The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-09-07
Coles Kenyon Speech Dis
turbs the Democrats
TOOK DAYS BREATH AWAY.
Gave the Governors Kitchen Cabinet
Bad Hour or Two and They
Have Not Yet Recovered.
Especial to The Free Press.l


speech created some little CONSERVATION
in the west end of the capitol OH Tues
day morning when the governor and
his private secretary got their morn
ing papers. Mr.. Day made bee line
for the governors office, ran into the
colored messenger and almost knocked
over the oval rosewood table in the
governors reception room, so great was
the excitement which followed the first
reading of the speech. 1t was evident
that Mr. Cole had run to the windward
of the governor and had taken the wind
out of his sails The democratic press
bureau, under the direction of the pri-
vate secretary, had been carefully cir
culating stuff to the effect that the re-
publican candidate for governor was a
corporation tool. A lot of material had
been gathered by document clerk Grim
mer, State Librarian John King and
State Oil Inspector McDermott and
other fellows who draw salary from
the state while working up the demo
cractic campaign, and this would now
have to be blue pencilled. There was
a glum half hour, when King let in
some light on the question by asserting
that the governor could endorse all of
that speech, and that it was his plat
form, anyhow. He argued that they had
taken the credit for the reduction i'll
grain rates, and that they might as
well take the credit for Coles speech,
too. 1t was ordered that King prepare
some "boiler plate" for the democratic
papnrs, in which the stand was to be
taken that anybody could endorse Coles
speech and that there was nothing in it
but what Johnson had been preaching
ever since he had been governor.
The speech appears to have been a
distinctive hit, and there is more than
one man around the hotels and other
places where people congregate, who
have been heard to remark: "That
speech will elect Cole governor" That
was what ex-Mayor Doran said when
saw him the other day, and Cole was
not originally Mr.. Doran's choice. While
he would have supported Cole, for he is
loyal republican, by the CLEAN of his
eye one could tell that it would be with
a good deal more pleasure since Cole has
thus declared himself. Its straight
forward earnestness seems to have made
a splendid impression. 1t has pushed Cole
away to the front. The endorsement of
the press has been spontaneous and
quite universal. Indeed, there is no
chance to criticise it,
There is serious confusion in the ranks
of our friends of the opposition OH the
platform question. Usually they have
to wait until republicans have taken
position and then oppose it. The repub-
can platform so clearly echoes the peo-
pies demands, and it has been empha-
sized so nicely by the speech of Mr..
Cole, that the democrats are sore press
ed for an issue. l understand that it
was the intention to make much of Mr.
Johnson's connection with the reorgan-
ization of insurance companies scheme,
but Mr. Cole has neatly headed off most
of that campaign thunder by few
business-like suggestions as to what
ought to be done in the matter of the
supervision of these concerns. Insurance
is business and not politics, and Mr.. Cole
treated it in a business-like fashion. The
leaders are working on the platform all
their spare time, but they won't give it,
out. They probably think it would be
discourteous to the committee on resolu-
tions which will probably approve and
report them to the convention, and some
OF the boys may think that the COM
mittee did it themselves.
Hr. Manahan, the young attorney who
has been conducting the case of the ship
pers before the railroad commissioners,
did not accept Governor Johnson's APP
pointment to join the Bryan jamboree
in New York. He thought he had better
stay in Minnesota and look after his
fences. Thursday he was in Minneapo-
lis, presumably in consultation with the
leaders. The suggestion of his name for
attorney general has gotten little too
far to be easily controlled and the slate
makers are endeavoring to side-track
him for railroad and warehouse commits