The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1919-11-19
/ STATE CAPITOL NEWS
Isl. By Vance Chapman

III. 60 Is il fellows: the big scrap is
on. Oscar Arneson, late of Grant
county, now Of, St. Paul and chief
clerk Of. the House, tossed his hit
| into the political ring this week and
the 1920 battle for political suprern-
acy might be said to have started.
Mr.. Arenson is listed as candidate
for the republican nomination for
lieutenant governor; price paid $4,000
and is noted on the books as filing
No. I. Who's next? you probably
ask. Well, as talk runs the woods is
full of them and the first of the
year should see quite a number Of
them out i'm the open. The. grooming
| act is the principel feature of the
game just now with the lead horses
frantically maneuvering for position.
| Accepting some of the dope passed
out by the wise ones, Republican
entries for the 1920 contest are going
to be the heaviest in the history Of
the game and they are somewhat,
worried regarding the outcome. Mr.
Arneson's filing came as a surprise
as no one seemed to be in his con
fidence in the matter of the office
sought by him, but any interest that
his early filing might cause has since
been lost in the general talk about
who will be the first to file for the
Republican nomination for governor
No less than fiive-count 'em-five,
are billed as gubernatorial candidates
and they run something like this:
Julius A. :Schmahl, Redwood county;
M. ]. Bowling, <Rerville county;
Franklin Ellsworth, Blue Earth coun-
ty; Thomas Frankson, Ramsey county
and Nonpartisan Lacquer, yet to be
| named. Other possible entries are
Victor Powers, St. Louis county; S:
G. 1verson, Ramsey county; F. C.
Murphy, Traverse county and H. c..
Hoatling Blue Earth county. The
first five are practically sure shots
while as to the others, the mention
of their names is sweet music to
them Ellsworth has already an
nounced his candidacy. Julius
Schmahl has an interesting two reel
picture of himself while he was un-
conscious of what was being done,
ready for the big show, Mike Bowling
has delivered quite number of soEt
dier homecoming and reconstruction
talks. Tom Frankson has his plat
form all ready for the press and as
to the League candidate, we'll Con-
gressman Oscar Keller is not bad
bet. There are several other State
! offices but forget 'em; the governor
ship has the board just now. Rep.
Ralph J. Parker of Fillmore county
as Oscar Arneson's rival for the lieu
| tenant governorship has been sugges-
| ted.
AS viewed by some the present
political upheaval can only have one
result, the elevation of those bearing
the Townley brand. 1t might happen,
but Minnesota's political history is
without record of such where SINH
lar conditions existed. If anything
the finish was the reverse. A. c..
Townley and the Nonpartisan League
is not new political inhiction for
Minnesota. The Gopher state, and in
fact the entire Northwest, wrestled
with similar movement during the
early eighties and every campaign
for it's dethronement was marked
with like predictions. The Repub-
Gcan party, however, came out tri-
umphant and is still on the job. The
inAiction of the eighties was the
Peoples party, representing the war
style ''Pops" and the vaporings of it's
leaders, dreams. Like the Nonparti-
san League, this aggregation of dis
content has tits Townley and he was
a power. Ignatius Donnelly, known
as the 'stSage Of Nininger'' was the
T Townley of the Peoples party. He
tswayed people, with his voice and his
oratory was even more honeyed and
persuasive than that of Bryan. ALI
that Townley had on the Sage is
cash and good common sense. There
was no SIG per in Donnellys time,
but any lack in this respect was made
up in blind obedience and the con-
servatives, like. those of the present
time, began to believe that the world
was about to come to an end. The
/ first bid of the early League of Dis.
content for popular favor was the
] naming at a convention held in Oma.
ha in June 1892 Of General Weaver
j Of ''Greenbacker" fame for the pres.
/ idency. Ignatius Donnelly was or
the job and he was abely assisted by
Il Mary Lease Of Kansas, "Sockless'
Jerry Simpson and other malcontents
aIof that period IL Like North Da knfe