The Baraboo news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1884-1911, 1909-10-21
fin Old Stage r cute
And Some Politics
r RecoEections bg Peter Richards of Lodi, U6o
Mentions TiciSsitudeS Of Early TraSeI and
Cells of Split Ticket in Bardboo

: Young of Reedsburg, his democratic
opponent.
, Shanghai Chandler was responsible
: for that in the main, though I will
have to confess to completely in the
: game. The press was first set up in
: the Republic office over DIR Mills
drug store on the corner where Bar
niger is now located. 1t was then
moved to my office over the old Head
quarters store on Third avenue, and
while there, Captain Hill, then editor of
the Republic, suggested that print the
election tickets for the Republican
party. [ agreed to do this and did
print full supply of tickets, all as
"straight" as string and with which
no fault was found.
For some reason or other the forms
were allowed to lie on the stone in the
office for some days. While there
Chandler came into the office, and i,
seeing the forms lying there, said ito
me, "Peter, let's beat that man Vie
balm, and elect Moses Young in his
place." I replied. "We can't do it,the
republican majority in the county is
too large, besides it would be an act
of bad faith on my part to use the
type for the defeat of man for whom
they were set up, and the election of
his opponent" 1t took me long
time to master my scrupIes in regard
to the matter, but my prejudices
against the republican candidate were
as strong, every bit, as Chandier's and
at last [ consented. So the name of
Viebahn was lifted out and that of
Moses Young was put in its place, and
a sufficient number of split tickets
were run off to make the defeat of the
republican candidate sure if we could
get them in circulation and into the
ballot boxes. Some prominent repub-
lican citizens, merchants, and others,
who shared the prejudices against Mr..
Viebahn, undertook to, ana did, circu-
Ylate the tickets, and the result was
that the people put them into the
boxes, and the thing was done. Mr..
Viebahn was beaten and Moses Young
was elected.
My excuse was, when the howl
arose with regard to the matter, that
[ was opposed to the clique rule, and
if there ever was such a thing, the men
that made that republican ticket sure~
ly came under that head. I am a stall
wart republican and always have been {,
but when I see clique attempting to
run the party and control its action,
[ sometimes ''slip cog" and vote
against that sort of a rule.
1t was the same sort of clique busi-
ness that compelled Capt. Hill, though
himself one of the clique, to withdraw
from the canvass of county judge in
favor of c.. G. Remington, after secur-
ing the nomination at the hands of
the convention. AT least that is my
belief, and [ do not think that | am
very far out of the way. know Hill
wanted the office badly, and it was a
sore trial for him to give it up, but he
could not withstand the pressure
brought to bear against him and so
yielded.
Most of the actors of all these scenes
and happenings have long since passed
away, and there are but few of us left
to recall them, or who knew of the
ways and means by which they were
brought about.
Such things usually get out in the
course of time, and here I am,l after
more than forty years, at the confess
sionaI, and can only say with other
guilty ones, "mea culpa, mea culpa."
PETER RICHARDS.
Lodi, Wis, Oct. 4, 1909.
| EDITORS note-Attorney A. Wood
of the town of Washington states that
after Moses Young was elected he re-
fused to qualify. He had a drug
store at Reedsburg at the time. J. FL.
Terry OF Spring Green was appointed
to fill the vacancy. 1t is recalled that
Superintendent Terry made trip over
the hills north of LaValle when the
travelling was not as good as it is to-
day. When he had driven to the top
of one of the high hills on his way
home he is said to have looked back
and said: "If the good Lord will for
give me for coming into this country
this time I will never do it again.
As most of our readers know Mr..
Viebahn is now member OF the state
assembly from Jefferson county. He
was porn in 1912 in Germany, came to
Wisconsin in 1852 with his parents,