Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-16
POLITICS IN IDA H0
Senator Dubois Raises the
Mormon Question.
VIM. H. BORAH'S CHANCES
Excellent Unless Landslide Should
Give Democrats Legislature.
FIGHT OVER GOvERNORSHIP
Gooding's Firm Stand for Trial Of
Assassins of Former official Gives
Him Good Standing.

Special Correspondence of The Star.
BOISE, Idaho, September IL, 1905.
Idaho is destined to be the scene Of a
fast and furious political battle this fall
The situation is complicated and involved,
there are several issues, and the people
are thoroughly aroused. 1t is not to be O.
straight fight between two great parties.
for there is today only one great party in
Idaho, the.republican party. 1t will he
contest on altogether new lines.
Senator Dubois, whose term expires on
March 4. 1907, Is making vigorous cam
paign in the hope of securing the cleo
ton of :. legislature that will return him
to the Serate To serve his purposes he is
forcing the Mormon question to the front
believing that he, as the leader of the
anti Mormon movement, win be able to
get enough votes to make his seat secure.
Gov. Gooding is appealing to the people
for Endorsement of his course in the prose-
cution of the murderers of former Gov
Steunenberg. William z. Borah. recently
nominated by the republican state con-
vention for the United States Senate, is
running largely on his personality and
his party Endorsement, and is not directly
affected BY either the Mormon or the la
Dor issue
The Mormon Question.
The Mormon question in Idaho is not as
conspicuous or as important as Dubois
would make it appear. The people gener-
ally have no fear that the Mormon Church
Is going to- grasp control of the state ad-
ministrat:on. There are some. partlcu-
larly the close friends of Dubois, who are
trying to make it appear that MOrmOniSm
threatens the state, but their cries are not
causing the alarm that was intended. The
fact is, Idaho republicans are totally Jg-
noring the Mormon question and do not
even admit that Mormonism Is an issue.
There are some democrats who unWt1-
l1ngly follow Dubois in his Mormon cam
paign. and altogether this issue is not
yielding the senior senator as much bene-
fit as he had calculated upon.
The Mormon vote constitutes about one
fourth of the total vote of the state. Here
tofore the Mormons have divided, some
voting the democratic, others the repub-
lican ticket. The democratic state con-
vention at It's recent session adopted a
platform declaring in favor of the dis
Reimbursement of all Mormons in Idaho.
and this plank will naturally have the
effect of driving the Mormon voters into
the republican camp Dubois, in his de-
sire to make votes for himself has given
the republicans the benefit of the entire
Mormon vote. and the republicans did rot
so much as turn their hand to get it. The
republican platform is silent on the Nor
mon question; no inducements were held
out; no pledges made; nothing whatever
any circumstances support a ticket that
is running on a platform which means
their own political obliteration, hence are
forced 10 vote the republican ticket.
Senator Dubois Issue.
When Senator Dubois raised the Mormon
question and sought to make it an issue he
calculated that there would be a stampede
to his camp; he thought that the good
citizens" would be anxious to dispossess
every Norman of the right of the ballot,
and he thought he could foreSee a tidal
| wave sweeping over the state, gathering in
republicans as well as democrats. Dubois
is credited with being one of the shrewdest
| politicians in the entire west. but in this in
stance he appears to have made a serious
mScalculation.
| Unless Dubois can made good on the Nor
| mon issue he is done for. The present leg
! islature. consisting of seventy-one members,
| has but five democrats. The next legisla-
| ture. to be chosen this November, will have
| seventy-two members. and all indications
| point to almost, If not quite. as great a re-
publican majority. Dubois can count on all
| the democratic votes. but he will have to
corral big bunch of republicans in order
to secure a reelection. He will need at
least thirty republican votes. in case the
republican majority in the next legislature
is as large in the present. and there are
| no present indications which would lead to
the conclusion that thirty republican men,
bers of the legislature will abandon the
nominee of their own state convention in
order to re-elect Dubois on the Mormon
issue.
William E. Borah stands an excellent
chance of election unless unexpected
landslide should occur which would result
in the election of a democratic legislature.
Borah was nominated for United States
senator at the recent republican state con-
vention. after vigorous fight waged
against him by Senator Hepburn and the
old republican machine. Now that Borah
has been nominated. Hepburn and his
Id tf,air
there will be no bolt. unless it can be
brought about by Dubois Idaho repub-
licans in past campaigns have had vicious
contests within their party prior to their
conventions, but experience has demon
strated that the party gets together before
election day and there is every indication
that they will do so this year. If they do,
Borah Is a sure winner, and 1t is reason
able to suppose they will unite. inasmuch as
the men who led the fight against Borah at
the convention are all giving him cordial
support at the present moment.
Fight Over Governorship.
The fight over the governorship promises
to be more acute than the fight for the leg
islature. Gov. Gooding took firm stand
against the men responsible for the assas-
sination of ex-Gov. Steunenberg, and has
insisted from the first that they Shall be
brought to trial. He is demanding their
prosecution and insisting that they shall go
before the bar of justice and be adjudged
guilty not guilty, according to the evil
dence that is produced. For this stand
Gooding has been denounced in resolutions
by every labor union in the United States;
his life has been threatened times beyond
number; skull and cross-bone notifications
threats from the black hand and similar
warnings reach him in every mail. But he
is not deferred from his purpose and Is
standing as firmly. today as the day the
crime was committed. Gooding therefore,
goes before the people as the advocate of
law and order. and his election will demon
strate to the world that the people of Idaho
are a law-abiding people. The defeat of
Gooding would be an Endorsement of an
archy and would be disgrace the state
could not live down in a decade.
Chas. O. Stockslager, the man nominated
by the democrats to oppose Gooding. is
personally popular throughout the ~,
and Is good friend of the MormonS, not
withstanding the declarations of the plat
form which he runs, There are some
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