St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-01-16
EVARTS GAINING GROUND
His Friends Claim he Will Have an
Easy Caucus Victory.
EX-GOv. Cornell Roundly Berated by Nor
ton Man for his Stupidity
Especial Telegram to the Globe. I

ALBANY, n. Y, Jan. 15.-The Evarts men
are rejoicing tonight over the decided acces-
sion TO their ranks which they say were made
last night and to-day. They give the name s
of five assemblymen and of two senators who
have visited their headquarters and expressed
an intention to vote for Evarts in caucus.
These members have not, it is said, been
heretofore counted as the friends of Eyarts.
''Others are coming, said Congressman
Burleigh,n and we have now clear majority
of the caucus. 1t would not surprise me if
Morton's name was not even mentioned in
caucus. The people are aroused and the
friends of President Arthur have come to
the froLt.
At the Eyarts headquarters, which are al
ways crowded with men who seem to be
either earnestly opposed to Morton or enthu-
siastically in favor OF Evarts, the claim is
made that Morton will not receive twenty
fifty votes that he can rely
upon. The enthusiastic Evarts managers
assert that the Morton men have been talking
about tie withdrawal of their candidate. He
has been cabled that his chances are desperate
and Plat and Payn are said to be in mo-
mentary fear that they will be instructed to
withdraw him from the canvass, and it is
also said that some of the Mortonites have
been talking about substituting for their can
didate Grant. Whitelaw Reid or Depew.
All these EVarts rumors are denounced by
Morton men as Evarts lies. "The Evarts
men have not now twenty-five votes and
they will not have twenty-five in caucus"
said Lew Payn to-day in the Morton
headquarters, which have been almost
deserted. Not more than three or four men
are now ever seen at one time at these head
quarters, but gossips say there is a private
room up stairs in which Doodle work is
done. Payn may be correct, but the sur
face indications of to-day are that Evarts
will come off with an easy and decided vic
tory.
In the caucus controversy the Evarts men
have gained their point The Morton men
demanded that the nominating caucus
should be held tonight and that a nominal
ton should be made by a secret vote by bal
lot. The EVarts men refused to agree to
this. They wanted time to bring
public sentiment to bear upon members in
favor of Evarts, and they declared they would
not submit to a secret vote. To-day the eau
Gus committee of the senate and house
agreed that the caucus should be held on
Monday night next 1t is understood that
the Morton men have also agreed that Sena-
tor Mccarthy, the president Of the senate and
an Eyarts' man, shall be chairman of the
caucus, and that the nomination shall be
made by an open vote. Thus the Morton
men have been driven from one position to
another, and instead of being confident and
aggressive, as they were a week ago, they
are now quiet in their bear
ing, and confident only in their
assertions, which are made in a manner that
fails to carry with it the conviction that they
believe their own claims.
Ex-Gov. Cornell is still at the Delevan,
but he is not doing any effective work for
Morton. He has interviewed nearly all the
senators and assemblymen, and has told
them why they ought to vote for his candi-
date, but he has made no converts. The AL
bany Journal reports a prominent New
Yorker, friendly to Morton, as saying:
''Gov. Cornell is TO blame as much as
Platt or Payn for Morton's defeat. 1t was
Cornell who looked over the speakers COM
mittees at the last hour and made changes
that hurt Morton most. 1t was he that sug-
gested the cutting down of the Democratic
representation, so that more favors could be
given the Morton men. He h as been too
smart, and we are paying for his stupidity,
as we deserve. This has been a camp aigu
Of blunders. 1t could not have been worse
if Morton's friends had sold him out"