The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-07-07
Joel HeatW0Ie and Frank Eddy
Do Some Figuring.
Two Views Presented to Party
For Consideration.
Would Cut the Delegates to the
State Conference.
From Mondays Daily.

Two widely divergent views of tn,
proper basis for apportioning the rep
resentation OF the various counties il
the next republican state convention arr
taken ny Hon. Joel p Heatwole in The
Mortified News and Hon. Frank Nj
Eddy in The Sank Center Herald
Mr.. Heatwole believes that the rep
resentation should be based upon the
vote cast for Mr.. Dunn last year, not
for the purpose of Furnishing individuals
and political divisions, but because in
his opinion it is fair and proper. He
maintdins that county is entitled to
be represented in proportion as it
casts its vote for the head of the state
ticket. He also holds that in addition
there should be one delegate at large
from each county instead of five as
now. The five delegate idea he labels as
Merriam conception, and declares
that there is no Justice in it.
Mr.. Eddy, on the other hand, argues
tnat neither the vote for Mr.. Dunn nor
that for President Roosevelt should be
taken as basis. There were at least fifty
thousand democrats who voted for Mr.
Roosevelt, that probably will never vote
for another republican as long as they
live On the other hand there were fifty
thousand republicans who voted for Mr..
Johnson for governor. but who never
voted for democratic candidate be-
fore and never will again. There is only
one correct way, in Mr.. Eddy's view,
of arriving at basis of representation
for a republican convention. There
were eleven republican candidates for of
flee on the state ticket Take the total
vote cast for all these candidates and
divide it by eleven, and the result will
be proper basis of representation. This
method, he goes on to remark, is fol-
lowed by practically every state in the
Union except Minnesota.
Mr.. Eddy and Mr. Heatwole agree on
the propriety of cutting out the five
delegates at large for each county and
allow only one. Mr.. Eddy adds that
the state central committee should also
pass a resolution that federal office hold
ers and state appointees cannot sit in
convention as delegates.
Both editors give elaborate columns of
figures, showing the representation of
the various counties as figured out on
their own bases, together with other
figures for the sake of comparison.
Mr. Heatwoe's figures show that Blue
Earth county mad twenty delegates in
the last Republican State convention,
being based on five delegates at large
for each county and one delegate for
every $50 votes and maj fraction of
$50 votes, cast for Mckinley in 1900.
On the same basis, except that the Dunn
vote, 2,493 in this county, is taken, this
county's representation is cut down to
fifteen. Mr.. Eddy's figures give Blue
iIdIbn county more. 1In Ine average
vote for the state ticket, 30lS in this
county, taken as a basis, with five at
large, Mr.. Eddy would give Blue Earth
county seventeen delegates. on the one
for $50 apportionment. Yet even this
seventeen would be three less than the
county had in the convention of 1904.
Still, most of the other counties would
also be cut down. on account of the
small vote that Mr.. Dunn received, and
the total number of delegates in the
entire convention would be go, on the
Heatwole plan, and l,O85, on the Eddy
plan. whereas in 1904 it was ll77.
But neither Mr. Heatwole nor Mr..
Eddy likes the five at large idea, but
would prefer to have just one at large.
Mr. Heatwole, with one at large, and
one delegate for every 100 votes east
for Dunn, or ma ior fraction thereof,
would give Blue Earth county twenty
six delegates. Mr.. Eddy, basing his
representation in the same way on the
average vote for the state ticket would
give Blue Earth county thirty one dele
gates Mr. Heatwole's figures would thus
make up an entire convention of ,4S3
and Mr.. Eddy's, LII. The former gives