Omaha daily bee., 1906-02-13
DEMOCRATS SEEK LEADER
Followers Of Ed r. Smith Tprn to DR..
Ripple as His Successor
WILL NOT GIVE DAHlMAN FREE FIELD
Films of Candidates with the
City Clerk Goes MerriIy on
with M signs of
Abatement.

Abatement
Indications are that Dr.. A. Ii. Nipple,
member of the Water board, Jacksonian
club stalwart and a dentist with a good
practice, will be chosen to succeed Ed p.
Smith as the anti-Dahlman candidate for
| the mayoralty. Since Smith threw up the
| sponge Saturday his followers have been
extremely busy trying to ind a Moses to
lead them out Of the chaos in which the
withdrawal left them. They cannot sto-
mach Dahlman, for they assert that he
| stands for the corporations and the spells
system pure and simple, and they hurriedly
got together to put man In Smiths place
before the Dahlman candidacy gained any
additional Roadway by the temporary lack
| of opposition. Three meetings have been
held and the upshot has been an approx
| mate informal agreement upon DR.. Nipple,
| II that gentleman can be induced to run.
Dr. Nipple is more than a little ambitious
| in political way and has long been a stu.
| dent OF municipal problems, yet he hest.
! tated about going into the race and pre-.
| sented tentative answer In the negative.
| He fears term or two In the mayors
chair would separate him from his dental
! practice and do him considerable material
injury in the long run.
But the younger element among the local
| democracy insist that he Is the man to
| make the campaign on a platform very
| like. II not identical, with that proposed
| by Smith, with perhaps the plank declar-
| ing for strict enforcement OF the Slo-
| cumb law knocked out. Not only have the
| Smith lieutenants taken up the Nipple
! boom. but a faction that occupied the mid
die of the road and inclined TO neither
Smith nor Dahlman Is lending it's backing
| to the movement. Meetings are still being
held with the idea of finally getting as
| sembled a large one of influential and
prominent democrats who will tender their
support to Nipple and try to show him
| how he can't lose.
Dahlman appeared in the Jacksonian
club rooms and made plea for mercy and
an unobstructed path to the nomination
| Saturday, but without avail, according to
| those who were there Mr. Dahlman was
| inclined to be very conciliatng about plat
| form and reiterated his statement that he
| would stand for any old thing of the kind
successful candidates and leaders framed
| up after the primaries.
| A few other names have been TALKED
| over IN the casting about for a successor
to Ed Smith. These include Charles r.
| Sherman. the drug man; John II. Gross
man, formerly chief deputy in the Office OF
| the clerk OF the district court; James P.
| English and w. G. Billiard. The two last
named have positively refused to go into
the race, and a matter Of fact neither lie
badly wanted by the faction that thinks
the fight should be made on reform is
sues,
oh no. there isn't any split or anything
] 90 hot i,d In, ba oil .,I, al
a member OF that organiza ton the other
day. yet how one can reconcile this state
ment with the fact that Broatch has not
shown his head inside the door since he
was turned down for the mayoralty en-
dorsement and others OF the same charac-
ter, is too much for me. Broatch had and
still retains quite a following in the club,
who are opposed to Benson to the last
! ditch. AS for Brother Benson, no one
seems to be particularly enthusiastic about
him. So far he has exhibited every symp-
tom of a practiced political trimmer. Since
his endorsement he has made few
speeches at improvement club meetings and
the like, but nary word about municipal
issues what he stands for Even at a
quiet and sleepy little session of the Phlo-
sophical society Sunday, when the liquor
question was forced by the leading speaker,
| iociSOH ldlcu " COlllllil HlillScll ever ~
slightly when called upon for few re-
marks"
The contagion for endorsing A. II. Hen
nings as mayoralty candidate continues.
The Second ward division OF the Equal
Rights club, at we'll attended meeting at
Twenty-flrst and Vinton streets. has unani-
mously approved of the action OF the CEN
| hOdV I'm this In Tapt
ward a few ward leaders have been trying
to create hostile sentiment against Hen
nings. Saturday night they packed q
meeting and prevented an endorsement, but
IL is said the clubs membership in this
ward was by no means fully represented.
A new perplexity has broken loose re-
gardng the primary law. The assistant
city attorney has been studying the de-
csion of the supreme court on the law IN
the case brought by the socialists and has
given it out as his opinion that all qualified
voters may participate in the municipal
primaries whether they registered for and
voted at last falls election or not.
Since only about two-thirds OF the voters
are registered, it is urged that should par
ticipation in the primaries be opened wide
without regard to this qualification a va
riety OF complexities would be set up at
once, including possible use OF repeaters
and imported voters and all sorts OF things
Those interested declare they will want
more than Herdman's say so to make them
waive the registration prerequisite to vot-
ing.
Eccentricities in the present campaign dc
not end. The latest is the filing of Ernest
STUNT as a republican candidate for the
council from the Tenth ward. Three years
ago Mr. STUNT ran on the democratic ticket
for the council from the First ward and
was defeated by Peter Back Other new
filings are: Thomas Mulhall. councilman
Seventh ward, republican; John Mathiesen
committeeman, Third district of First ward
republican; L. l.. Lohnes, committeeman
Second district of First ward, republican;
Andy Hansen. councilman First ward
democrat; Washington Gillian, councilman
Sixth ward socialist; c. z. Malm. council.
man Ninth ward republican, and Il. L
Morrow, councilman Eleventh ward, dem,
ocrat; Frank b. Kennard. councilman
Fourth ward, republican,; Thomas Collopy
committeeman Fourth precinct OF Second
ward, republican, Fred G. Watson council