The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-12-14

shortly after election decided to be-
come an applicant for attorney In the
southern district. Daniel w. Hamil-
ton of iSigourney, previously had ex-
pressed preference for a federal
judgeship and had said he would be
willing to wait for the Mcpherson
succession.
Mr.. Porter went about among dem
ocrats securing his Endorsements in
the prescribed way. HIS candidacy
met with universal favor in the south
ern district He secured nos only the
Endorsement of the county chairman
of his home county OF Appanoose and
of the district chairman, but also OF
every county chairman in the south
ern district of the state, then of the
| state chairman and national commit
| taeman and the three democratic rep
resentatives in congress. He supple
mented these with the Endorsements
of large majority Of the state cen
trail committee and nearly every dem
ocratic member of the general assem-
bly,. To these political Endorsements
Mr.. Porter added a long list from
the legal professionalism all the
d judges in his judicial district, from
promin snt lawyers of the state and
4 the president Of the Iowa State Bar
/ Association.
But some time later Dan Hamilton
changed his mind regarding the judge
ship and came out for the attorney
ship In this move Mr.. Hamilton had
! the backing of Jerry Sullivan and the
9th er Original Wilson men" In the
state.
i Hamilton Source Of Trouble.
This candidacy of Mr.. Hamilton,
with all that his appointment would
mean, has been the chief cause of
trouble in the Iowa patronage m1tter.
4 If Mr.. Porter had been named attor-
nay last spring, when Mr. Sullivan,
Mr.. Murphy and Mr.. Van Wagenen
were appointed, the other appoint
ments-those of marshal in the north
ern district, attorney, marshal and,
at that time, collector, in the south
ern district-doubtless would have
: been made at the same time and 9th
er democrats, as we'll as these three
Original Wilson men, woud have
been drawing salary from the govern
. ment for the last seven months.
The opposition to Porter has con
tinueG SO unyieldingly that politicians
| of all parties look upon it as the SUI
preme test of strength with the Viii
son administration between Judge
Martin ]. Wade, Iowa memb of tn ?
national committee and t.tular head
of the party in the state. and Jerry
Sullivan, leader Of the original VIII
son men"
Friends of Mr.. Porter are indignant
because he has been branded as a
, "reactionary' while the original
Wilson men" have set themselves W
J. as progressive" democrats. and these
friends by the hundreds are insistine
that If the outcome Of this fieht shall
be rejection of him and ccaptance
of Hamilton. that Porter immediately
shall ask for vindication at the
HANDS of the democracy Of the state
by becoming a candidate for the sen
atorial nomination. How could the
Original Wilson men" support Porter
for the senate after opposing his ap
pointment to the attorneyship on the
alleged ground that he is reaction
ary?
Such a prospect is one of tbs
causes of satisfaction among the Cum
Minis supporters.
But Claude Porter, In his race
against A. b. Cummins for governor
came out of Appanoose. his home
county. which had been giving nor
nal republican majority of 1900
with 1000 vet to the good, change
of $500 votes in one county So. the
Cummins crowd, while pleased at the
grappla in which it sees Wade am
Sullivan factions of the democratic
party and watches the clinch Of tn
leaders become tighter and sees thei
faces grow redder and re6ier, it doe
not, by any means. consider tina
Claude r. Porter. as cadidate TO
the senate, would be joke.