Mill


At least one third-term proposition
IN the makeup of the next Republican
state ticket is not to go unchallenged
State Treasurer Block will not be nom
mated for third term without a fight
And, incidentally, if present indications
go Tor anything like their face value
the Nlcollet county man must arrange
10 serve the state in another capacity
aIter Jan. 1, 1905, if he purposes longer
10 favor the state with his services.
q q
BLOCK has been one of the least OBJ
1ectionable officials of the present re-
gime. inaugurated in 1901. He has es-
capped trouble with the people and the
wheel horses of his party quite as sue
cessfully as Secretary of State Peter
Il. Hanson, who is also a third term
proposition. This fact, coupled with a
snow OF precedent, makes Blocks re-
nomination possible The temper of
the party leaders, as shown a year be-
lore the convention, makes it rather
improbable
q o
Opposition to Block has DEVELOPED
and shown decidedly surprising
growth. The opposition is not to Block
in personal sense so much as it is to
the third-term idea. The Republicans
are urging that Minnesota is a big
state and that it will take long time
to pass the good things around even
on the two-term basis.
q q
Some of them insist there is no
longer a precedent for a third term
nomination to any state office. They
say the third term precedent was for
ever buried by the last conventions
refusal to give Oar Reese a third NOM
ination for clerk of the supreme court
This does not appeal very strongly to
another faction that claims the clerk
ship of the supreme court is not even a
tWo-term office and that Reese was an
exception to a one-term rule which
governs. In substantiation Of this ar
gument they cite Holcomb and Jones'
q q
But the One-termerS are in an insig-
nlticant minority. The two-term idea
will undoubtedly prevail, except in
isolated cases for a long time. That
this will be true of the two-term Of
fees seems apparent. 1t is especially
true, so far as the present demonstra-
ton is concerned, of the treasurers
office
FORMER Representative Peter J.
Schwarg, of Dodge county, is out for
nc mination to Blocks shoes. The
strength he has gathered is surprising
and some of his friends, including those
who are friends possibly only in the
political sense, insist that he will land
the nomination in walk. This as
sumption is undoubtedly a bit prema-
ture, as it is probably based on the
theory that Schwarg is to have the
field alone with Block.
q y
1t is only fair to Block to assume
that he is too astute to submit to any
such arrangement if he can help it.
And ordinarily it is not so difficult to
convince several gentlemen that a
nomination awaits only their asking.
The Schwarg people figure that they
will have nothing to fear from the Sew
enth district in the way of a candidate.
With Clague out of the running for
state office. in the popular political
mind the Seventh district is up to Eddy
and Ed Young.
The politicians believe Eddy will be
nominated for governor or Ed Young
will get the attorney general billet, and
that in either case the single nominal
ton will tell the Seventh district story
on the state ticket. Thus summariIy
reading Julius Schmahl out of the state
ticket problem, Schwarg has to date an
open field. But the smoothness of the
situation seems only to increase the
ardor of the Schwarg men and they
are hustling in much the same way
Dunn and Eddy are building fences.
q y
They believe Schwarg will be the
only First district claimant for recog-
milton by the convention. They assume
that Van SAINT is done with state office.
Starts successor will not be nominated
until 1906. Schwarg has made the first
bid for the districts support and he
and his friends believe they will re-
ceive 1t solidly and also believe they
can take the Third district away from
Block. Block has had some trouble
in his home county which may effect
his standing with the Third district
powers that be. If that trouble results
in a rupture or lukewarm attitude
of the aforesaid powers, somebody will
be able to take the district. That the.
somebody will be Schwarg is, of course.
only conjecture.
George A. VanSmith.