The Anti-Ewing Ticket 1908 opposed candidates aligned with Robert Ewing.

anti-ewing ticket 1908

Anti-Ewing Ticket 1908

Campaign flyer supporting the “Anti-Ewing Ticket” in Louisiana state elections, January 28, 1908. Others on the ticket included Theodore S. Wilkinson (governor), Gustave Weser (10th Ward Democratic State Central Committee), and Robert J. Jaloney, for state senator.

Robert Wilson Ewing

Ewing owned the New Orleans Daily States newspaper.Ewing allied himself with the city’s Regular Democratic Organization (RDO). Ewing was a notable figure in the RDO,

Louisiana was essentially a one-party state since Reconstruction. So, campaigns focused on the Democratic primary. The candidate emerging from the primary almost certainly would defeat the Republican. Additionally, RDO candidates benefited from favorable coverage in Ewing’s newspaper, the New Orleans Daily States. The paper later changed its name to the New Orleans States. The States merged with the New Orleans Item. This merger reduced the number of afternoon newspapers in the city to one. The States-Item later merged with the Times-Picayune, the morning paper.

Ewing also managed the 1908 candidacy of William Jennings Bryant for President of the United States.

Opposition to the RDO

While the RDO wielded great influence. Other Democrats ran against that influence. Since the RDO was strong, opposition candidates focused not on the organization, but on the power behind it. The anti-RDO factions regularly accused the organization of corruption and malfeasance.

It was not uncommon for a candidate to seek both political and party positions. Thomas Harrison, ran for “Single State Tax Collector” for Orleans Parish. Additionally, he sought a seat on the Democratic Party’s State Central Committee.

The 10th Ward

While the city’s Ninth Ward extends downriver from Faubourgs Marigny and Treme, the 10th Ward was Uptown:

The roughly wedge-shaped Ward stretches back from the Mississippi River. The lower boundary is Felicity Street, across which is the 1st Ward, then Martin Luther King Boulevard (formerly Melpomene Street), across which is the 2nd Ward. The upper boundary is First Street, across which lies the 11th Ward.

(source: Wikipedia)

This flyer is archived at Tulane.

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