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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1901)
i U VOL. XVI, NO. XLIX LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1, 901 ESTABLISHED IN ISSti r Political Giants; Lock Horns The Man Who Might Have Been Senator Seeks Political Disgrace for the Man who Promised to Make Him Senator but Didn't Keep His Word L. D. RICHARDS. FREMONT. NE15. t Fremont is si pretty, bustling little V city in Dodge county, just where the Platte makes a big bend southward. after a vain effort to force its way to the north. It boasts of perhaps S.000 inhabitants, but despite its size does not appear to be large enough to con tain two great political leaders. a -Many years ago a young civil en gineer came to Fremont. After a few years' residence he was called to South America to help in a great engineering task. His work finished, he returned to the young city of the plains and there made his permanent home. This was L. D. Richards, and for twenty-five j ears he has been a foremost figure in business and politics in Dodge coun ty. In 1S90 he was the republican can didate for governor, but lost in a three cornered contest, just at the time when the farmers' alliance and the anti-prohibition furores raged highest. He has twice been mayor of Fremont, but aside from the governorship never sought any other oillce. Mr. Richards is a wealthy man. For years he has been the head of the banking house of Kichards & Keene and been extensive ly engaged in real estate. It. B. Schneider is one of Fremont's wealthiest citizens. He is a member of , le Xye-Schneider Grain company, one ?t the largest houses in the west. .Mr. Vfhneider, too, is a Fremont resident of many years. He began humbly, but by great business sagacity and close application to his enterprises has placed himself in a position where he is the recipient of a very large yearly income. He has not been a prominent figure in politics many years. He was first induced to take an interest in the fehcinating pastime of "making" men by Hoss Hammond, editor of the Fre mont Tribune, and L. D. Richards, both of whom have been mixing political medicine for many years. He first wme Into state prominence in ISM. when he was made treasurer of the state committee and took an active Irt in managing the campaign, in 1&9S he was state chairman, and in 1500 he made a successful race for na tional committeeman against Editor Rosewater. Mr. Richards is a big. bluff, warm hearted man. Mr. Schneider Is slender and the perfect type of the up-to-date business man. He is cool and imper- r Unliable, but his piomineme is din more to his iui-t persistency and shtewdness than through his abil ity to mix with all sorts and grades of men. .Mr. Richards plays an open hoard game. .Mr. Schneider h.is not been known to renig, but he holds his hands out of sight while the deals are being played. Fiemont has long been a republi can stronghold. It is the home of a number of very able and excellent gentlemen who follow the blue and gold ol republicanism. A harmoni- 1 ous unity of action between them has been one of the seven politi cal wonders of the state. But the red Hag of war hangs out to day, and the white dove of peace cow ers unseen in her eerie cot. The two political giants of the Dodge county capital, Richards and Schneider, have locked horns. Mr. Richards has es poused the cause of Representative Dan Swanson, who wants to be postmaster, Mr. Schneider bears aloft the standard of Ross Hammond, now postmaster, who desires to be continued in that comfortable position. This, however, is but the outwatd expression ol" an antagonism that dates back to the tierce senatorial scramble of last winter. Mr. Richards firmly be lieves that he would today be Tnited States senator if Mr. Schneider nad not played him false. It needs no vio lent exercise of the memory to recall that for several weeks nine republi can representatives withstood the pres sure of their colleagues and from out side to re-enter the republican caucus, out of which they had walked because D. K. Thompson, personally distaste ful to them, was pretty certain to be nominated. Mr. Thompson was nomi nated, but still they remained recal citrant. Tiie anti-Thompson combina tion was led by able and astute poli ticians, among them Mr. Schneider, who is a close friend of President Hurt of the Union Pacific, John N. Baldwin, one of its principal attorneys, and Ben T. White, general attorney of the Elk horn. It was through their efforts that the nine were kept out of the caucus and around them the fight centered. It speedily became apparent that so long as they held to their resolution not to permit any of the nine to vote for Thompson, he could not be elected. It was also apparent that if they would consent to the nine voting for Thomp son they could name the other senator. On the contrary, if they held out to the end and Thompson withdrew, it was equally plain that Thompson would name both of the senators. Mr. Richards had been voted for now and then during the session by Mr. Swanson. Astute politician as he was and is, he thought the time would