The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1924-07-17

was Minnesota. Under the forceful
campaign of Senator Nelson they car,
majority over the election figures OF
1890, -regained control of the Legisla-
ture and won back two Of the Congress
sional districts so that the Delegation
Democrats and one Populist, Mime
sofa being practically the only state
that did not suffer heavy Republican
In 1884 the political pendulum again
swung Republicanward. Times We're
distressingly hard. The multitudes
who two years before had so gieefuiiy
"Give us four more year Of Grover,
And then we'll be in clover.
found that instead OF being in clover
they were in the soup.
The Republicans generally went into
the campaign throughout the. coun-
try with confidence and vigor, but the
opposition was 50 strong in the Sew
tomistic Republicans did not expect
victory. That did not prevent the
Republicans from holding an enthu-
which every county in the district was
represented by it's full quota of dele
gates.
Re SeHere aDi in the district had an
itching to go to Congress and proba-
bly, could have had the nomination for
the asking, but it was regarded as an
|
waiting for more propitious times.
Still there was no lack Of candidates.
Halvor Steenerson of Crookston, A..
s. Crosseld Ct gr9wns so' WaIleyH e nn
Feig Of Kandiyohi county, who was
candidate at the preceding election,
and myself. But we. were 'competi-
tors" for the nomination, not oppents,
and there is mighty big difference
between the two. The more "compe-
titors' there are in a primary or con-
but when men ether as opponents it is
disastrous, no matter what the result
The contest in this convention was
was generally regarded as the leading
candidate and it was given out that
he was the choice of the state admin
istration, but whether this was true or
not 1 did not know or care and l never
took the trouble to find out.
1 was not considered in the race,
coming from one of the smallest coun-
ties and smallest towns in the district.
perience, and the only office l mad
ever held was clerk Of the district
court But much to the surprise of
and was never headed but once, when
some of my delegates Were loaned"
to the Otter Tail county candidate with
the understanding that the otter Iai al,
merit was not carried out and was
nominated on the next ballot amid
scene of wild enthusiasm.
The convention finished its work at
about P. NJ, as recollect, and most
of the trains had departed for the day.
There Were not so many trains run
ming in those days as there are now;
motor vehicles were unknown, and
most of the delegates, perforce, had to
remain over night.
The delegate body consisted large.
Ix, af
convention, with a sprinkling of old
sters mostly veterans of the civil war.
The exuberent younglings started sky
larking as soon as the convention end
ed its labors The veterans vainly at
tempted to stem the rising tide of hi
larity, and failing in this they, too, cut
Captain Thornton, president Of the
First National bank at Benson and
a dignified vestryman in his church
in his home town, came rushing init
more badges" The supply was ex-
hausted and we told him we did not
know how to get any more that late
in the day. Il do" replied the doughty
captain. He went into tn houskeepers
room, borrowed a pair of shears, ana
taking my nightshirt out of the closet
of my room, he sat down cross legged
on the floor and proceeded to cut it into
inches. Drafting Joe Wood, Dick Fras-
er and Hayden French, he ordered them
to get pens and start printing my name
on these slips.
When the material in the night
shirt was exhausted he proceeded to
the adjoining rooms and purloined the
sheets off the bed and utilized them
in the same way. Cutting a large
square out of a sheet he turned it over
to Howard Dykeman, who was some
thing of a sketchist.. Dykeman drew
an alleged picture of myself on the
cloth, labeled it Our Next Congress
man. and attached it to a long bam-
boo fish pole for q standard.
had been prepared. Under Captain
Thoronton's orders, another division
of his troops had Communicated an
open bus out of a livery stable and it
appeared before. the hotel drawn by a
long string of yelling, singing men,.
figure with his long white mustache
and gray hair floating back in the
wind was seated on the front seat
bearing aloft the STANDARD" Captain
Peter Hoffman, first drummer of the
original First Minnesota Regimental
band, with his famous war drum, which
now reposes in glass case among
other Civil war relics in the rotunda
of the State Capitol, was on one side
of him and a Mr.. Naegel, a Fergus
the other. All the candidates who
had entered the convention We're
then loaded into the hack and at the
word of command the grotesque process
sion started.
1t was the widest, weirdest, maddest
Streets of Fergus Falls. Some also de-
clared it was also the longest, but
probably some of the viewers saw
double and overestimated it's length.
F'lankers marched on both sides of