The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-11-21

, 54'
speakershIp contest-He is Practically
Free In the ApportIonment OF PIums-
State Drainage Board 10 Not Demo-
cratic.
Frank Clague wound the speakership
contest up in short order. Beginning with
the Endorsement last Wednesday by the
seventh district, he swept down on the
cities with his supporters, and in two
days time had made such formidable
showing Of strength that the delegations
from the. fourth and fifth districts were,
won over, almost unanimously. Votes
came f1ocking to him from the country;
after he reached Minneapolis, the ninth
district coming down almost solid,t and
w. A. Nolan and w. B. Anderson Of the
first district captivating in short order.
The speakership contest is practically
finished, altho the, formal selection Of
Clague. by the house caucus will not oc-
cur for some time. Hennepin made a.
tactical mistake on Friday by delaying
final action, However; the. majority Of
the delegation was already. favorable to
.Clague, and outside of the members who
blocked Endorsement on Friday the Hen
nepin men will stand strong with the new
speaker. The Endorsement today will be
merely forrnality.
The thing has come to Clague so easily
that he is practically free in the matter
of committee appointments and appoint
I've patronage, but of course he. will con-
suit the wishes of the members with con-
siderable care and deliberation. His easy
victory shows that the majority of the
members elect are willing to trust their
chances to his sense of fairness and fit
| ness, and while, Of course some will be
disappointed and few entirely satisfied,
the new speaker will do the best he can.
The Albert Lea Times discusses the
future as frankly as it handled the issues
Of the past campaign. Says the Times:
It is worse than folly: for any good repub1i-
can to attempt longer to draw the Dunn and anti.
Dunn lire. Mr.. Dunn more than hundred
| thousand votes behind his ticket. He was OPP
posed openly and the reasons were given in full.
The opposition came from all parts of the state
and in nearly every voting precinct republicans
passed the head Of their state tickets without
checking. It is idle for the regulars in the re.
cent campaign to talk even to think of rebuk.
4 Ing or administering punishment in the future
to the antt-Dunn republicans. Their number is
too great; they in every precinct, and any
such attempt would be certain Of failure at, the
outset, or at most It could succeed only at the
cost Of continued party domination in state az
fairs. Mr. Dunn has been removed from the
arena, the slate has been wiped clean, and II
is now the duty Of all good republicans to come
! to select new and unobjectionable candidates fol
governor and other offices of responsibility and
trust and to regain control of the executive de-
partlnent Of the state government. a
The Faribault Journal says:
Judging from the expressions of the state press
1t would be pleasing to republicans and democrats
alike turnout the state to have Governor-eleci
as public examiner. His official record has beer
| above reproach and both democrats and repub
licans in Faribault speak highly Of him as an Of
fetal in an important position, and express 8
desire to see him reappotnted.
Fl. L. Chaffee, though not an aspiran,
for any appointment, thinks Governor.
elect Johnson should recognize the travel.
ing man in some way. Mr.. Chaffee is one
of the best known travelling men In the
state, and in 1896 and 1900 was quite &C.
tive in politics. He was secretary of the
state independent republican convention
in '98 and worked up the Charley ToWne
special excursion to Kansas City in 1900
George Ralph Of Crookston, engineer OF
the state drainage board has come out
with an interview deploring the election
/ of John A. Johnson, saying that drain.
| age work will not prosper under a dem.
ocratic governor because the legislature
will not make big appropriations for hin
1 to spend.
| Drainage appropriations are handled BY
the state drainage board, Of which the
governor only constitutes one third. The
I.state auditor and the secretary of state
are also members, and Secretary Hanson
| has been the most active member of thu
present board, having more time to spare
i from his regular duties than the othe,
A two members. A majority Of the boart
being republicans, the board ought nd
to be discredited with the legislature.
Another peculiar statement made sine,
election is that the governor elect will
make change in the office Of state Elk
4 pert printer. The governor has no voic.
whatever in the state printing commits
sion, which Is composed Of the state audi
i tor, state treasurer and secretary Q
state. The election makes no chang
d whatever in the commission, and Their
! is nothing to threaten the tenure Of Stat
4 Printer Dare.
a p. e. Bowling Of Eyeleth, one Of the 81
4 Louis county house delegation, has pro
& posed p. Adam Bede as a candidate TO
Il governor in 1906. Mr. Bede has modestl
!. declined to be considered as possibil
i ity. He Is too much interested in diyid
ing up the millions in the next river an
harbor bill to bother about bagateile Xix
I the governorship.
!, Charles p. Cheney.