The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1910-02-25
RECENT LETTER
CAUSES A STIR
Rumor Of Gronna's Intention to
Join North Dakota Democrats
Ar0uSeS Politicians.


Minneapolis Tribune says: Great
excitement has been caused in po-
litical circles here over the revela-
tion of a letter purported to have
been written by Congressman
Gronna in which he practically re-
pudiates the republican party, the
import of which was reported ex-
clusively in the Sunday Tribune.
Speculation is rife and the politi-
clans are all busy denying and af-
irming.
Gossip gives plausibility to the
story when it is recalled that in
1894 Gronna who was then, as
now, running general store at
Lakota, was a candidate for the
democratic nomination for state
senator against P. j. Lamb Of
Michigan City. Lamb defeated
Gronna, and two years later Gron-
ma left the party and became the
local representative of Senator
Hansbrough who later rewarded
him by giving the republican nomi-
nation for congress at Grand Forks
in 1904. All this is political his
tory. long since written down in
the annals of the state. -.
Further plausibility is given by
the spectators to the report of
Gronna's possible return to the
democratic party in the fact that
the Marshall -Gronna compact, it is
said, is not sweeping the state with
the wild fire that its sponsors anti
cipated.
A democratic combination with
Purcell and Gronna for the senate,
Burke for governor, Hildreth and
some other popular democrat for
congress and Fisk and Carmody,
at present both supreme court
judges, for the supreme court-all
able citizens of the commonwealth
of North Dakota is said would
be combination of more than
passing strength.
The election returns for 1908
show nearly twenty republican
senators and members of the
house elected by majorities rang
ing from 200 to 100 votes. The
old war horse, Jud LaMoure, had
only eighteen majority and no
fight was made by the democrats
for seats in the legislature, the en-
tire energies of the party being in
an effort to re-elect Burke in
which they succeeded, though
Taft's majority in North Dakota
was in excess of $4,000 in vote of
less than 10000. When the fact
is considered it is easy to see the
possibility of the election of a
democratic legislature in North
Dakota next fall.
North Dakota has in the past
shown some political ,acrobatic
stunts worthy of note. For in
stance in 1892. when she had only
three votes in the electoral college,
she gave one vote to Harrison, one
to Cleveland and one to Weaver
a record never duplicated before
nor since by any state in the union.
Also in January, 1893, she elect
ed w. L. Roach, democratic
United States senator to replace
Lyman r. Casey, republican, by
a fusing Of democratic and popu-
listic votes together with nine re-
publican votes, Jud LaMoure as
the leader and one of the nine re-
publican votes.
All this is history and those pol
iticians who like to speculate de-
clare that the vagaries of politics
in North Dakota have been Of
such a nature that most anything
can be expected in view Of the
divisions existing within the re-
publican party at present.
Some Of the leading democrats
figure that Gronna would be fol-
lowed into the democratic party