The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-02-22

lutte silence. Scores of people with
pads and pencils are following the re-
suit of the voting and now and then
! there is little ripple as some member
changes his vote from one faction to
the other. The democrats vote solidly
lican vote was almost evenly divided
between Deemer who is supported by
the standpatters, and the most radical
Cummins men, and Kenyon, who was
supported by the more independent
progressives and by few standpat-
ters on account of personal or district
alliance. On Thursday the vote stood,
Deemer 81, Kenyon So; on Friday they
had 40 each, the reduced vote being
accounted for by absentees. The dem
ocratic vote hovers about the fifty
mark. After the ballot the clerks
make the footings, which are in turn
announced by the presiding officer. On
Thursday and Friday motions to pro-
ceed to second ballot were defeated.
The joint convention then adjourns
after the reading of it's minutes to
meet at noon of the next legislative
day.
While at the beginning of the ses-
sion the senatorial election largely
overshadowed all the other work of
the legislature it has now become
matter of logged persistence and the
Joint ballot has become almost as
much matter of routine as the chap
lain's opening prayer.
That politics makes strange bedfel-
lows is in no wise better illustrated
than by the fact that the radical
standpatters, the men who dislike
Cummins the most, are now voting
day after day with Cummins' most
intimate friends and advisers, who in
turn are doing their utmost to defeat
Judge Kenyon, who has long been
recognized as progressive and who
has the support of such radical pro-
gressives as the Larrabee brothers.
Although the majority of the re-
publicans are progressives and al
though the democrats of Iowa have
for many years given their support to
Mr.. Cummins and have elected him on
more than one occasion, this is dis
tinctly anti-Cummins legislature and
is getting more so every day. The
democrats are deeply incensed at
Cummins over his Chicago speech in
which he declared that "The meanest
republican is better politically than
| the best democrat" The large faction
of progressives who are supporting
Kenyon are indignant with Cummins
for they feel that they have capable,
progressive candidate, but they know
that they have had Cummins opposi-
ton at every turn of the road. The
other prOgressives, too, the intimate
friends of Funk, Garst and Byers,
whose political corpses now strew the
field, feel that Mr.. Cummins deserted
them in time of need and that had he
insisted any one of them might have
been named. Thus it will be seen that
the senior senator had alienated near
ly all OF his followers. The democrats,
the standpatters and at least a major
ity of the progressives are outspoken
in opposition.
The deadlock shows no signs of be-
ing solved. The standpatters hold the
key to the situation, but by voting for
Deemer, progressive, they have
thrown the onus for prolonging the
contest on to the progressive faction.
1t is said that the standpat vote will
soon return to it's first love, Senator
Young, and will insist upon the spec
ial primary. 1t is also rumored that
the standpat vote may later be thrown
to some other progressive candidate.
The friends of Kenyon are still con-
fident. They feel that Kenyon ought
to be more acceptable to the stand
patters on account of the fact that he
is under no obligations to Senator
Cummins, and could not be expected
to act as his echo after the way he
has been treated. The situation is in
teresting, but no harm has been done,
either to the work of the legislature
or to the interests of the state.