The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-11-17
MAKES FRIENDS
FOR GOVERNOR
Delegate Commissions Feature
Of Executive Department.
FIRE PREVENTION CONGRESS-
Thousands of Citizens Made Happy by
Receipt of Beautifully ScrolIed
Parehments.
FIRE PREVENTION CONGRESS-

st. Paul, Nov. At is hardly pos
sible that you have been overlooked
in the gratuitous distribution of dele
gate commissions which are feature
of the state executive department
these days. refer to those sheets OF
executive parchment, with the great
seal of the state attached, and bear
ing your name and that of his excel
lency's, beautifully scrolled together
with the function at which you are to
represent the great state of Mime
sota-but if you have not do not worry
The last time looked in at the exec.
utive quarters there were more
parchment sheets and to spare; Score
tary of State julius H. Schmahl had
replenished his rapidly diminishing
supply of gold seals and within easy
call of the commission mill sat a
young lady who could duplicate the
executive signature at the rate of fifty
"sigs" a minute if the occasion de-
manded it and defy criticism as to
detection between the original and the
copy at that. AS to the functions
well, Secretary Ralph Wheelock was
opening invitations to send Minnesota
representatives to ''get-back-to-the
farm" conventions and what not at
the rate of four day. And when they
failed he had other doings up his
sleeve-fire protection congresses,
conservation gatherings and other get
together things. That any one has
been overlooked surprises me, but, as
I said, do not worry; just wait; they
will come.
This is a rather coarse way of
speaking of something that has grown
apace with no less than four admins.
trations and which had it's inception
during the period when Dave Clough
was in command, but as a slight rec.
ompense for the genius that invented
the game / take off my hat to him.
He is sure entitled to a niche, for he
builded well in providing way for
more than one hard pressed official to
lull rebellion. AS history records it,
and l will have to admit that history
in this case is rather vague, the gen.
eral distribution of gold seal dec
GRATED commissions, with the big fell
lows signature attached, had it first
trial during the Dave Clough admin
istration, but it was the Democratic
Kitchen Cabinet" that brought the
scheme to state of perfection, with
the present administration close sec
ond. The cabinet" ground out com
missions at every excuse and lowly
was the shack whose walls were not
decorated with the Illuminated bits of
paper, or poor the voter who could
not produce something bearing the
name of the immortal Johnson, and in
his own handwriting at that. Gov
ernor Eberhart distributed over five
thousand commissions bearing his "sig.
nature" for the conservation congress
of year or more ago, with his latest
innovation, the Fire Prevention con-
gress, held last week in ST. Paul, hard
pressing 1t for place. And both repre-
sent money we'll spent, for they
brought into being two propositions
of merit, and In the case of the con-
servation congress an appreciation
that figured strongly in the big vote
which the Mankato man piled up
against his rival. And in addition,
just think of the advertising.
Poohooed as joke by his enemies,
but taken so seriously by one st. Paul
German that he mistook the delegate
commission with the governors sigma.
ture sent him as an appointment to a
janitorship at the state capitol, Gov.
ernor Eberhart's fire prevention con.
gress, pulled off in St Paul last week,
was one Of the hits of the year. In
answer to nearly 5000 invitations sent
out, and each signed" by the execu.
tive, over 600 interested voters from
over the state made answer and out
of 1t all came an organization of inter.
est and profit to the state. True, the
politicians were in evidence and many
Democrats were on hand to take
notes, but there were enough present
to evidence genuine interest in the
subject and they went away feeling
that they had profited, even If the
cost came out of their own pockets.
What the next excuse for the official
signature will be do not know, but
there is one thing certain, no harm
will come of 1t.
No one down here seems to know
what is back of the move, but rumors
have been rife the past week con-
Meeting Aivah Eastman, the well
known ST. Cloud publisher, with the
Republican nomination for governor
His candidacy was discussed by sew
eral in attendance at the fire congress
and later it crept into the gossip at
the state capitol. Friends who have
seen him since, however, say he re-
CARDS the whole thing as joke, also
the talk OF his making the race for
congressman at large.
While on the subject of candidates
Cor congressman at large it might not