The San Francisco call., 1904-10-12

|
! course Senator Fairbanks knew why
he chose the Sabbath day upon which,
N his westward course, to cross the
state of North Dakota, to enter from
the east the land of promise-special
agricultural prQmise-of thrift and OF
temperance; to tarry only here and
there for an hour or so and pass on
to the next; to stop off midway and
attend church, and then to go on into
the strenuous and politically turbulent
/ State OF Montana before the week days
mad come that make it meet and ne
cessary TO make campaign speeches.
Fairbanks is making a great record
as campaigner, but he is not making
the record for the records sake.
Where a speech may be cut out of the
Itinerary without loss to his cause, he
IS quite willing. And so he saved his
voice in North Dakota. North Da-
kota Is one of those States where you
listen In vain fol the CHEEKY assurance
or the Democratic chairman that
things look good to him and that "nev-
er before in the history of the party
was victory so certain" With the
Democrats here, it is mere matter
or gong through the forms, so far at
least as the national ticket is con-
cerned.
The only excitement that can be
evolved out of a campaign in North
Dakota is secured by splits and con-
tests within the party. 1t is never
question of the election of a Republi-
can to office, but a contest as to
which Republican. And so, being put
to it in this regard they generally
manage to exc out enough sport from
campaign to campaign to make it
worth while. There are so many good
lfl lr1cS rkafA in
North Dakota that no one man or set
of men may say, having been lifted to
an eminence, This is my place; 1 will
pre-empt this peak for my own; Re-
publican majOrities are SO certain here
that | have only now to signify that
L am in the game"
A CASE IN POINT.
There was the case of Representative
Spalding. He was a clever man, a good
lawyer and made a capable and ef-
fective, Representative. He was strong
in his home town of Fargo, and that
heiwould be unseated by the State con-
vention of his party was the thing
furthest from his thoughts. He had
sat among the mighty at Washington,
had acquitted himself well, had secured
all that was coming to his State out
of the general struggle for appropria-
tions and had rendered as effective SER
With this prestige added to the quality
that got him there in the first place,
why should be not go back? He hadn't
even asked himself this question, the
case seemed so clear.
But there was a factional fight on
in his section of the State. Both fac
tions, of course, looked to him to join
it in the overthrow of the other. Spald-
ing's own particular friends saw that
the scrap was no place for him and
when he had gotten so far as st. Paul
on his way west from Washington he
received a wire signed by several of
these, telling him to go fishing in some
remote Minnesota stream and not be
heard from until after the election. But
Spalding could not see the necessity.
Had he not won his place by fighting
and If there was anything doing in
politics in his State his place was in
the thick of it. He went to Fargo and
made enemies. He soon saw that the
other fellows fight had become his own,
but he boasted that on the floor of the
then impending convention he would
| win. He secured but 101 votes in total
Of 525
THE NEW REPRESENTATIVE.
The Representative in Congress who
will hold Spalding's seat is j. A.
| Gronna, a merchant of Lakota, Nelson
County, on the north line of the State.
The cry that the north wanted and
should have representation was offered
as an excuse for the defeat of Spalding,
! but it is well understood that his own
! 1ndiscretion in taking sides in a family
fight not directed against him is the
real cause. Gronna is a Norwegian and
| a close friend of Senator Hansbrough.
The State Attorney General, Frick,
comes from the same town of La
hot 10 n
geography was cutting such figure,
| Gronna declared; when the nomination
| for Congress was offered him, that if
it was going to affect Fricks chances
for denomination he would not ac-
cept. He was assured that it would
not and it didn't.
During the first day Of the sitting
of the convention Judge John M.
Cochrane of the Supreme Court died.
The convention adjourned for that day
out of respect. When it adjourned
finally Edward Engurud, a young
lawyer, who attended 1t as a delegate
and with no thought of receiving any
nonor at its hands. had been nominat-
/ ed for the place and, of course, will be
elected. This is just to show how the
whirligig plays in politics.
A REPUBLICAN PRESS.
Getting back to the original ques-
ures of majorities in States the expert
seldom makes prophecies as to North
| Dakota. 1t is because of the disposi-
| ton to make 1t unanimous there. OF
III daily and weekly papers issued in
| the State of North Dakota, there are
| but one daily and eight weeklies de-
voted to Democracy. There are near
| ly always two papers in any town
where there is population enough to
support one. That is to say where
there are enough people to barely war
/, rant some one in starting a paper, and
| he does start it, a competitor quickly
follows and the spectacle is furnished
| of two papers, often they are daily
papers, thriving or showing every sign
| of thriving, in communities so sparse
as to cause wonder that one could
exist. This is simply in evidence OF
prosperous conditions. The solitary
Democractic daily is published at
J Grand Forks, one of the most popu-
! lous cities of the State, and its history
| has been one long story of failure.
Some Young men have receQtlV taken