Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-03
PLAYS A LONE HAND
Senator La FoIIette's SeIf-Cen-
Ntered Campaign.
HE is AFTER HIS ENEMIES
District Attorney McGovern and the
Larceny Charge.
CASE STIRRED UP THE PEOPLE
Some Wiseacres Believe That Senator
Intends to Desert the Republi-
can Party Soon.
HE IS AFTER HIS ENEMIES
AsE STIRRED UP THE PEOPLE

MILWAUKEE, Wis, October q, 1905
A campaign for himself only. That is
what the political activities of Senator La
Toilette in Wisconsin this fall have
amounted to. 1t is now ten days before
election, and La Toilette has not spent
but two days in the interest of the ticket
or any part of it. His activities off the
stump have been merely an effort to de-
feat those persons who have been active
against him in years gone by and to elect
to the legislature those candidates who
have been and will be ruled by his mandate
alone.
In the primary campaign La Toilette sue
ceeded in defeating Representative E. 8.
Minor, who made An enviable record in
the ninth district by his work in the in
terests of the lake marine. In his place
Gustav Kuestermann, member Of the state
board of control, has been nominated, and
kuestermann' personal unpopularity, COM
bined with the methods he has adopted in
his primary fight, will make him little
more than possibility as a congressman.
Opposed to him is P. A. Badour, one Of
the cleverest young democrats in the state,
a newspaper man of Oconto, who has
made swinging campaign through the
district and who will doubtless secure a
large proportion of the votes of the stall
wart element.
In the fourth district Theobald Often
was defeated for denomination, but his
conuueror W. j. Cary, will doubtless be
defeat Often will not prove disastrous to
the party there. In the other Milwaukee
district, however, Representative Stafford,
opposed at the primary by Henry F. Co
chems, the ex-foot ball star. is being forced
to wage his fight alone, While the La
gillette followers are giving all but open
support to the democratic aspirant, ]. G.
Donnely, the noted Irish wit and poll
tician.
Is After Babcock.
In the third district the activity of La
Toilette is open against ]. W. Babcock.
La Toilette has a considerable following
in the third district and all of his news
papers are openly supporting the demo-
cratic candidate on the admitted ground
that Babcock is opposed to the La Fol-
lette idea, while the democratic nominee Is
''fair-mnded'' democrat.
The fight against Babcock is quite likely
to add another democrat to the Wisconsin
representation in the lower house. 1t is
probable that when La Toilette makes mis-
expected speech in Babcock's district next
week he will come out against Babcock
openly. If not openly, he will at least speak
in favor Of the democratic candidate by III
nuendo.
The manner in which La Toilette has
gone into other states, however, and at
tackled republican senators has not pleased
many OF his former supporters in this
state, and the primary election fight was
severe blow to his prestige.
The most open war on the republican
ticket is the work being done in Milwaukee
against the republican candidate tor dis
trict attorney. Some months ago District
Attorney F. E. McGovern. the leader of
the local La Toilette forces, procured the
indictment of c. F. Pfister on a charge of
larceny Of $4,000 The case was brought
to trial, and the methods of the district
attorney in procuring the indictment were
o;,,l,- off to ,ircI ha
name of the leader of the anti-La Toilette
forces that the jury acquitted Pfster with
out ever rising from the jury box. The
Indictment further resulted in S1o0,oOO
suit for conspiracy against McGovern and
the local newspaper which had worked
with him in an effort to make this indict-
ment appear as a revelation of Pfster as
the leader of a ring The case is still
unsettled but the La Toilette forces have
delayed the payment of the enormous
damages.
AS a result of the district attorneys
methods in securing this Indictment the
people of the county rose at the primary
eIecuon and nominated f. X. Boden for
district attorney in Place of McGovern.
The La Toilette men. refusing to abide by
the result of the primary law whose pas
sage they themselves had effected. nomi-
mated Mciovern as an independent candi-
date, and the entire strength OF the La
Toilette machine and his newspapers is
being devoted to an effort to defeat the
poet. it is said. to defeat Boden. but do not
have any expectation of electng McGovern,
throwing their strength as far possible
to the socialist nominee. Anything to beat
Boden' is the campaign cry. La Toilette
is expected to speak for McGovern soon.
/ Against Repu blican Ticket.
The senator's campaign. however is the
most evident indication that he is not anx-
ious to see the republican ticket elected.
1Afa hi
state central committee. but the committee
declined fearing he would not be faithful
to the ticket from top to bottom Then he
arranged dates through his personal fol-
lowing. The first speeches were in Dane
county, In which the state capital is To-
Gated. He declared that voters should vote
the republican ticket He then paid his
respects to Davidson. saying that he had
no doubt that Davidson would do as well
as he could to aid the cause Of reform, but
that LenrOot the senator's choice for the
nomination, was much stronger man in
tellectualy. With this far from encourage
ing Endorsement, La Toilette turned to
discussion of the issues in which he was
personally interested and then went on to
review the work of the legislators who had
opposed him in the state and the senators
who had not stood by him in his contests
in the last session of the United States
Senate.
This series of political speeches is being
characterized also by occasional attacks
upon the regular republican nominees. For
instance, next week it has been announced
that the senator will come to Milwaukee
to spend a couple Of days, making three or
four speeches day against the republican
candidate for district attorney and favor
ing the boiling La Folletteite, McGovern.
In his opening speeches La Toilette ndi-
Gated his partial antagonism to the party
in whose name he was sent to Washington
by declaring that the time was coming
when the people Of the nation would rise
up and, ignoring party lines, would join
together under new banner and demand
the effective regulation Of the corpora
tiOnS.
1t is announced that Senator La Toilette
will speak in districts where candidates for
the legislature allied with the anti-La Fol-
lette faction are on the republican ticket
and in ..lese cases he will advocate the cleo
ton of the democratic nominee or utterly
ignore the republican candidate for the leg
islature while mentioning personally the
other candidates.
That La Toilette plans to openly desert
the republican party at an early date is pos
sibly the most important future develop
ment Of Wisconsin republicanism. When
Bryan was in Wisconsin couple of weeks
ago La Toilette met him at WATERFOWL and
travelled with him for some hours secretly
comforting on political affairs. AS nearly
as can be learned from this conference, La
Toilette and Bryan considered the forma-
ton Of a new party to war on the corpora