Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1912-12-06
RINES APPEARS
TO Be LEADING
Mora Editor Likely to Win
Speakershlp Contest
BUM STAYS ON The BENCH
st. Paul Man Defeated at Recent Elec-
ton Reappointed by Gov
ernor Eberhart.
Especial Correspondence

pected happens Henry Rines, publish
er Of the Mora Times, will be speaker
Of the next house of resentatives
Patrick McGarry of Walker and G. w.
Brown of Glencoe, rival candidates,
refuse to concede the lead generally
credited to the Mora man, hMt he has
it just the same. There is a good
month between now and the opening
Of the session and Mr.. Rines' grip on
the place may be loosened in the
meantime, but just now he has the
job and his clutch comes pretty near
being a cinch. The contest for pre-
siding officer of the house this time
is perhaps the first in the history Of
the state to be sewed up at this early
date and the sudden ending of the
whole thing has in a measure dazed
those leaders who ordinarily handle
this particular position. A while back
I said the selection of a speaker other
than a man agreed upon by the pow
ers that be had seldom happened in
the history of the Minnesota lawmak-
ing body, but l will have to renig.
Rines has put it over the brewers and
the others and it is question if he
expended more than his railroad fare
from Mora to st. Paul and his hotel
expenses in doing it. The old timers
simply can not get over the poor gen.
eralship of the other side They are
amazed and all the more so when
they look at Rines and see his moves.
Many of the things he has done and
the open feature of his moves have
been so amateurish that at times I
believed he was committing absolute
suicide, but despite it he prevails.
\ !. !.
Unless it be in the old Populist
days, and there is nothing to show in
it's case that the big fellows did not
prevail, the organization of both
the house and the senate always fig
ured with the powers at the helm,
but it looks pretty much as if a new
deal was on this time. The progress
sive movement seems to be the poison
that has attacked the roots of the old
guard and in manner that has made
it's leaders helpless. In the ordinary
course of events Rines would probably
be the last man that a majority of
the average house of representatives
would pick upon as leader. Phys
ically do not think he is fitted for
the job. Mentally he may be all right,
but mentality is not everything in
this position. The element of execu-
tiveship, which means the strong arm
and the ability to conciliate, seem
lacking. Yet despite this showing
Rines has fully fifty-four votes, enough
to elect, and the other forty-six must
come to him as a matter of necessity
and self preservation. 1t all SINNERS
down to the one thing, and that is the
new order of things. 1t is not the
man any longer. The progressive
game has the center of the stage and
it behooves those who want political
preferment to gather around it's stand
ard. AS they say, all things come to
him who waits, and those who have
In the past handled the speakersh1p
may be only temporarily out OF the
game, but whether temporarily or
otherwise. they are for all purposes
down and out just now.
:. !. X
In the good old days legislative
glory lay in the best committeeship
that the average member could Sc
cure. In the house, cOmmitteeship
assignments were farmed out on the
basis of the members political
strength and his ability to help out
oE tI1
Ger. In the senate there was an or
ganfzation known as the combine and
those standing in with the powers
that be only were favored. Things
are changed now. Committeeships in
the house, in a way, are no longer a
bait and as far as the senate is con-
cerned it does not look as if the old
time combine would figure this time.
It is hardly nice thing to say, but
in the old days a place on the rail
road committee was equivalent to a
trip to Europe and then some. In the
days gone by the temperance commit
tee has provided sustenance for a
number known to be of the old guard
and taxes, telephones and municipal.
tiles were at least good for square
meal. Things are changed now. Those
interests who formerly worried when
committee met are no longer inter
egted. The courts are their salvation
now and legislatures may pass all the
laws they want to. If the laws are
wrong the courts can be counted upon
to give relief, and that is all there is
to it. This is no reflection on the
courts, it is simply case of putting
up to competent body the difference
between right and wrong and without
the cost that, has characterized the
past
+ J. !.
Justice Bum of the supreme cour
succeeds himself as member of tn;
highest tribunal in the state and hi.
appointment settles another scrambl,
that threatened to involve half of thu