The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-10-08
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+ In the civil strife among Republicans
or Wisconsin and Minnesota the dis
| interested observer cannot but conclude
! tnat too much OF :one party Is bad for
all concerned. Dunn secured the Re-
publican nomination for governor of
minnesota, yet enemies in the party are
even now seeking his overthrow.
stalwarts seeded from the regular
state convention in Wisconsin, and set
! up house and a ticket Of. their own,
! which only Wednesday was declared
Dy the courts to be an illegal proceed
| ing and implying that there could be
| only one Republican candidate for gov
| ernor.
! Both states are conceded safe Re-
publican. Only by some political cata-
elysm can they be made otherwise In
| this fact lies all the evil, for too much
! power vested in one organization or
| political party must inevitably work
| it's ruin.
| Probably no more aggravating situa-
ton than that in Wisconsin has ever
confronted political organization. No
! civil strife ever called for such cool
heads, such skillful diplomacy as is
| witnessed here in the patching up of
a quarrel that threatens to lose the
! state to the party.
! Compromise is out Of the considera-
ton, for both the "half-breeds'' and
the stalwarts fought past this stage at
the state convention. For years the
trouble has been brewing, or, as charg-
ed by the spooner faction, since La
! Toilette sought to GUST the senator from
| his seat and make the berth his own.
LaFollette poses as the peoples rep
resentative OF the Democratic form Of
government in the concrete, and holds
that in working injury to him the peo-
pie are throttling their only chance to
obtain just taxation, primary election
laws and an equitable enforcement OF
the spirit of the Law towards railroads
and other corporations.
! Spooner's friends, ignoring state is
| sues, declare that he Is one of the
worlds statesmen, and because OF the
great deeds he has done at Washington
he has made of Wisconsin the humble
dwelling of a great man.
!
loyalty to the mother organization, for
in asking the support of the people
they invariably couple Roosevelts name
with their cause. Were it not for the
fact that q president Is to be elected
this year it is probable that the fight
would attract little attention outside
the state. Nevertheless, the party man.
ayers are too wise to the serious condi-
ton OF affairs to- ignore the danger to
the electoral vote. and the best speak
ers in the country will be poured into
Wisconsin--the best organization known
to political strategy will be formed to
keep the party intact and to prevent
I the Roosevelt Republicans from: STAN
pedinE in their blind anger regarding
the real or >tancied slislt to the princi-
pies advocated by theirsYfavorite lead.
i er. IT.; G. Iz =$S .=s. =, ;> So, =;
rhere, Va trou ple liz t.a isconsin two
years ago when LaIrollsttt & made plat
form and ordered Senator spooner to
stand upon it or 60. down to defeat
The senator refused, stating that he
was in no way involved in state issues
and that he would not accept a re-elec:
ton that was mantfestly differed by
| peanut politicians. His friends braced
him In this position, and said it was
deplorable that a statesman should be
dictated to by LaFollette and his
gang" 1t was also singular that sub.
sequently a stiff fight was put up or
this issue, and many of the Legislators
were secretly bound, IN writing, to sup
port Mr.. Spooner for reelection.
I
In the decision Of the supreme court
Of Wisconsin Wednesday in which II
| was held that the LaFollette ticket
| and not that OF the stalwarts was tt
be placed on the official ballot, the
country, aside: from the points at issue
between the contending factions, is to
be congratulated. It has grown to be
the custom Of a dissa tisfied crowd Of
politicians. who happen to be outnum-
bered at a. convention to secede and
I set UP q house of their own. Whether
LaFollette or Spooner is right makes no
material difference in this matter. II
will be good lesson to soreheads.
! Although the situation in our own
! state has not reached such crisis,
it is bad enough to worry the friends
of Robert G. punn--not because his
ana jority will be smaller, but because
Of the treachery that has brought It
about.
! Immediately after it was known that
Mr.. Dunn had been fairly nominated,
prominent Collins men all over the
state, quoted by the daily press, said
that they were fairly beaten and would
be the first to join in making It ban
ner Republican year. The ink was
scarcely dry on the newspapers contain
ing their interviews when from unex-
! pected quarters came talk OF trouble
to Mr.: Dunn because Of the allegations
In Examiner Johnson's report about the
state lands and: about the sugar bounty