come when he could be made the Xorth Platte senator. The time did come, and he embraced the opportunity. He saw Mr. White and Mr. Baldwin, both friends of his. and they agreed. He had for some time been impressed with the idea that Mr. Schneider had not been as loyal to his inter ests at other times as he should have been to the one who helped create him politically, but he was willing to wipe the slate clean if Mr. Schneider would turn In and help make him senator. Mr Schneider was consulted. He was told that the others had consented and he, too. gave assent. Mr. Swanson had been an em ploye of Mr. Richards and still is. He was sent to the Thompson head quarters and told that the nine were ready to come injo caucus if Thompson would throw his strength to Richards. Everybody who spoke by the card was sum moned and the matter was arranged. Meanwhile, .jsays Mr. Richards, Mr. Schneider went to White and Baldwin and by his arguments and persuasions induced them to recant and recall their pledge to Richards. That ended it. Swanson was sent back to tell the Thompson men that it was all off. That was when Mr. Richards swore venge ance. He told his friends that if Mr. Schneider had but told him when lie asked him that Thompson was an In superable objection he would not have minded it so much. Now Mr. Swanson had very frankly said at various times during the legis lative session that his vote was in Mr. Schneider's keeping and that Mr. Schneider had secured him the prom ise of the oil inspectorship from Gov ernor Dietrich. It was Schneider who told him, when Dietrich said he could not reward disloyalty to the caucus, to take his old oil inspectorship. After this avenue had been closed Mr. Swan son was told he would be taken care of in some other federal position. After the session was over Mr. Schneider tried to get him made an Indian In spector, afterwards he tried for a post ofiice inspectorship and still later for inspector of rural free mail delivery. He got neither. But he did get dis couraged. He was being run up into too many blind alleys and after a time he made up his mind that he was not to have anything. Then it was that he went and told his troubles to Mr. Richards. He was told that Mr. Richards had no real need of his services, and Swanson asked him if he would help him gel the postotflce. Richards told him that he held no malice against him for what had happened in the winter and agreed to help him. He did. He se cured for Swanson a splendid list of endorsements, both from business men and the county organization. Ross Hammond had supposed that the post office was to be his again. He was rudely awakened by the appearance of the Swanson petition. He started one of his own, but soon found Swanson had been ahead of him. Mr. Schneider, who had espoused Mr. Hammond's cause, was quick to see that the day was lost unless finesse L R. B. SCHNEIDER, FREMONT. NEB. could beat Swanson. He went down and talked with Senator Millard. The latter had all but told Mr. Richards that Swanson would be named. Schnei der returned home and summoned Hammond and Swanson to his ollice. There Swanson was told that Ham mond did not want Hie n'fice particu larly, but he did not want to be turned down. He wanted to lie nominated again as a vindication of the stand he took last winter. The otfer was made Swanson that if he would accept the deputyship Hammond would place his resignation as postmaster In Senator Millard's hands to be accepted at the end of a short term, when Swanson was to move up and be made post master. Swanson thought he saw In this an opiMtrtuuity to make a cer tainty of what was not yet sure, and he signed it. after declining to go down to Omaha anil arrange the matter with the senator, a declination founded only on the fact that he .lid not have time that day. Schneider and Hammond took the next train to Omaha. Meanwhile Swanson became uneasy and fearful that he had f:ot done the right thing. He could not find Mr. Richards, but he ilid find Chairman Abbott and C. C. McNish, close friends of Mr. Richards. They told him that wnat he had done was a virtual slap at Richards, be cause it was in effett . shrewd shifting of Schneider to secure th credit for naming the postmaster. Swanson at once wired Senator Millard repudiating the agreement. The telegram reached the senator while he was in conference with Hammond and Schneider. He threw up his hands In disgust and anger over being played with, and tersely told the gentlemen that the subject would be dropped Tor the pres ent. Then Mr. Schneider hied himself to Washington, where he is putting in a few plugs for Hammond. Mr. Rich ards, It is understood, washed his hands or the afTair after Swanson's break, but the best opinion available is that neither Hammond nor Swanson will be named. But you can never tell in politics. The outcome will be interesting as marking the extent of the influence of the national committeeman in matters of patronage. If he cannot name the postmaster in his home town the poli ticians and office-seekers are fairly certain to take It as proof of his impotence. 4 h 1 1 i w 'J i s ' i " !, 'I
