The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-09-21
Those Republicans Who Voted for
Johnson Two Years Ago Are Call.
ed Tickle BODY.
Especial to The Free Press.1

rare for the democrats to elect anybody
at the polls, when their state convention
met, they seemed to ignore local affairs
and plunge into national by bringing the
Great Returned William J. Bryan to
the front as a candidate for president
and forgetting all about mentioning such
important local matters as two cent
railroad fare, the issuing of free passes,
the reform of our tax laws, drainage,
and state development generally in their
platform. The so-called platform de,
voted to Bryan was sent to a commit
tee to patch up, and the delegates were
allowed to read the next day the patch
work produced, but they never acted
upon it, as it was never presented to
the convention in its entirety. The
chairman of the convention kindly re-
ferred to the republicans who voted for
Johnson two years ago as the "very I'M
certain and tickle body of citizens gen.
orally known as mugwumps." and the
convention evidently thought that the
"fckle citizens" had become sufficiently
tainted with democracy to swallow Bry-
an as well as Johnson this year; so
they hand out this feast to the as
sistant democrats or "mugwumps" and
let it go at that.
isn't that a dainty dish
To set before the people?"
1t is puzzling a good many people
to understand exactly why Mayor
Dunno of Chicago was invited here to
open Governor Johnson's campaign. While
Mr.. Dunno is an excellent man, perhaps,
indeed, because of that, he isn't much
of a democrat. Indeed, so little of a
tion in Chicago, he opposed the election
of several of the democratic nominees
and was roundly denounced by the dem
acratic machine with whom he never
has been in any great favor. Possibly
Governor Johnson hoped in this way to
make municipal ownership, for which
Mayor Dunno does stand, an issue; but
this he can hardly do, for municipal
ownership is not now and in its nature
cannot be a state question. 1t is more
over favored probably by as many re-
publicans as democrats in this state as
it is in Chicago. The most pleausible
theory is that Mayor Dunno was in
vited here not only because he favors
municipal ownership of public utilities,
in which a great many people agree
with him; but because with William Jen-
nings Bryan, he favors the government
ownership of railways. At the inter
state m law convention, held
last summe in Chicago, Mr.. Dunno
made himself very clear on this point,
which found him but little favor with
the railroad reformers there assembled,
who approved, not government owner
ship, but government supervision and
regulation, which is a very different
thing, and which the republican party
has set to work to bring about. Mr..
Dunno therefore, being in favor of gov
eminent ownership of railways, Mr..
Johnson no doubt thought, and thought
rightly, that he would. by according
him the honor of opening his campaign
and by personally introducing him to a
AIipnaco}o a,I:o,oo .ol.4o -. -ou~
emphatic way his approval of the stand
taken by Mr.. Bryan on this subject and
reinforce the approval of that states.
mans course which was voiced with nc
uncertain sound in the democratic plat
form.
The reception of Hon. A. L. Cole last
week at the state fair was a %continr-
Gus ovation, and many people embraced
the opportunity afforded them, which
they might not on any other occasion be
in a position to take advantage of, OF
becoming acquainted with the next gov
ernor of Minnesota. 1t must have graf.
flied him to note that the promises. OF
support given him were so genera
among leading republicans from all sec.
lions of the state. He could not escape
the conviction that the breaches in the
party had been effectually healed and
that he had behind him the practically
unanimous support of those who profess
faith in republican principles.
The first important speech to be de.
.livered after the primaries will be made
by Senator Beveridge of Indiana, at
Minneapolis, probably at the Auditorium
on Thursday, Sept. 9th. The republi
can state central committee is plumine
itself not a little on securing Senator
Beverage for this occasion, as his great
oratorical gifts and his wide reputation