The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-07
GOV. HILL rs OUT.
He Will Not Oppose Cleveland at 81
Louis, and, Indeed, may Shout for

Louis, and, Indeed, may Shout for
Him.
New YORK, May Ex-Governor Hills
boom for the Presidency has been pricked
in more than one place and the dir is rushing
out of it like water out of geyser. He will
not be candidate for the Presidency, only
in case Cleveland should die before the con-
vention meets in st. Louis. or should with
draw from the contest. Three months ago,
Republicans as well as Democrats con
cluded that Hill would make lively and in
teEesting battle royal for the Presidential
prize. To-day his most intimate and en-
thusiastic friends in New York State have
given up hope. When it seemed likely
that Hills candidacy would bother Cleve-
land, the sappers and miners from the
Presidents camp went to work to tear
down the pedestal upon which the Gov
ernor stood. First of all, Hill was asked to
stand aside by the Presidents friends. 1t
was argued that the Presidents strength
was increasing daily apd the Governor of
New York could not afford to oppose him.
Promises of federal patronage were freely
made, and a denomination for Governor
also offered. All these offers were rejected.
Gov. Hill declined to take any part in the
negotiations. He said he was content to
let matters go on as they were drifting, and
he refused absolutely to consider any of the
proposals. For a time the negotiations
ceased and the handful of earnest workers
who believed in his future continued to
shout, 81 am a Democrat, " and whooped
it up for the Governor at all times and in
all places. Then the Cleveland men took
new tack. The leaders of Tammany were
invited to Washington. Tammauy had
been to Hill what the Old Guard was to
Napoleon. Richard Croker, who had sue
Gee ed to the boss-ship once held by John
Kelley, went to the gay capital and was
invited to the White House. He saw and
was conquered, and upon his return it was
noticed that the Hill boom was consider
ably chilled. Judge Maurice j. Power, the
king of the County Democracy Organiza- |
ton was also invited to Washington, and
after lunch at the White House he came |
back to Gotham shouting for Cleveland. |
About the same time there was an unusual |
stir in the Custom House, and men who |
voted the Republican ticket We're quietly |
gotten rid of and their places filled by good |
Democrats who believed in Grover Cleve- !
land. There was great activity in the Navy |
Yard, too, and Republican heads fell into |
the axeman's basket like leaves from the |
trees in a September storm. Democrats |
were chosen to fill the places made vacant
They were Cleveland Democrats and they |
are still there. The Cleveland army in all |
the interior cities of the State was strength |
ened, and then a combined assault was
made upon the Hill citadel. The Gov |
ernors men fed before the Cleveland |
legions like the French before Sedan. All |
the Hill outposts were ceptured, and the |
leader taken prisoner. Then the white flag |
was run up and the Governor asked for a |
cessation of hostilities. There was a coun- |
Gil of war and the Cleveland men made it |
clear to the Governor that he would have |
to come down like Capt SCOTS coon, or |
ha lyo1 ont Aac Tod TO-
but not before the Republicans grasped the |
situation of affairs and began to fight him |
on their own account. This battle was in |
the shape of an investigation into the ac- |
queduct steal, and the Governors peculiar |
methods in the last Gubernatorial cam |
paign. The revelations, so far, have not |
been of such a character as to injure the |
Governor, but they have not made him any |
more popular even with his friends.
And so it comes about that the Gov |
ernor is practically out of the race for the |
Presidential nomination. The Cleveland |
men and the Republicans have forced him |
to such position. Indeed, the Cleveland |
men have such hold on the political ma
chinery of the State just now, that they |
are Boosting they can renominate the Presi- |
dent without Gov Hills aid. They assert |
positively that by a count of noses the COM |
ing State Convention will endorse the |
Presidents administration, and will |
bind the delegates to the St. Louis Conven-
ton by the unit rule and instruct them to |
vote for Cleveland, first, last and all the
time.
And this claim does not seem boastful |
Unless all signs fail, such programme will /
be carried out, and Gov. Hill will be left |
alone to his fate. The plans of the Cleve-
land men contemplate the relieving of Hill |
from. political life. The Governor is now
devoting all his time and energies to fixing
the fences for denomination for Governor,
but it is not at all certain that he will sue
coed. The Cleveland men have a score of
names to choose from for his successor, in
Guiding Mayor Chaplin, Of Brooklyn, ex-
Speaker of Assembly, ex-State Comptroller,
son-in-law of Austin Corbin, a political
mascot, a man who has never been defeated
for Office, and who would make a phenome-
nal run.
The late Samuel j. Tilden used to say
that Governor Hill knew more about play
ing practical politics than any man in New
York State. He may yet out-general his
foes and turn up at st. Louis with blare of
trumpets that will astonish people, but as it
looks now, the Empire State will be pledged
to Cleveland, and Hill will have a mighty |
hard time to save himself from being taken
political prisoner. And he may not succeed |
himself as Governor. 1t depends alto
gether upon the quality of Grover Cleve-
lands mercy. FOSTER COATES.
It is q Curious Fact