Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-02-09
new NEWS OF YESTERDAY
State Election Decided by Lonely
Night Wait.
BY :. j. EDWARDS.

Only those who are on the inside
realize on what queer and often unex-
pected turns and seemingly little
things the fate of even national cleo
tions sometimes hang. The hitherto
unpublished incident | am about to re
late illustrates the point aptly, and
might add that | have always viewed
with some satisfaction the minor part
played in probably helping to decide
a national election.
When Gen. Grant was president the
elections in the state of Connecticut
were held on the first Monday of
April. A state election was to be held
near the close of Grants first admins
tration. and it was expected that as
Connecticut went so would the nation
go in the presidential election of the
following fall Marshall Jewell was
governor and a candidate for re-elec-
ton. His Democratic opponent was
James e. English, who had alsoi been
governor. All the politicians were con-
WINGED that, whether Jewell or English
won, the majority would be small
One slushy night in the latter part
of March Jewell was driven from a
country village where he had been
campaigning to the railway station at
Meriden, ten miles distant. While he
was all alone in the station the tele-
graph key began to click. When a
young man he had studied telegraphy,
and almost unconsciously he read that
New York was calling Albany by way
of Hartford Then, with a suddenness
that made him stand stock still, he
heard his own name spelled out over
the wire. Listening now, with all his
senses alert, there, in the solitude of
that deserted railway station, he
caught every word of a message going
through to Albany from some Of
Tweed's cronies in New YorF CITY,
which clearly indicated that Tweeds
friends intended sending repeaters
into Connecticut on election day.
Instantly JEWELS plans were
changed. Instead of going to Hartford,
he took the first train to New Haven.
Arrived there, he Immediately called
at newspaper Office and said to the
editor, in whose judgment he had
great condolences:
Il have here a telegraph message
from some of the Tammany men of
New York to some one in Albany. 1t
into this state on election day What
had better do?"
So highly respected was James E.
English, and so certain was it that he
would not be party to any contem-
plated fraud upon the ballot, that it
seemed the better part to notify him
of the telegram in Gov. JEWELS pos
session.
Summoning me, the editor placed in
my hands sealed envelope, instructed
me to deliver it to Gov English in per-
son, to tell him that it was from Gov.
Jewell, and to wait for his reply. Ig-
norant, at that time, of the envelopes
instructions, routed the Democratic
candidate out of bed, saw him start
visibly as he read the slip of paper,
ard carried back with me his assur-
ance that he would be at the newspa-
per Office as soon as ne could dress
1t was midnight when he entered
What is this about telegram"
asked Gov. English. when the formal
greetings were over.
Gov. Jewell read the telegram, and
then handed the slip of paper upon
which it was written to Gov English.
This is, indeed, surprise and irri-
tation to me-" said Gov English 81
hape you know me well enough" he
continued, mot to make it necessary
for me to assure you that | would not
for an instant keep the office of gov
ernor unless l received the honest vote
OF g majority of the electors. Let me
take copy of this telegram" "A copy
: as handed to him.
There is every reason to believe
that next day Gov. English communi-
Gated with some of his party heeIers:
at any rate, he discovered the genuine
ness of the telegram to be unques-
toned. and summarily checked the at
tempt to run Tammany repeaters into
Connecticut. In other words, because
of his sterling honesty, a Democratic
gubernatorial candidate caused the
election Of his opponent by a plurality
of $50, and, probably, the reelection of
President Grant the following Novem-
Der. None except Gov. Jewell and one
or two Of his more intimate friends
knew until this day how that decisive
telegram was obtained.
Copyright, 1909, by E. J. Edwards.)
Grave Of Lover and Maid.
A correspondent of the Pioneer has