Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1912-09-06
THOUSANDS AFTER OFFICE
All Records Broken Under New
Statewide Primary Law
Especial Correspondence

day of last week and now the
5000 or more candidates for pub
lie Office in Minnesota are on the
last lap of a prediction campaign
that may not have an equal in the
history of the state. The past, it has
to be said, is without comparison.
The figure 5000, it has to be admitted,
is simply guesswork, but when one
takes into consideration that the vot-
ers of Hennepin county alone will
have to wade through a list of over
400 candidates this number, given for
the state at large, is not far fetched.
In majority of the counties the can,
d1dates exceed the Offices four to one.
This is the first time candidates for
state Offices have figured in a primary
and the scramble is something re-
markable. Five parties are represent
ed and every one of them has full
tickets. The largest number of can
dfdates is naturally to be found in
the Republican ranks. You know that
six of our prominent citizens want the
Republican nomination for governor
and the same number would like the
job of congressman at large. The
Wouldbe's are even after Chief Justice
Start of the supreme court. Two want
his scalp. How many soreheads will
be found after the night of the 18th
Of September can be easily figured.
There will be plenty of them.
i. !. i.
The passage of law by the legis-
lature for primary ballot without
political designation as far as the iu-
dietary is concerned may be all right,
but the present scramble for jobs on
the bench is not likely to commend
the new idea to those who think that
| the Judiciary should be as far removed
from the hurly burly of politics as
possible. When the convention sys-
tenn prevailed no one thought of con-
testing Chief Justice Start of the su-
preme court 1t would have been sui
eide to attempt it. Today there is
! list of three for the job and Judge
( zhsSNe"1 Nv A1S A1eSo 0OIfCd Inc SlC6IG -1OI
over fifteen years, will have-te fight
to retain his job Judge C. w. STAN
! ton, a Democrat, is after his scalp
and the elimination of the party desig-
! nation--he is Democrat-will un-
doubtedly help him. S. Alexander
Stewart of Minneapolis, a young at
torney, also wants the job. Stewart
has figured little in legal way and
/ yet he has just as much chance of
! winning as any one
j. = j.
It is a safe bet that if at least four
! OF the present candidates for the Re
publican gubernatoria1 nomination
! had to do it over again the job could
go to for all they care I am told
that several, of the opposition to Gov
ernor Eberhart are weary of the job
and that they are anxiously awaiting
the time when it will be over. The
game is more strenuous than they bar
| gained for and in addition it is ex-
pensive. That the six candidates will
drop $50,000 is pretty near sure
thing. There are those who say that
! two of the candidates alone will spend
half again as much, but they cannot
back their assertions up with facts
The corrupt practices act only allows
an expenditure of $500 for each can
/ didate and that amount must cover
both the primary and general election
campaigns.
| S4s -
Speaking of the money that will be
spent in the present primary cam
paign, $1,000,000 is given by the best
| posted as the amount that will be in
vested by the several thousand candi-
dates in the eighty-six. counties of the
state. This is mere guesswork, but at
the same time there is some founda-
ton for the statement when it is
known that the postage alone will not
be far from 100000. To reach every
voter in the state with a letter carry
ing 2-cent stamp requires nearly
$4,000. And there are several candi-
dates who are using the mails over
| time in an effort to convince the
/ voters. And they say that you do
not need money in a primary That
is where the people rule. They could
rule, but somehow or other they are
too busy to give any attention to the
job of ruling. The bosses attend to
that--that is they used to and there
is nothing to show that their number
has been diminished.
/ + i j.
Here is the Republican organization
slate and bets are up that It will get
by the primaries: A. O. Eberhart
governor; d. M. Neill, lieutenant gov,
ernor; Julius II. Schmahl, secretary
of state; Walter ]. Smith, treasurer;
Lyndon A. Smith, attorney general;
c. E. Flmquist and Ira B. Mills, rail
road and warehouse commissioners:
Knute Nelson, United States senator
and Frank M. Eddy, congressman a.
large, And there is nothing to show
that the slate will not prevail There
Il is practically no interference in Atht