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Show WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS. The situation in the Republican camp in Wisconsin Wis-consin is interesting. Wisconsin Republicanism had fallen into a rut. Some old Jogies, mostly all millionaires, the majority of them in Milwaukee, delighted in insisting that the interests of the country required conservative statesmanship, never for -a moment seeing that conservatism 88 advanoed by them meant stupidity and non-Progress non-Progress When everything apparently was sure a cloud arose on their conservative sky At first it was b'lit a little cloud not much bigger than a man's hand. It came in the shape of a man, and his name was Robert M. La Follette. He had no credentials creden-tials save a quick train and a ready mouth. He began to call on the young men of Wisconsin to get a move on themselves, to shake off the old fogies who had so long dictated Wisconsin politics pol-itics and to come up on the plane of the present. pres-ent. The voice grew so potent at length that the old crowd began to take notice and they used the same tone in speaking to him that Bliab did when he said to David: "Why earnest thou down hither, and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?" But the young men began to turn to the stranger, after a while they nominated him for Governor and elected him, when his term was out they elected him a second time and he Is this year a candidate for a third term. In a contest for the election of delegates to the Chicago convention his party failed and sent a contesting delegation to Chicago, Chi-cago, but it made no contest. He is not, in our estimation, a great leader. His egotism and his deposition to boss everything is too pronounced. pro-nounced. He served a needed purpose in shaking shak-ing Wisconsin out of its old grooves, but he lacked the wisdom toj keep calling upon his friends not to forget the really great Republicans of the state. He lacked the prescience to see that by doing so he would make friends of the men whom to make his enemies would endanger endan-ger his own standing. He held in his heart the belief that he himself was the only really great man in the State, and his successes naturally intensified this estimate of himself. He should have read the history of Great Britain's career in India. Its rule there is to enlist conquered tribes and have them bear the brunt of the fighting, and through that plan a few British officers control the 200,000,000 of people of that country. Because of the split in the party the Democracy Dem-ocracy are confident of carrying Wisconsin this year. They may carry the state ticket, but when the vote for Presidential electors is on, that will be different. While fighting their local battle out among themselves, both sides will be calling attention to what followed when the state the last time gave its electoral vote to a Democratic candidate, and if the Republican press there is handled with just ordinary skill the vote will go to President Roosevelt, for the corruptible vote of Wisconsin is not largo and many will have le3s effect there than in Indiana, New York or even Connecticut. The plan of the Democracy Democ-racy this year will be to scare the timid and while preaching the need of reform, to buy votes enough in the North to carry the needed states to obtain sufficient eleotoral votes when added to the solid South to elect their President. This was what was done when Mr. Cleveland was last elected, but unless the people have lost their memories it will not happen any more. |