The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-11-05
EYE ON WEST END
SHARP FIGHT TWEEN FENEY AND
FICKERT I'm FRISCO.
Reform Element Is Supporting the
Present Vigorous Prosecuting At
torney; the Battles That Are In
Progress in the Several States
Today; the Number of Issues In
volved in the Casting of Ballots.

Washington, Nov. Although the
"off year" elections are normally the
quietest in the American political cal
endar, the reports which are dribbling
over the wires from New York and
San Francisco and points north, south,
east and west indicate that today's
battle of ballots will not lack exciting
features.
The municipal fights in the greatest
cities of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
are attracting more general attention
than the state contests. New York's
mayoralty elections are always specta-
cular, and today's is three cornered-
four -cornered, counting the Socialist
candidate-fght is no exception to the
rule. AS usual, Tammany Hall is the
bone of contention, and the republican
and Hearst parties have been fighting
shoulder to shoulder to bring about the
downfall of the Murphy organization.
The Fight in Frisco.
In San Francisco interest centers in
the battle for district attorney between
Francis j. Heney and Charles Fickert,
the regular republican and union labor
candidate. Heney has the support of
IA large reform" element in all par
ties, and the struggle for supremacy,
eliminating in today's appeal to the
voters, has been marked by much mud
singing and mutual recrimlnation.
Gubernatorial contests are on today
| in Massachusetts,, Rhode Island and
/ Virginia. In these states and in Penn
| sylvania, Maryland, Nebraska and a
| few other states minor state officers
will be chosen. In most of those
states, and also in New York and New
Jersey, one or both branches of the
| legislature will be elected. Some of
these legislatures will be called upon
| to choose United States senator's All
of them will be expected to take ac-
| ton, adverse or favorable, on the prop
osition for 3 sixteenth amendment to
| The Constitution to grant the power
to congress to pass an income tax bill
whenever congress deems such legisa-
ton necessary.
Contests in the South.
The republicans will choose the gov
ernor in Massachusetts, and probably
in Rhode Island, although the latter,
which always gives it's electoral vote
to republican presidential candidates,
sometimes places democrats in the
governors chair. In Virginia the con-
test is decidedly interesting. Kent, the
republican candidate for governor, will
receive many democratic votes on ac-
count of favoring local option, while
Mann, the democratic candidate, favors
statewide prohibition. Byan's plural
| ity in Virginia in 1908 was only 10000
| As the whisky issue in its various
phases attracts far more attention in
| the south than it does elsewhere, and
as Governor Swanson's record is in
iuring Judge Mann's chances, the re-
publicans are reasonably certain to
cut the democratic lead in Virginia
to very small figure this year and
may overcome it altogether.
Although Maryland chooses comp
ton will confne itself to the proposed
amendment to her constitution, which
would virtually efface the negro as
voter.
Washington, Nov. 2.-The district
court of the District of Columbia has
filed a decision adiudging Gompers,
Morrison and Mitchell of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor guilty of con-
tempt of court in the Buck stove and
range case. Gompers and the other
defendants will have to 60 to prison.