Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-19

| offensive corporations. He Is now men,
| Der of a syndicate which is building a
| railroad from Spokane northward to con-
| meet the Northern Pacific with the Ca
madam Pacific and is interested in other
| corporations. The labor organizers de-
| nounce him as a corporation man; the
labor unions, which have strong social
istic tendency in this state, are supposed
| to be against him; the populist leaders
| declare that he is traitor; that he be-
| trayed them, and that it is not safe to
| trust him with the responsibility of car
| rying out the democratic platform, which.
| as l have already told you. demands the
| appointment of a commission to regulate
railway rates and assess railway prop
! erty. Nevertheless, with all this opposi-
ton and all the objections that are raised
| against him, it is generally conceded that
Turner will be elected and that he will
| run ahead of his ticket.
stephen Judson, democratic candidate
1 ior lieutenant governor, is pioneer in the
state, continuous member of the legis-
| iature, consistent anti-corporation man.
| personally popular with all parties and
| universally respected. Other candidates
upon the ticket are exceptionally strong
Republican Gubernatorial Candidate.
Inc republican convention might posi-
Oily have nominated a weaker state ticket
| IL 1t had tried very hard, but it would have
peen dlmcult, and almost everybody con-
ceues that 1t was doomed from the start.
Inc candidate for governor, Mr.. Albert E.
Mead or this city, Is young lawyer of ex-
cellent character, good abilities and general
disposition, but he has had no experience,
is unknown In this part of the state and
ms nomination was an accident. He did
not want 1t. He had ambition to go to
Congress, and the delegation of this county
attempted 10 send him, but in making out
the slate all of the present congressman
were renominated and Mead was put at the
mead of the ticket because he was the only
aVallabie man upon whom conflicting inter-
ha ,,,,;1
at Manhattan, Kan, in 1861; he spent his
boyhood at CarbOndale, ILL.,. and was edu-
Gated there; he is a graduate of the Union
College of Law of Chicago; settled in Leoti,
Ran, in 1850, and practiced there until
1889, when he removed to the town OF
Blaine in this state and has since practiced
his profession there. He has been mayor
or that town, prosecuting attorney OF this
county and its representative in the legis-
lature Tor one year.
Charles E. Coon.
Charles E. Coon, the republican candi-
date for lieutenant governor Is a human
mystery who has puzzled his friends for
many years. He obtained a humble posi-
ton in the Treasury Department at Wash
inston when mere boy, and by force of
character ability and efficiency entirely
without political inf1uence-was promoted
from place to place until he became as
sistant secretary under John Sherman; and
the traditions of the department are that
no man ever filled that position with great
er aplllty and satisfaction to the govern
ment, Congress or the public He was uni
versally respected and admired No man
mad more devoted friends in all parts of
the country, for his official duties had
Drought him into contact with everybody
VINO had public business in Washington
Mr.. Coon renowned this exalted position
ana influence in a most mysterious manner
one morning some years ago and vanished
nj tal
OF ms resignation or disappearance was
ever made, although sensational and in
credlple stories concerning his private life
were whispered from ear to ear His
friends-and their name was Iepion-re
FUSED to believe them, and still refuse but
MT. coon never took the trouble to make
o off hl ana AND meyer uttered word in defense
nounced his former life and associations.
and cut off all communica ton with devot-
ed and intimate friends as well as with his
acqualntances. Few people knew what
had become of him. Gradually he nassed
out OF the thoughts of men, and the mys-
terry or his disappearance was forgotten.
NOW he reappears before the public as
candidate on the republican ticket for
lieutenant governor of Washington. and
the newspaper biographies say that for sew
erai years ne has been a merchant in the
little town of Port Townsend He has
served several terms as the mayor of that
place and still occupies the office He is its
most distinguished citizen and his nominal
ton was made at the instance of friends
and admirers without his knowledge or con-
sent. No evil was ever spoken of Mr. Coon
out here, until several weeks after the con-
Ventlon, when the same rumors concerning
his private habits that were circulated in
Washington city began to be heard in this
state, and While they are of such nature
that they cannot even be published in a
newspaper, they have rapidly become known
through gossip in almost every town and
hamlet.
Requested to Retire.
The republican state committee, after an
investigation of the circumstances attend
ing his resignation from the Treasury De-
partment and his disappearance from
Washington city, formally requested and
advised Mr.. Coon to decline the nomination,
which he refused to do. The proposition
was afterward repeated in a formal de-
mand in which the other candidates joined
with the committee and reasons were
given. Mr. Coon made a dignfed reply,
declining to consider the request on the
ground that his voluntary retirement would
be interpreted as a confession that the
atrocious charges were true. Since then
there has been no further communication
between him and the committee. He was
not invited to a conference of the candl-
dates on the republican state ticket and of
course did not attend he has not been
asked to contribute to the expenses of the
campaign.
The state committee, having no power to
take his name off the ticket, has concluded
to ignore and boycott him, and use him to
trade in the interest of the candidates for
governor and legislature. The democratic
newspapers have been decent enough to ig-
more the charges against Mr. Coon, but, at
the same time, the leaders of that party
have taken the trouble to employ detectives
to ascertain all the facts in his life, and
threaten to publish the information in case
he makes canvass.
1t should be said that nearly every one
of Mr.. Coon's old friends and associates in
Washington city, to whom both parties
have applied for information and advice,
have testified that they are aware of moth
ing to his discredt; that the infamous ac-
cusations agar st him were never proved
and were never believed, but that his ex-
traordinary behavior in refusing to deny
them and his disappearance from Wash
ington left them helpless to do anything in
his defense.
The Other Candidates.
Some Of the other candidates upon the
republican ticket are also the subjects of
criticism. 1t is charged that Mr.. John d.
Atkinson, candidate for attorney general,
has never appeared in court, although he
once studied law, and the integrity of
Franz III Rudkin one of the candidates for