Morris tribune., 1911-12-29
Still KEEPING IN
The SPOTLIGHT
Suspicion That George 7. Slmp-
son Seeks GOvernorshlp.
SPOONER MAY ENTER RACE
Morris Man Believed to Be an As
prant for the Republican
Nomination.
Especial CorrespondenceD

doubted value from a vote udhlHS
standpoint the present day politician
and many members of the old school
for that matter, figure out all things in
their line on an ak grinding basis
With them pretty much everything Is
a play for votes. This is truly day
of publicity, and perhaps their horizon.
generally liberal, has been narrowed
by few who have certainly taken
advantage Of the new game, hence
there may be some excuse for thelr
anticipating a piece of news that IS
due to break the first of the New Year
and in which Attorney General George
#. Simpson alone will have the spot
light. | refer to his announcement OF
q suit to be brought by him against
the United States Steel corporation
for the recovery of the Mountain Iron
mine in ST. Louis county and an &C.
counting for the ore already taken
out. If he succeeds it means an addi'
ton to the school fund Of about $5,'
900 900, the airing of scandal having
its inception back in the eighties, and
incidentally, large red feather in Mr.
Simpsons hat. Mountain Iron orig
inally was selected as indemnity school
land. later relinquished by former
State Auditor w. w. Braden and ac'
ouired by the Merritts of Duluth, who
permitted it to pass into the hands OF
40
was questioned by former State Aud
itor r. G.. Dunn, who asked for an in
vestigation by the 1897 legislature.
The testimony covering the relln-
ouishment, as brought out by the leg
1slature, was tinctured with much that
looked rotton on the face of it and
the legislature appropriated $4,000
and named a committee to go into the
matter further The records are
rather vague as to what the committee
did beyond the conclusion that the
state had slept on its rights and that
1t had no further claim to the property
in question The committee consisted
OF such men as Jacob Jacobson, q. r.
Staples, P. M. Ringdahl, E. T. Young
and E. e. Smith, at present chairman
of the Republican state central COM
mittee. Note the fact that Chairman
Smith was a member of the commit
tee?
i. /. !.
Under the terms of his resignation
given some months ago Mr.. Simpson
has but few days Of official life and
1t does seem strange that he should
have taken upon himself the prelimi-
naries in a piece of litigation that
means years in the final settlement,
but this fact offers no surprises, IN
view of the kind of political views l
have described, and so, without any
further waste of words, | will say that
the wise ones have figured him out as
q candidate for governor and the
Mountain Iron suit as the fOrerunner
Of the kind of record he proposes to
impress upon the voting public. This
cynical and rather sordid view hardly
appeals to me, as the WinOna man al
ready has a record of million or
more dollars recovered into the treas
ury by his activity; but then stranger
things have happened If Mr.. Simpson
can put S5,0OO,OOO more into the state
treasury the taxpayers will hardly
care who is hurt in the operation.
+ ). !.
Whether or not Mr. Simpson is play
ing square in the matter of that dec
2aration of his that he will be out of
the political game for all time after
the first of the year l leave to the
King makers, but for fear the task
will not take up all their spare time l
will call attention to the activities of
Representative l.. G. Spooner of Nor
ris, who haunted the corridors of the
Merchants hotel pretty much all of
last week. The Morris man has been
checked up as an aspirant for con-
gressman at large, but it would seem
that he has turned his attention to
the governorship instead. In confer
snce with him at the time were
Speaker H. H. Dunn of Albert Lea
and Thomas Kneeland Of Minneapolis
and they let the cat out of the bag in
their endeavors to impress upon sew
eral co-Workers the advantage to be
gained by joining the Spooner boom
At the same time Lieutenant Governor
@. 7. Gordon was busy trying to find
cut his status as acting governor, and
Mr.. Spooner kept close tab on the
controversy Representative Knee
lands activity was credited to desire |
for an alliance that would aid in his |
asnbitions to be attorney general.
/. + +
L. C. Spooner was an active and |
scrcefui member OF the last legisla- |
Aure He fairly scintilated by com |
patfson and, while this was admitted |
by: a majority of his colleagues. it
hurt and in the minds of the observant |
ne. can hardly count on them now In
she advancement Of higher ambitions |
Mr.. Spooner was never regarded as
sGfxse. tn fact he has mannerism
80 r-!"rG