The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-12
HEARST MEN WIN IN
HENNEPIN COUNTY
Bit of Sharp Practice by Dele
gate Gives Them Control
of Convention


| day elected Frank d. Larrabee and
James r. Corrigan delegates to the ST
Louis national Democratic convention
and instructed them for w. r. Hearst
for president. Peter Weinhart and
John Burns were chosen alternates,
and a committee was appointed to Sc
lect 102 delegates to the Minnesota
state convention at Duluth June %.
These delegates will be chosen by a
| committee of three, of which w. H.
Williams, Hearsts Minneapolis man
ager, is chairman, and they will use
their best endeavors to secure the cleo
| ton of Swan J. Turnblad as a delegate
at large from the state to the national
convention.
The triumph Of the Hearst men was
| made possible only by the hardest
kind of fighting, and the early claims
of having more than two to one of the
total of delegates were by no means
realized in the convention.
| The temporary organization was
captured by Hearst's friends by the
margin of one vote, and but for an al
legged bit of sharp practice on the part
of delegate from the Second ward the
| conservative Democrats in the conVen-
tion would have Won the day.
The Hearst men admitted their mar
! row escape from defeat in the organ
| ization and it was a stunning surprise
| to them to find the opposition so
| strong. Later in the proceedings of the
/ convention they avoided secret ballots,
and in this they showed good judg-
ment, for their lead was materially in
! creased when the votes were cast for
| district delegates.
Fears of riotous times in the conven-
| ton were not realized, and the squad
| of blueeoats, whom Mayor Haynes had
detailed to preserve order in Normanna
| hall, in South Minneapolis, where the
convention held an all-day session,
were not needed.
That there was SO little disorder and
that an expected bolt of one of the
fighting factions did not develop is
! largely due to the good offices of Elijah
| Barton, one of the conservative candi-
| dates for district delegate, who in a
large measure had managed the anti
/! Hearst fight in Hennepin.
Barton yesterday morning, before
| the convention was called to order,
| sent for Orville Rinehart and several
1 others of the ardent Hearst men, and
| in BartOnS Office an agreement was
| reached by which a scheme of arbitra-
| ton and Cancellation was effected. 1t
| was agreed that each faction should
/ choose two representatives, the four to
| select an umpire. This board was to
| pass upon preliminary credentials, and
1 their report was to include only those
| delegates entitled to vote on the pre-
! liminary organization, before the prop
! erly appointed credentials, committee
had made it's report. ~
Hearst Men Were Ugly
The widely circulated reports that
| there were a score or more Of districts
| where there were contesting delega-
4 W a
| been made for alleged irregularities,
| had aroused the Hearst men to fever
/ heat, and they had decided TO protest
| against Barton, as chairman of the
| county committee, passing upon the
| eligibility of delegates to vote on the
| temporary organization.
Reports Of such conditions were
| grossly exaggerated, but in the interest
| of peace Barton made his proposition
1 for a conference of the factions with
| the result that when the convention
was called to order at II o'clock he an
/ nounced the plan to the delegates.
| Rinehart made a similar announce
| ment to his followers and J. E. O'Brien
| and Ed-A. Stevens were named as the
committee of the conservatives and w.
/ H. williams and Orville Rinehart for
4 the Hearst faction. Judge G.. M. Pond
! was chosen by the four as umpire and
| it was announced that the convention
| would adjourn to 1 o'clock to await
| their report.
The committee, without Judge Pond,
/ proceeded to it's work and at l o'clock
| Pond appeared and the commission
! took UP the contests. Contests in the
| first precinct Of the Fifth ward the
| fifth precinct of the Fifth and in the
| ninth of the Eighth ward were settled
| in favor of the Hearst delegations, and
in the fourth precinct of the Fifth ward
| the anti Hearst delegation was seated
| The result of a Minnetonka Beach con-
| test was not announced, as there was
! but one delegate in the precinct. All
4 protests were settled on the face of the
| papers presented, and it was said that
no material advantage accrued to either
faction from this procedure.
1t was about o'clock when Chair
| man Barton called the convention to
| order and Rinehart announced that the
committees report was in the hands Of
the secretary of the convention. The re-
| port was not read, and the organiza-
| tion of the convention was taken UP,
| Barton explaining that proxies would
| not be allowed to vote in the prelim-
| mary organization.
/ For temporary chairman, j. F. Will
| hanson nominated former Senator s..
| A. Stockwell and Harry l.. Mead placed
Maj. J. M. Bowler in the field. The
| appearance of Bowler, who wore q
| black skull cap to conceal the wound
| received in a harmony meeting of the
| day before evoked prolonged cheering
by the Hearst men. Frank d. LARA
bee seconded the nomination of Bow
| Ter, and a country delegate supported
Stockwell in a speech partially drowned
| out by catcalls from the opposition.
Poll Convention by Precincts
After a brief interchange of opinion,
it was voted to poll the convention by
precincts and to use the report of the
conference committee in calling the
roll. George Douglas, Mayor Haynes
private secretary, and M G. Brady, a
lawyer follower of Hearst, were named
as telIers, and when Chairman Barton
| had told the necessity of naming a
new county committee and asked to be
excused from membership on 1t, though
he pledged his fealty to the party, the
| poll Of the convention was commenced.
The vote was by precincts, each dele
gate advancing to the front of the hall
and depositing his vote with the tellers.
| It was a tedious proceeding, but
while the tellers were counting the bal
lots the excitement was intense. In
the wards voting last and whose bal
lots were necessarily on top in the hat
StockwelI ran well and soon took such
formidable lead over Bowler that it
did not look as though it could be over
come. Then Bowler gained for time
and when at the finish-just at
/ O'clOck-it was announced that Bowler