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Che Conservative * 9
sions upon this subject in all parts of the
state.
"Resolved , that wo request the next
legislature to submit such an amend
ment to the constitution of the state as
will secure to women the right of suf
frage. "
A protest was submitted by the min
ority objecting to the ronomination of
Governor St. John , "believing his candi
dacy to be obnoxious to a large majority
of the republican voters and that it
would tend to endanger republican suc
cess in a number of counties in the
state. "
To add to the dissatisfaction caused
by the adoption of the prohibition and
women suffrage planks at a convention
of the W. O. T. Union , held a few weeks
later , the following resolution was passed
by that body : "Resolved , that the
thanks of this union are due to the re
publican state convention , not only for
the renomination of Governor St. John ,
but also for the recognition of the fact
that the time is coming for the men of
the state to decide by ballot , whether or
not their wives , mothers , sisters , and
daughters shall be longer classed with
lunatics , paupers , criminals and Ohi-
uose. "
The two planks created widespread de
flections in the rank of the republican
element.
A political body called the Sons of
Herman sprang up in every locality ,
the object of the order being , primar
ily , the defeat of prohibition and un
qualified opposition to equal suffrage.
Many leading republicans refused to
submit to the dictates and platform of the
party , and not a few , including Luoian
Baker , whose six year term as United
States senator from Kansas expired last
March , took the stump against the ticket
in favor of Charles Robinson , the candi
date of the liberal party.
St. John , alone , of the entire ticket ,
was defeated by his democratic oppon
ent by 8,079 votes. The republican sec
retary of state was elected by a plurality
of 88,811 and a colored man , E. P. Mo
St. John opened a vigorous campaign
in New York state , menacing the success
of the republican party. This at once
became apparent to the leaders in Kan
sas and the necessity of his withdrawal
from that field became a most import
ant issue , speedily to be accomplished ,
whatever drastic measures were neces
sary to the culmination of this object.
James F. Legate , of Leavenworth was
selected for'this purpose.
An astute aggressive politician , a life
long political associate of the prohibition
candidate , an accomplished diplomat ,
unccrupulous as to the means required
to attain his object , believing in the ax
iom that all things are fair in politics ,
and that the end justified the means.
He reached New York in the early
days of October where he was in fre
quent consultation with the national
Oabe , the first of his race to gain signal
recognition on a state ticket in Kansas ,
secured the office of auditor by 20,180.
Two years previous St. John carried
the state by 51(527 ( over E. G. Ross ,
whose vote in the United States senate
saved President Andrew Johnston from
impeachment and who manifested his
poetic temperament , by taking the oath
of office as Governor of Now Mexico , at
sunrise , facing the east , in deference to
his Mexican constituents , who are ever
Looking for the coming of Montezuma
from that point of the compass. This
gubernatorial position was bestowed up
on him by President Cleveland.
The decisive defeat of St. John rank
led in his breast. The ambition and
cherished aspiration of a lifetime , a seat
in the upper house of congress , vanished
into an oblivious , shadowy past. The
election of his democratic competitor , G.
W. Glick , he considered a personal af
front cast upon him by his erstwhile
political associates and revenge became
his one dominant , absorbing aim.
He sought and secured the president
ial nomination of the prohibition party
as a means of satiating his animosity
against those who had honored and then
cast him down. The motive was so
evident that one of his former prohibi
tion lieutenants and political associates ,
from time immemorial , Albert Griffon ,
in his paper , the Manhattan Nationalist ,
paid his compliments to his former chief
in the following emphatic terms :
"It is true that St. John is hated , but
the reason is , that hundreds of thousands
of prohibitionists believe he is a hypo
critical scoundrel , who has used a glori
ous cause to advance his own personal
ends and sacrificed it to gratifty his own
vanity and spleen. "
The efforts of the contending hosts in
the memorable campaign of 1884 were
centered in New York and Ohio , the
latter being at that period an "October
state" and the slogan , "As goes Ohio , so
goes the Union , " rendered it the great
battle ground.
Hoadly had beaten Foraker for gov
ernor , the year previous , by 12,000 ma
jority.
The democratic party could lose Ohio
and still gain the presidency by 17 elec
toral votes. To insure republican suc
cess it was necessary to carry both
states , hence Herculean afforts were put
forth by both factious to secure these
strongholds ,
committee as well as with Mr. St. John
Mr. Legate proposed to secure the
withdrawal of this candidate from the
field or transplanting his operations to
Pennsylvania , where his candidacy am
vote would be a nullity , in the vast re
publican majority. The committee ful
ly agreed with him as to the imperative
necessity of the course but procrastin
ated and temporized with Legate. The
cause of this mysterious procedure was
only cleared up , when he called at head
quarters , a few days subsequent to the
Ohio election. The smoke of battle hav
ing cleared up with a satisfactory ma-
ority in that state , Mr. Matt Quay in
charge of the eastern end of the republi
can national campaign , informed him
that the moral effect of the election
would be such that New York would
swing into line and could be relied on ;
that neither Mr. St. Johnnor any other
party traitor , nor any combination
of circumstances could defeat the
republican electors in New York
and all negotiations were off.
Legate is well known for his terse and
vigorous language , and dumbfounded
for a moment at the culmination of his
efforts , he addressed the Pennsylvania
senator as follows : "Mr. Quay , I have
always heard you spoken of as a con
summate scoundrel and liar , I can now
corroborate from personal knowledge ,
the truthfulness of such attributes of
your character. "
New York gave the Cleveland electors
a plurality of 1078. The St. John pro
hibition vote of 25,006 in that state has
never yet been attributed to any deflec
tion in the democratic ranks. The pos
sibility of convicting that party on a
charge of aiding and abetting the cause
of temperance could no more be justly
secured , than the recovery at this date
of a drop of water spilled in the desert
of Sahara in the days of the crusaders.
The only conclusion we can arrive at ,
is that a large portion of the prohibition
vote for St. John , logically belonged to
and would have been cast for the repub
lican candidate , had the personal feat
ures of the cause been removed from- the
empire state.
From the days of John Brown down
to Carrie Nationthe sun flower state has
furnished a full quota of disturbing ele
ments in state and national affairs.
Cripple Creek , Colo. , Aug. 19,1901.
For over two years J. Sterling Morton
has been mentioning the fact that the
country roads of Nebraska are next to
intolerable. He suggests a practical
plan for improving them. The roads
are sixty-six feet wide , which is thirty-
five feet more than is necessary for a
rural road. The sale of this would jus
tify an expenditure for grading and
drainage. The roods now are hot-beds
for weeds. The plan of the Ex-Seore- |
tary should be seriously considered.
The rank and file of Tammany are j
said to be furious over Croker's lordly
ways and residence in England , but all
the same it is safe betting they will vote
the Tammany ticket as usual. A fury
against a boss does not imply any par
ticular desire for good government. '
San Francisco Call.
The title "Progressive Democracy"
has been taken by a combination which
if given its full name would be called a
"Demo-Populistio-Silverado-Re p u b 1 i -
oano-Bryanite Aggregation/ ' and its
emblem would be a donkey posing as a
bird. San Francisco Call.
