Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-04
WOODRUFF NAMED FOR JUDGE
Nomination Made on the Two Hun
bred and Eighty-Second Ballot.
P~oTTAwATTAMIE LEADS BREAK
After Three Days of BaIlotInE the
Delegates Tire of Struggle and
Flock to a Dark Horse from
Mills County.

mllln OounNNs
Eugene b.. woodruff of Glenwood, a
n ember Of the Mills county bar, was nomi-
mated yesterday afternoon by the repub-
ucan convention of the Fifteenth judicial
district Of Iowa, which had been in session
since Tuesday morning, as candidate for
Judge of the district bench to succeed
Judge N. w. Macy of Harlan, whose term
expires at the end of this year.
Mr.. Woodruff was a dark horse and not
a candidate for the nomination before the
convention at which he was in attendance
as a member of the delegation from Mills
county, which had a candidate in the per-
son Of A. E. Cook Of Malvern. Mr.. Cook
withdrew from the contest after the 18th
ballot Wednesday afternoon.
Mr.. Woodruff's name first came before
| the convention Wednesday afternoon. when
on the 1920 ballot Pottawattamie county
sprung him and gave him four of its
] twenty-cight votes. During the ensuing
balloting, however, he failed to develop any
support from the other counties and on
the 152d ballot the Pottawattamie county
delegation, which had been giving Mr..
Woodruff eight votes, switched to S. Scott
Lewis, also of Glenwood, another dark
horse. on the 155th ballot Pottawattamie
county again voted for Mr.. Woodruff, but
after the 18th ballot, when A. E. Cook,
the regular candidate from Mr.. woodruff's
county, withdrew from the contest, his
name was not again mentioned during the
balance Of the session Wednesday after
noon.
Nomination Late in Afternoon.
The nomination of MIR. Woodruff was
A-..-lt -. - ~ DSEtl ~ -lAwN1y
after 9 O'Clock yesterday afternoon. 1t was
brought about by the delegation from
Pottawattamie the members of which real
lied that it was apparently hopeless to
name Thomas Arthur of Logan, the candi-
date from Harrison county who was the
choice of a large majority of their number.
The balloting had proceeded during the
morning and for over an hour of the
afternoon session without any signs of the
deadlock being broken. II was evident that
not one of the remaining four regular cam
didates could effect a combination to secure
the necessary fifty-five votes for the nom
nation. Two attempts to adjourn the con-
vention failed and then the delegates got
together and decided that something should
be done to break the deadlock. Pottawat-
, annie county took the initiative and on the
10th ballot cast its entire twenty-eight
votes for Mr.. Woodruff. None OF the
other counties seemed willing at first to
follow Pottawattamie county's lead in the
direction of the Mill county man. Potta-
wattamie county. however, was in earnest
and on the next ballot again gave its entire
twenty-eight votes to Mr.. Woodruff. On
the 277th ballot Mills county added its ten
votes to the Woodruff column. On the
2Sth ballot Mr.. Woodruff received eight
votes from Audubon, ten from Mills and
twenty-eight from Pottawattamie. making
a total OF forty-six, but Shelby refused 10
come in. on the next ballot Woodruff
only received thirty-eight, eight OF Potta-
wattamie's votes being divided between
Beeson and Rockafellow.
on the 2S2d ballot it looked as II the
convention was about to stampede to
Rockafellow, the candidate from Cass
county. Woodruff's votes slipped away to
Rockafellow and the latter received forty
eight, or just seven short OF sufficient to
nominate him. Rockafellow's boom, how
ever, was but short lived, Harrison county,
seeing that 1t could not make its candidate,
Thomas Arthur, threw its twelve votes to
Woodruff. Mills followed with its ten
votes and Pottawattamie brought the total
up to- fifty by giving him its entire twenty
eight. The next ballot resulted the same
and then came the rush to climb into the
Woodruff bandwagon. When the roll was
called for the 2s5th ballot Audubon led off
with its eight votes for Woodruff. Cass
followed with its eleven. Fremont with
its eight, Harrison with its twelve, Mills
with its ten and 1t looked for a moment
as II Woodruff's nomination was to be
unanimous, but Montgomery refused to
abandon its candidate, r. w. Beeson OF
Red Oak, and announced it's eleven votes
for him. Page, which had been instructed
for Beeson, climbed into the Woodruff col
umn with its ten votes, -ottawattamie
county, ~exultant over having broken the
deadlock, gave Woodruff its twenty-eight
and then Shelby county with its ten votes
which had stood by it's candidate. George
W. Cullison, from the opening ballot on
Tuesday, also Joined the procession and
voted for Woodruff.
sketch of Candidate.
Eugene b. Woodruff. the nominee, is 81
years Of age and resides in G~lenwood, a.
which place he has been engaged in the
practice of law since 1881. He is a gradu
ate Of the Michigan university and was ad
mitted 10 the bar ir 1879 on graduating
Mr.. Woodruff stands high as a lawyer.
Hon, John Y. Stone, former attorney gen
eral for Iowa and chairman of the con
v%ention. paid this tribute to Mr.. Woodruff
when the latter was nominated. Mot IN