San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-08-09
1HE GATHERING CLANS.

as rapidly as railways can uuLnp lutm III
the great Sand City. The leaders, who
have been posing before the people, are
already on hand, headquarters furnished
with all the solids and liquids necessary
for rattling campaign to begin with,
and long siege at the close II needs be.
| The Ross men are there with fife and
drum and pibroch, and will scare the
wits of the timid with their Internal din
| II they are allowed half q chance. A
Ross lobby, four hundred strong, every
one Of whom have qualified under
lung tester, are coming down from Nc
Lehman county to howl Ross vote by ac-
clamation on the first ballot. To head
off this clacker crowd the local commit
tee Of management will probably limit
tickets to the actual number of delegates
chosen, and so allow no more persons
within the convention hall than there are
votes represented. Galveston being
rather opposed to Ross, and banking
more strongly on GiddIngs than on any
other candidate, may be depended upon
to do all In her power to prevent the
Examiners tactics from dominating the
convention, as Glddings will have every
thing to gain and nothing to lose In
making the race a waiting one. Ross
friends feel the movement OF de-
feat In the air, and have massed all
their forces for coup de main
on the first ballot. The prospect
of a successful stampede Ross way
grows less and less every day. He has
only 2l2 instructed votes, not one half OF
the number necessary to elect, and
every instructed vote that could be
wrung from the county conventions has
been cast into his lap to swell the GER
tainties OF that first ballot on which
everything depends. The idea that
Ross will draw TO any considerable ex-
tent outside Of his already instructed
delegations is erroneous. His friends
have done all that men can do to send
instructed delegations. This has not
been true, to anything like the same ex-
tent, of the other candidates, and when
the vote is pOlled it will be seen that
Ross strength is more nearly measured
by the instructed vote than that of any
other candidate. The tactics OF his party
fugleman, Barlow, have engendered a
great bitterness in the minds of Swain
and Martin, whose combined strength
can knock Ross out of time whenever 1t
sees fit to do so. Martins real strength
before the convention is yet to be deyel-
Oped. He appears to be kind OF candi-
date at large with immense uncertain
ties shadowing him. The other candi-
dates are righteously afraid Of him, and
there is no certainty In the uncertainty
that is felt concerning him. He is calm
and confident, happy and serene, and
apparently the most unconcerned OF any |
of the prominent candidates In the field. |
The News of the Island City has opened |
its battery and double-shotted all its |
guns for Giddings, but If the salute does
no more than burn powder it will simply |
be an unforeseen accident. There Is no |
general call in the State for any particu-
lar man. Ross, Martin and Swain are |
very nearly equal in strength, and |
neither one of the three are particularly |
hankered after by the people of the |
State. 1t is a candidates convention,
pure and simple; not peoples cOnven-
ton. San Antonio sends two delegates,
who, though they have lived years in |
the State and taken very active part in |
local politics, and are charged with |
voting and electioneering, have only |
declared their intentions to become citi-
zens within few days past. We pre-
sumo that what is true Of this city is
true of others. The State has been ran
sacked for delegates who will raise q
howl for special candidates, expressed |
or understood, and such men as were |
certain to raise the required and desired |
howl were at a premium in making up |
the delegations. Citizenship has been a
secondary consideration. Constituted |
thus the state democracy are on the eve
Of such q monkey show as has not been |
witnessed in politics since the State be-
came an integral part of the Union. For |
a simon-pure specimen Of irresponsible |
democracy, see Texas, and note the pro-
oeedings Of her convention.
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