Morris tribune., 1912-04-26

every excuse for longevity, is on the
same road. In the opinion of many
in this neck of the woods it sealed it's
doom with the refusal of the state
central committee, held several weeks
ago in st. Paul, to stand for some sort
Of a preferential primary in the selec-
ton of presidential delegates. Not that
any one particularly cared whether
delegates were named by word of
mouth or by ballot, in fact, under ordi-
nary circumstances, the fact that the
committee ever met and decided any
particular matter would have been for
gotten twenty-four hours after. The
Roosevelt end of the committee, how
ever, did not forget it and this one
thing has been their chief stock in
trade ever since. They have talked
about it, written about it, mentioned
it in speech and argument and when
that failed repeated the dose until now
voters in every section of the state
have suddenly Weakened to the belief
that they have been denied something
that was rightfully theirs. They want
1t now and they are going to get
preferential primary by hook or crook.
4 j. :.
In a we'll written political story ap-
pearing in national publication of a
late date the author, speaking of
punishment administered to him by
his mother when youngster whom
he characterizes as decided progress
sive, says that when he was particu-
larly prone to mischief his mother
would smear his hands with molasses
and give him feather to play with.
That story has particular application
to the Republican organization in Min
nesota. Given what they demanded,
or at least pretense of an answer,
it would have kept the few who want
ed preferential primary so busy that
they would be now transferring the
elusive feather from finger to finger.
It is said of I. A. Caswell and the
Roosevelt followers in the state that
they have put in twenty-four hours a
day trying to impress the voters OF
the state with their rights and wheH
it failed to reach them in one way
they tried another. First it was the
state organization, then the committee,
later the counties and now they are
busy with the individual voters.
Chairman Ed Smith and his lieuten-
ants are for President Taft, they are
outspoken on that point, and believe
I am telling it straight when say that
they have 1T gone outside the regu.
lar methods in boosting his candidacy
They are being outshouted. however.
and it looks pretty much as if they
would be outplayed and all because OF
q failure to do the molasses stunt.
!. i. j.
Not content with getting the official
scalp of Superintendent Whittier OF
the Red Wing training school several
members of the State Federation of
Women's Clubs are hot on the trail of
the report that he is to be given an
other position by the board of control.
Mrs. Higbee Of st. Paul, former presi-
dent of the Federation, wrote the
board a letter protesting against M,
Whittier's employment in any capacity
1t is said that the Red Wing superin-
tendent has been offered the job OF
chief parole agent Still another M.
port has it that he is to succeed M. G.
Cutter, purchasing agent for the board,
who has resigned to take up a news.
paper property at Thief River Falls.
\ j. X
August Koerner of Litchfield, treas
urer of the state from 1895 to 1901
died last week at the Mounds Park