Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-01-25
DEADLOCK ON SENATOR
State Legislature Unable to Make
Choice Between the
Candidates.
PRIMARY THE ONLY SOLUTION.
Indications Now Point to Another
Weeks Uneventful BallOtting,
Followed by Voting for
Primary.

The editor spent several days at
Des Moines last week attending to
business matters and took occasion
at the same time to visit the legis-
lature and watch the effort to elect
United States Senator, which has
been in progress since last Tuesday
noon, when the Senate and House
Of Representatives in separate ses-
sion voted upon the matter. Each
day since at noon the two branches
Of the legislature have met in joint
session and cast vote on Senator.
The first vote gave Claude R. Por-
ter, democrat, so votes, the republi-
can votes being scattered among the
following: Lafayette Young 33, w.
S. Kenyon %, A. B. Funk 21, H. w.
Byers 13, Warren Garst Z, G.. H.
Feely 5, Carl FRANKIE 2, C. H. Will
son 1. Since that time the vote has
been practically the same, varying
but little from day to day as a few
changes in votes were made by the
legislators. 1t will require about
eighty votes to elect, so it is easy to
guess upon the ultimate result. The
democrats say that they will not
waver from Porter. The regular re-
publicans say that they will stay by
Young first, last and always, and
there are probably half dozen more
votes that he can get when he needs
them. There is trouble brewing in
the insurgent ranks, with four or
five candidates, all determined to
stick and all feeling that they are
entitled to the insurgent support.
Should they all center upon one man
there would not be enough votes to
elect. Judge w. S. Kenyon of Fort
Dodge seems to be the strongest man
next to Senator Lafayette Young,
but the insurgents and regulars
alike say that but little is known of
him, that while he may be a great
lawyer, he has not shown peculiar
qualifications for the senatorship.
his friends are very
firm in his support. A. B. Funk of
Spirit Lake is strong candidate
among the insurgents, who also say
they will stay by him to the end.
He is an able man, and has advo-
Gated the insurgent cause SO long
that he does not propose to be shov-
ed aside. H. w. Byers, who has
just closed his term as attorney gen.
eral, has been defeated for congress
in the ninth district, and accepted
the position of corporation counsel
of Des Moines, seems to be out of
the race. Now that Judge Smith
has been appointed federal circuit
court judge, he may try again for
his place in congress. Poor Warren
Garst; he who has been the scape-
goat of the insurgent cause in Iowa
for so many years, candidate time
and again and defeated, a martyr to
his political friends, again he is des-
tined to go down in defeat, for seven
votes was all he could muster, one
of them from Representative Enger
of this city. Feely has already with
drawn from the race, and probably
Byers, Garst and FRANKIE will soon
follow, although they say they will
stay until the end. Then the con-
test will narrow down to Porter,
democratic; Young, Kenyon and
Funk, republican. We do not see
any hope for any Of them in the
legislature, but rather it seems that
the deadlock is certain to continue
Then the only alternative, and the
only right way under the existing
law in Iowa, which has been advo-
Gated by the regulars or standpatters
from the beginning, is to refer the
matter to primary, to be decided
by the voters of the state. Thi:
seems to us to be the final outcome
We do not see any chance for al
election in the legislature. If i
finally goes to primary We believ,
that Senator Young will be elected
In our judgment he is the biggest
man in Iowa for the place; talented
experienced, a gifted orator, a mar
CT influence and power, who has
spent lifetime fighting for Iowa
he would maintain the exalted posi-
tion the state has held in the nation
al congress.
Until the senatorial matter is set
tied, there Is prospect of little pro
gress in the other work of the ses
sion. Nevertheless. upwards of 15(
measures have already been intro
duced in the two houses, and refer
red to committees. which have JUS