The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1912-08-29
Candidates Unable to Arouse
Interest in Campaign.
HOT FIGHT FOR FIRST PLACE
Wise Ones Say, However, That the
New Statewide Primary Law
Favors the Sins"
Especial Correspondence.)


st. Paul, Aug. 26.-With the close
OF this week candidates for office will
start on the last lap of the primary
campaign race and the outcome has
more than one asIirant guessing.
Lieutenant Governor S. Y. Gordon,
who wants to handle the ship of state,
hied himself to greener fields last
week and is now doing handshaking
stunt down in the Second district;
e. T. Young, likewise ambitious, is
touring the Third district; w. E. Lee,
also suffering from gubernatorial itch.
is hitting the high spots, and l.. c.
spooner among the first to get in the
game, is touring the Northern coun-
ties. AS for Mr.. Eberhart, he has
not rested since the campaign began.
So you see they are all on the Job,
and according to their statements
each is bound to win. This activity,
not to speak of the scramble for Office
in the various counties, would indi-
cate that the campaign for place is on
with a vengeance, but in the face of
1t all, dear reader, yours truly can not
yet see his way clear to admit that
the voters think so. That blanket of
d1sinterestedness and silence which I
spoke of two weeks ago still prevails
and will not lift. There is absolutely
no specialization of sentiment as far
as the "Outs" are concerned. And this
seems all the more remarkable when
it is considered that Minnesota now
has on it's books statewide primary
law, something it's promoters claimed
the people were clamoling for and
which, in their opinion, would inject
more ginger into the game of candi-
date seeking and selection than at any
time in the history of the state. The
promised ginger has not materialized
and Minnesota offers the spectacle of
the two great parties going to bat
with less than a third of the voters
able to tell who is running for the big
jobs and the other two-thirds indiffer.
ent as to who will land
= :. :.
Six representative citizens of the
great North Star state are making the
race for governor and the other day I
canvassed two of the populous blocks
in st. Paul in order to satisfy myself
as to the standing of EACH I hate to
admit it, but I only found fifteen per-
sons out of possibly $50 who knew
who was running for the highest Office
in the gift of the state or who had
convictions. This does not apply to
st. Paul alone; it covers the entire
state. Insurance Commissioner Preus,
Governor Eberhart's right hand man,
while upstate the other day was asked
by friend who he was going to sup
port. Governor Eberhart. of course"
was the answer. "Is he a candidate?"
asked the friend in a surprised tone
OF voice. Preus tells the story as a
joke on himself and Eberhart, but he
admits that it is an illustration of the
political ignorance or perhaps apathy
that covers over half the state
The old saw about familiarity breed
ing contempt possibly applies, but the
observations of those actively con-
nected with the political game this
year is that the people of this great
commonwealth have been handed con-
siderable of a lemon in the statewide
primary law and the corrupt practices
act, which was the chief offering of
the late special session of the legis-
lature. Every day is bringing the
weak points of both to. the surface
and the whole thing, when reduced to
the concrete is that the two are about
the best things for organized politics
that were ever perpetrated This,
mind you is the view of practical poll
t1clans and not yours truly With
them politics is profession and they
watch the weather vane like hawk
does the barnyard. Their observation
is that the new law favors the ems
and that is the reason they have lean
ings toward certain state candidates.
Accepting their dope, and it is in
every way logical the Republican
state ticket which will be nominated
at the state primaries will start with
A. 0. Eberhart for governor and con-
clude with Judge Mills for railroad
and warehouse commissioner. 1t will
be the same throughout as charged
against the Republican convention
two years ago and which many
claimed was machine made. That
convention, however, did rout the ma
chine forces in the case of two places,
lieutenant governor and clerk of the
supreme court. In the Twin Cities
every daily from the Minneapolis
journal down will be found support
Ing Governor Eberhart before the fin
lsh of the primaries Not openly
mind you, but in that so called indie
pendent way which characterizes the
so called nonpartisan paper. The
daily press of the Twin Cities will
not, if it can help it, play loser and
Eberhart, as I have pointed out, has
not been put in that class by the prac-
teal fellows. Show them some other
winner and they will be on the lob