The Princeton union., 1911-11-16

FAILED TO ORGANIZE
ProgressiveS' Attempt to Line Up the
Ninth District for La Toilette
Proves to be a Fizzle.
Steenerson TrembIes Lest Ole Saqeng
the Lone P0puIist, Become a
j.
Candidate for Congress.
Union Special Correspondence.

Union Special Correspondence.
=. st. Paul, November 15-Political
gossip at the capital last week has
had much to do with the failure of the
La Toilette progressives to organize
the Ninth district in favor of the Wis
consin senator. The event was we'll
staged, and was to have taken place
at Fergus Falls. The setting included
those eminent statesmen, Senator
Moses E. Clapp, Congressman Hal
vor Steenerson of Crookston, and
Leonard Eriksson of Fergus Falls.
Whether the La Toilette organizers at
Minneapolis had tip as to what was
likely to happen is not divulged, but
they decided that it would be we'll for
W. I. Nolan and Judge F. T. Wilson
OF Saltwater, members OF the La Fol-
lette flying squadron, to stay away
Some one had to do it, so they let
Hugh Halbert Of St. Paul do it..
Now, Mr.. Halbert, as I gather, is an
earnest young man with advanced
ideas and stern progressive prin-
ciples. Howbeit, he appears to lack
discretion, for where Nolan and Will
son feared to tread be rushed in.
Senator Clapp had been on the
ground all day, but he seemed to
have been busy coming epigrams and
evolving anathemas upon the courts,
for he was unaware of the hornets
nest that had been provoked. While
the conference was in progress, &C.
cording to the reports that were
brought back, the senator sat idly at
a piano, striking an occasional
melancholy note out of a creaking
instrument that carried in the music
rack the flaming advertisement of the
"Grizzly Bear" waltz.
!. !. :.
Congressman Steenerson was more
discreet. While the senator faced the
music, the congressman, with his La
Fa iiette Endorsement safely ensconced
in his inside pocket, remained in the
o6ing aloof from the turmoil of actual
participation.
+ .s--s.
It appears that Otter Tail county
has a progressive league of it's own.
Some of it's members favor La Fol-
lette, more favor Senator Cummins,
while some of them are sufficiently off
color to actually believe the president
is all right. Whatever may have
been their attitude on the presidency,
there was one or two things upon
which they are absolutely united, and
this was that they did not propose to
submit to reorganization of their
own league. 1t also developed that
only Otter Tail was represented, with
the exception of Martin Widsten of
Warroad, who is Steenerson's secre:
tary.
!. i. !.
According to the newspaper reports
of the affair, Mr.. Halbert arrived on
train and started right in to
organize, but the Otter Tail men re-
fused to be organized. They dis
played about as much enthusiasm as
a group of stoughton bottles. Mr..
Halbert kicked right off and got such
a good start that he was in deep water
before he had time to notice the
signals of distress that we're being
wigwagged to him by John H. Grass
and Leonard Eriksson. Senator
Clapp was so alarmed over the pre-
dicament of Mr.. Halbert that he
jumped off into the deep water and
soon both were foundering about
without a life preserver in sight.
Finally both made the shore and Mr..
Halbert, realizing that something had
happened, but not knowing exactly
what, promptly adjourned the meeting
and went. out to get his breath. This
left the field in possession of such re-
doubtable progressives as Steve But
Ter, M. T. Moen, Mayor Anderson,
DR.. A. B. Cole and others.
***
While possibly a little perturbed
over the result, Congressman Steener-
son was determined to get that LII
Toilette Endorsement off his system
and did so in speech at the opera
house in the evening, where John b.
Grass presided. Mr.. Steenerson de-
clared that Taft was impossible and,
with Machiavellian ingenuity managed
to slip in an Endorsement of Knute
Nelson, who was busily attending to
the chores on his farm near Alex
andria.
Congressman Steenerson is credited
with possessing q trembling anxiety