The independent., 1903-01-29
THE COLORADO MUDDLE

/
little about the attempt of Wolcott
and the corporations to South Ameri-
canize the state of Colorado. In the
| first place while it has the greatest
admiration for Senator Teller it has
the most profound contempt for the
democratic party of that state. Be-
fore the election, under the inspira-
| tion of Ex-Governor Thomas, the DEM
ocrats declared that they would have
| nothing to do with the populists and
refused to recognize them in any way.
The populists, patriots as they always
were, thereupon resolved that they
| would nominate separate state tick
| ct, but would, although rebuffed by
the democratic state convention in the
most insolent way, fuse on the mem
bers of the legislature SO as to insure
the reelection of Senator Teller. The
consequence was that the democratic
state ticket was badly beaten from top
to bottom, but legislature was elect
ed that had II majority for Teller.
From the very beginning, one fac
tor in the case was ex-senator Edward
o. Wolcott. With him in the cam
paign, with his pronounced corporation
and plutocratic tendencies, his infam-
Gus record, his disgraceful family re-
| lations, the republicans felt that they
could not win, even with the advant-
age that the refusal of the democrats
to recognize the populists gave them.
So Wolcott was kept out of the state
during the campaign and the repubE-
can speakers everywhere announced
that if they carried the legislature
Wolcott would not be a candidate.
| No sooner was the election over than
| Wolcott returned to the state and or
ganized plan to unseat enough dem
ocrats and replace them with enough
republicans to elect himself instead of
Teller The house had two republi-
| can majority while the senate was
heavily democratic. The house pro-
ceeded to carry out this plan, and
elected enough democrats to elect
Wolcott, whereupon the senate elected
enough republicans to give Teller on
joint ballot one majority. Then the
few republican senators with the lieu
tenant governor at their head left
the chamber and organized a rump
senate all by themselves.
On the first joint ballot it was found
| that Wolcott had bought one democrat
and Teller failed of election by one
vote. BY the next day Wolcott had
bought six democrats But the re-
publicans are themselves divided into
two factions, a portion of them being
+ intense haters Of Wolcott and refus-
ing to vote for him. At this writing
the house is held by the anti Wolcott
! republicans and democrats, all heay-
member has a couple of revolvers on
his desk while repeating shot guns
and rifles are stacked up around the
hall.
| The whole thing taken together IS
South American politics with a little
more chicanery and a little less force
than the Spanish republics generally
employ. 1t is another demonstration
of the craftsmanship and common
sense of the populist demand thar
senator's shall be elected by a vote of
the people and not by a legislature
that can be bribed and intimidated
At the bottom of the whole thing is
the desire of certain great CORPORA.
tions to have another senator upop
whom they can always rely. The cor
porations, with Hanna for their
spokesman, are using every means in
their power to get Wolcott back into
TO