The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-10-14
THE SPEAKERsHIP.
PROBABLE ACTION or THE HOUSE ON
THE TEXAS BORDER AND ARMY
INCREASE QUESTIONS.
n New Aspect to the Contested Seats In
the senate-senator C0nOver Will
Vote with the Democrats to Seat
EustIs, spofOrd and Butler.
1BpeC1HI CORRESPONDENCE OF the DBnI0CfHt.1
WASHINGTON October Q 1877

WASHINGTON. October o. 1877.
Ii is obviously difficult, not to say delicate,
task to write of possibilities which will have
been decided before what you write can reach
publication. No man likes to be charged with
bad judgment and more particularly does one
dislike to have his Judgment on the 9th OF Octo-
Der published on the 14th and confuted in the
same paper by kilograms dated the 18th. Thus,
with all the difficulties OF the undertaking in
view. write under this date, for publication
next Sunday as to the state OF the ontest for
the Speakership. Ali the candidates except
Mr.. Sayler are now here and the latter gentle
man Is represented as fully as one gen.
tleman can represent another by Hon. Z. John
Ellis; 80 that. to all intents and purposes, the
field may be said to be made up" and the race
called" To begin with there are 152 votes in
THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS.
or these at least 14s will be present Saturday
night It will therefore require rs votes to NOM
mate. The leading candidates are Randall.
claiming all the way from 10 to 30 votes, with
about 81 that he can depend on on the first bal
lot; Cox, claiming indefinitely. with about %
that he can count on Morrison. claiming Just
what he can depend on. which is from Illinois.
from Missouri. 3 from Indiana, 2 from Arkan-
sas 1 from Tennessee from Michigan. from
Virginia. from the Pacific SLOPE and probably.
or possibly, / from Florida-24 to rs; Black
burn. with characteristic modesty. claiming
nothing but hoping that his friends will vote
for him to the extent of about Is or 30" leaving
Is votes uncertain, These had been set down to
the account of Gooie. If Virginia. until that
gentleman withdrew q few days ago. when his
votes were Immediately claimed for Randall.
III Randall's claim upon these votes was well
founded, 1t would give him the nomination
without further ado. But there is no adequate
foundation for the claim. In round numbers
there are so members who ardently and earn
estly want Randall elected, SO more who as
ardently and earnestly want him beaten. and
another SO who have no feeling in the premises
and will vote for the strongest man.
Now it will be observed above that left Say
Ter out OF the list did 50 because aside from
his own State and Ellis of our own. his support
him the weakest, or 1t may make him the
strongest candidate. according to develop
ments. If Randall goes through on the first
ballot as his friends say he will. Sayler will be
found toward the foot of the roll. But If the
opposition to Randall find it easier to transfer
each his full strength to Sayler than to any
other OF the four leading men. then Sayler will
be made the strongest candidate. and may be
nominated.
Just now. however.
THE SITUATION
stands. 81 for Randall. % for Cox. "a or 25 for
Morrison, and the remainder. 46, divided be-
tween Blackburn, SayIer md uncertainty.
The attitude of the four men spoken of la a
previous letter. / am now satisfied will not be
conclusive. The caucus will not only nominate,
but elect. and the chances are at this writ
ing about to that the successful man will be
HALL F,,lt@
bine all the opposing elements against him. bat
i am not sanguine as TO the success of
such q movement. The programme is to
settle upon either Morrison, Cox. sayler or
Blackburn through arbitration. in which each
Is to name friend ny whose decision he will be
bound. Ifsuch arbitration is reached Mr.. Nor
rison will doubtless be- represented by Whit
thorne, of Tennessee. Blackburn bv Proctor
Knott, Sayler by E. John Ellis, and Cox by, pos
sibly. Hamilton.
Now, there is just
ONE CHANCE TO BEAT RANDALL.
had Immediately. If the opposition, to
Randall can be centred on, say. Morrison
sayer 9E next Thursday mosnng
BY card In the Epeaing Star. or by authorized
publication elsewhere, the ensuing sixty hours
will witness a total overthrow Of the pretensions
of Randall to q nomination on the first ballot,
and all that sort Of thing. But unless such an
arrangement is effected. ard Ii the canvass goes
as Strong single candidate against four single
weak ones, all the waverers and those who Ike
to be on the strong side will quietly go to Ran
prediction, which is that the attempt to COM
bine will fail, and that
RANDALL WILL PULL THROUGH.
/ think am tolerably unbiased in the prem
ises and have given the situation as it stands at
whole field win beat Mr. Randall. But MIR. Ran
dali can easily beat the field in detail as It
columns and not make the stuati n whit
clearer than have already done by the above
1t Is generally known that sweeping changes
ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMITTEES
would Be e9nseqaent, upon Ranaall,s s slee,
the chairmanship OF Ways and Means
IN favor Of Fernando Wood. OF New York;
Holster Olymer Of Penns,ylvania., u. would We
Tennessee. would doubtless be given the Pacific
Railroad Committee. Proctor Knott would step
t and ont ro of h Sdcy Banning and Mqud
Clark "hoisted' from Post Ofises and Post
Roads In short. the devil generally would. be
the iamented Kerr. and it is this TACT which
gives the opposition to Randall all. or nearly
all Of Its real VITALITY think Randall made
men Of decided influence as the chairmen Of
these important committees are, but the
ae will BT s og shs es 5ss mas
positive and most influential man who con-
Atfonts Randall is Morrison, as you will easily
&ather from the tone and scope of the interview
with him which / mailed yesterday: and it
must be said that Morrison Is less sanguine OF
beating him than Is any one OF his colleagues In
the ianti Randall movement. But Morrison is
what the German philosophers weuld call a
pessimist." In the sense that his habit is to ac-
Gept the situation at its very worst, and face it
with the very !grimmest kind OF determination.
As said before.
GooDE rs OUT OF THE RACE.
But Morrison proposes to force him back in
again, and. II no combination can be reached
upon either Blackburn. Cox, Sayier or himself,
to carry 1t ever to Goode and put him through.
TO such move there will be strong opposition
on the part of certain Southern men 10 the
Senate who do not want the Speakership
charged up to the South at all for political rea-
sons because they are coaching Wade Hamp-
ton for Vice President in 1880. land want the
South to stand until then with a clean ledger
in its account with the National Democratic
party.
On all these accounts. and to sum up. should