Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-08-31
uMIrRn TO HE STATUTE.

Concerning the contention of the rail
road political party's attempt to have the
supreme court father ita schemes of
working the boiling candidates for state
officers on the regular republican ticket,
the Milwaukee Journal, an independent
democratic paper well says:
The regular republicans appear at last
TO have struck the nail on the head so
far as the legal question will go in the
death struggle between the republican
factions in Wisconsin,
The stalwarts have their case before
the court; the case is presented In a
long statement All that we can make
out of these legal papers is contention
that the court should sustain the lecis-
ion of the Chicago conventi-n. THE
COURT HAS NO MORE TO DO WITH THE
CHICAGO CONVENTION THAN WITH
THE WORLDS FAIR OR CHAUTAU-
QUA ASSEMBLY. 1t is sitting to con-
strue the statutes of the state, which
require certain things to bs done, and
to see that they are obeyed.
The directions for placing the ticket
seems TO be plain. The convention called,
held and certified to by the committee
of record, carries the name of the party
to its ticket, that is all the statute calls
for, so far as the lay mind can reach
The court Ia not accustomed to going
into politics or meddling with party
ructions. When the statutes are obeyed
it stops. There is but one convention
called or certified to ~ the statutory
committee and that must carry the
name Provided, Of course, that the
statute ia good, anG it is not understood
that the integrity Of the statute is at
tackled.
Then inst what the stalwarts are al
in this contest it would be hard to dis
cover. They have the best of lawyers,
who art certainly not deceived. All the
eastern papers, without regard to polit'
ical proclivities unite in the opinion
that the stalwart movement az organ
lied is futile and must fail. They say
the ticket must and will be withdrawn
as the republican ticket The leaders
at home were opposed to the opera house
convention. Their voice is potent in
the east where they are spending the
summer. The proceedings before the
court appear weak and of no avail Are
the body of stalwart voters and the bus
mess men with them in the movement
being played Off Ifso some one Is going
to catch it when the time for reprisal
comes.
1t does not follow that G ov. La Fol
lette will be any the gamer by such con-
ditiOn. 1t has been the opinion of many
that the stalwarts would be much more
effective for their purpose without a
syalwart ticket That is not now ques-
ton. But what is the purpose Of the
appeal to the court2 L. it real or does
it serve some other purpose than that
set fol sh2 Is it the emit Of the pledge
made at Chicago and bJ President Roose-
welt and The national committee si"ce
the convention, that the matter would
be- arranged in due time so that the
vote for electors would not be divided
So far as settling the fractional fight
is concerned, the quickest and most di-
rect method, through the ballot box is
the only way. If the people Of the state
want la Toilette, that settles it. II
they don't want him. he is ended. With
all this the court has nothing to do, eX-
cept by precedent or by desire Of the
people, public sentiment, to aid either
faction in hanging on BY going outside
the plain statutes.