fol. .xrj, ato. in
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, SATURDAY, JANUARY is, li)0'2
ESTABLISHED IN ISSt:
GEORGE W. MAKSH.
silks' ?i?Si-iBIMPr V H
GOVEUNOK EZILIP. SAVAGE.,.
HAItltY C l.lN'liSAY.
BATTLE, FOR GOVERNOR'S TOGA
B&rtley Pardon the Lance by Which Opponents of Governor Savage
Hope to Unhorse
Present Executive and Land a New Man in the Executive Chair
J
With the pardoning of Joseph Bart
ley and the accompanying storm of
criticism from the republican press
throughout the state, the busy, buzzing
bee that has been tickling the am
bitious ear of aspiring politicians has
begun beating a merrier tune. Incip
ient hopes that were being carefully
nourished for 1904 are being forced to
develop by ho house methods, hast
ened by the possibilities of an earlier
budding.
That Governor Savage will be a can
didate for the nomination is not ques
tion (i at the present time. Nothing
but a sudden and unexpected turn of
the horoscope will place him hors do
combat and, despite the adverse com
ment his administration has brought
forth, he will be a powerful opponent
to overcome. Nevertheless there are
those who, while professedly resting
their fate with their friends, are per
fectly willing to measure strength with
him.
Perhaps the most dangerous rivals
of the governor, from present indica
tions, are II. C. Lindsay of Pawnee
City, chairman of the republican state
convention, and A. E. Cady of St.
Paul. Tentative candidates of less
promise are C. F. Steele of Fairbury,
president pro tern of the senate and
acting lieutenant governor, and G. "V.
Marsh of Falls City, secretary of
state. Dr. J. L. Greene of Lincoln and
J. II. Van Dusen of South Omaha, per
sonal friends of Governor Savage, are
willing to enter the fray provided the
governor is not a candidate. If he as
pires to another term they avow their
willingness to assist him in realizing
his ambition.
The Hartley pardon will be an issue
in the pending campaign. From all
indications it will be the chief rallying
cry of all anti-administrationists, of
whatever party. Unless Hartley should
take it on himself to rob the governor's
critics of a generous portion of their
ammunition by making entire or par
tial restitution. Savage's position will
be seriously stormed and the outcome
at this date is wrapped in amazing
uncertainty.
With the issue iixed, it is generally
conceded that II. C Lindsay occupies
a. position of extraordinary strength.
An intimation of the argument of his
f i lends may be gleaned from a recent
editorial utterance of a republican
newspaper of Pawnee City, the home
of Mr. Lindsay. In effect it said:
"Harry C. Lindsay should be the
next republican candidate for governor.
Governor Savage's action has divorced
him from the party and proved him to
be utterly unworthy of confidence. Mr.
Lindsay is heartily in sympathy with
the governor's critics. It was knowl
edge of what Savage intended doing in
the Hartley affpir that caused Mr.
Lindsay to take his trip to the Pacific
coast at the close of the last campaign,
leaving his resignation as private sec
retary in the governor's hands, to be
acted on at his discretion."
It is possible that Mr. Lindsay may
be diverted from his ambition to be
come Savage's successor, for he has
been In a receptive position for a fed
eral appointment for J,e" time. If
nothing is realized from this source
before the fall campaign opens, Mr.
Lindsay will be found a dangerous
competitor of all comers, say those who
profess to know. As chairman of the
republican state committee he occu
pies an especially strong position. He
knows the state organization thor
oughly, being in touch with the leaders
in every county, and In many of the
precincts. He knows exactly where and
how to place his hand to bring about
the desired result in any community.
As present censor of postollice appli
cations his power is also increased.
With or without Lindsay in the race,
A. E. Cady of St. Paul is conceded to
be a promising competitor of all. with
the issue conceded. He has been a
prominent llgure in republican councils
for several years. At the last republi
can state convention, when the now
famous resolution was passed asking
Governor Savage to revoke the parol
of Hartley and order him back to
prison at once, Mr. Cady was one of
the chief speakers in support of the
measure. A delegate remarked:
"When Cady and Judge Jessen hail
finished, there remained nothing to be
said."
Cady comes from the North Platte
district, and is conceded to be one of
IJosewater's favorites. It is said In
Lincoln that if no truce can be patched
up between Kosewater and Savage that
Cady will doubtless get the support of
Kosewater and, much as this may be
belittled and scoffed at. It is a quantity
respected by all the politicians. And
this leads to another observation.
Republican leaders realize that they
have not the state assured by such a
majority that internecine fights can
be tolerated without danger to repub
lican interests. That there has been ill
feeling between Rosewater and Sav
age no one denies. The cause, to one
who has not had the experience, seems
ludicrous. When Savage was lieuten
ant governor last winter and the legis
lature was in desperate throes trying
to elect two United States senators.
Savage was not asked for a suggestion
until the last day.
Savage has a sensitive nature ami
felt deeply the sting of leinj Ignored.
When he was called to the governor
ship when Dietrich was elected to the
senate, he all but refused jioint blank
to take the olliie. It required the most
careful of manipulation, and the great
est persuasion to keep him from resign
ing and thus allowing President of the
Senate Steele to become the official
head of the state.
AVhen he finally did accept the posi
tion, against his better judgment, h"
did not go for advice to the men who
had been prominent before the legisla
ture. Then Kosewater began to feel
the humiliation of being left out of the
councils. When it began to apiear
that Savage would In all likelihood,
have the power soon to appoint a tire
and police commission for Omaha, In
the light of a recent decNion of the
supreme court, the Omaha editor in
sisted on having a say. S persistent
were his demands, that finally in pique
the governor returned rather a harsh
(Continued on P-ige 10)
