The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-06-04
The National Convention.

of the convention the large hotels pre-.
sented busy scene. There was the usual
amount of button-holing delegates, the
usual "gains were claimed by the lead
ers of the leading candidates, and the
special correspondents sent out the usual
quantity of gossip to the four quarters of
the country. Saturday was the first day
of active operations at the different presi-
Dental headquarters. The sensation of
the day was the arrival and reception of
the Pacific slope delegation, forty-fve
strong, solid for Blaine. With banners
and music and the noisy demonstrations
of these western states, in whose eyes
Blaine is the ideal statesman, the delegs-
ton marched from the railway station to
the Palmer House, and in the rotunda of
the hotel an informal Blaine demonstra-
ton was held, which closed with loud
cheers and tiger for the man from
Maine. Indeed, Saturday was quite day
for Blaine. Many of the delegates and
influential friends of this candidate had
arrived from all quarters of the Union,
and his boom fourished for a day at
least. The badges of his followers are
seen very thick in the crowds at the
Palmer and Pacific, and their talk is loud,
obstreperous and almost defiant in its con.
fidence. Their headquarters are at the
Pacific, and it is filled with an enthusi-
astic mass of delegates and workers. Mr..
Arthur's friends have their headquarters
at the Palmer, decorated with flags and
portraits of the president. They have
viewed the Blaine demonstrations with
equanimity, with sort of he-laughs-best-
wholaughs.last feeling. In the afternoon
they countered the Blaine boom by insti-
tuting business mems meeting. The
leaders of the Edmunds forces have been
behindhand, as relates to the Arthur and
Blaine movements, but those of them
who had arrived met at the Vermont
headquarters at the Palmer in the after
noon and held an informal conference.
There were present, among others, Sena-
tor Hoar and Governor Long of Massa-
chusetts; Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew d.
White, John I. Gilbert and George Viii.
liam Curtis, among the delegates, and Carl
Schurz and Horace White, among the nom
delegate independents, of New York Dele
gates Fletcher, Ballard and Valentine and
Colonel Hooker and George Nichols of
Vermont. None of the delegates at.large
had arrived, a matter which, considering
the activity of the Blaine and Arthur
men, caused some expressions of regret.
Messrs. Curtis, Hoar, Long, and others of
the eminent gentlemen present, counseled
a resolute adherence to Mr.. Edmunds, and
the determination of the conference was
to stick with bulldog grip to the for
tunes of the Vermont senator, with the
hope and expectation that, the Arthur
and Blaine forces dead-locking, he would
be the man toward whom the tide would
ultimately turn. An examination of the
different lists of gentlemen who had can
vassed the preferences of delegates placed
the minimum strength of Mr.. Edmunds
at about eigbty-five. Encouragement was
felt that his vote would rise to hundred
on the first ballot, and the more sanguine
estimates give him much larger num-
Der. 1t was arranged that Governor Long
of Massachusetts should present the name
of Mr.. Edmunds, and that George Will
liam Curtis of New York should second
him, and that there should also be second
ing speeches from Minnesota and Yer.
mont. At this meeting nearly every state
in the Union was represented. Six votes
were assured from Minnesota and five
from Wisconsin. An adjournment was
made to Monday at eleven o'clock in the
forenoon. AS the result of this confer
ence and in view of the sharp antagonism
between the great belligerents, it is un-
deniable that the Edmunds men grow
"hopeful." By Monday the delegates
were all on the ground and the canvass
was at its height. Columns might be filled
with the estimates made of the strength
of the various candidates, but two will
serve as samples and will be fully as salts.
factory. Horace White of the New York
Evening Posi-, in an interview, said: at
seems to me that Blaine and Arthur are
about evenly matched at three hundred to
three hundred and twenty votes each, and
that Edmunds will have about one hun
dred, Logan about fifty, Sherman forty
and Hawley twelve. The following of
the other candidates is somewhat uncer-
tain" Senator Malone prepared table
of estimates as to the standing of the
convention at the outset. He was sure
that Arthur would have three hundred
and twenty-five votes on the first ballot
and Blaine three hundred and thirty.two
on the same ballot, and he predicted
Arthurs nomination on the second ballot.
At Mondays meeting of the national
committee, after settling the contested
| cases, the chair stated that nominations