The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-07-03
HARRISON.
HIS AVAILABILITY AS A
CANDIDATE.
william Walter Phelps Discusses
the Conventions Work,
And Tells How the Nomination
Was Arrived At.
The circumstances that Con-
sUired to Bring it About and
Why it Possesses All of the Ele-
mentS of Strength.
THE Party United as it Could
Have Been on No Other.
The Tidal Wave that Will Sweep
the Country in November.

W,.ulxGroS, July 2.-Congrcssman
William Walter Phelps, who returned
last night from Chicago, expressed him
salrto.lay as well satisfied with the con-
ysption's work. 81 suspect it seemed Il
IiuIe tedious to those outside" he said,
obut assure you it was a busy time on
,Le inside. The convention was Il vast
hive and its delegates were swarming
p,h. and day in the effort to exchange
and unity their sentiments. You see, it
VA, not like other conventions. They
went out to select Il candidate and that
ia harder work than merely to accept
and declare one. The people did not
know what candidate they wanted; and
how could the delegates? They had to
learn, and it takes time to learn. The
eight hundred delegates came with
honest views, but all shaded with local
coloriug: so they went to work to get
clear view. There were several noticca-
Bile steps in the process. The conven-
ton which was composed largely OF MIR.
Blaines friends had first to convince it
self that it would not do to nominate
Mr.. Blaine against his will. There were
men who wanted to nominate him only
when it could be done
WITHOUT HARN TO his HONOR
and without danger to Republican sue
cess at the polls, Their differences were
practically compromised by the rccOgni-
ton Of the fact that it would not do to
nominate Mr.. Blaine until his friendly
rivals, whom he had invited into the
contest, were ready to unite in asking
him to take the nomination. That was
probable contingency, but MS u fact it
never came. II required, first of all, the
assent Of Senator Sherman, but this he
was not expected to give, and he ought
not to have given, as his vote was the
highest in the poll and fell to second
only at the moment that General Harri-
son was nominated. The next duty was
to discover ii the paramount and solid
qualities OF Mr. Depew, making him
TIE IDEAL CANDIDATE
and in that regard the only rival OF Ny. !
Blaine, were strong enough in the
granger States to overcome the panic
which strikes all the western politicians
ut the mention OF u railway official.
Opinions Of the most sagaCious pOliti-
clans differed as TO the conventions duty
in this case. All such, recognized the
existence and the Importance OF the
grangers' prejudice, but whether, that
being admitted, ii was not well to brave
it with candidate of such exceptional
merit, whose personal popularity would
bring to the Republican college the
thirty-six electoral votes oi New York
this was a question which only the
united wisdom OF the convention could
decide. The convention decided it, and
and decided ii on the side OF prudence.
It risked no certain States in the effort,
however gallant and exciting, to capture
doubtful one.
When these great questions were set
tied and the
TIE FATE oF TWO CANDIDATES
who were involved, there was still left
the task Of discovering which Of the
remaining candidates were the best. In
deciding the superiority, where all were
good and fitting in character and capac-
ity to ill the position, the only question
was which could get the most votes.
This, too, required time, many inter.
views and much discussion. The Alli-
son delegates had to learn that there
were prejudicCs against their candidate
which affected his merits as vote.get-
ter. The politicians OF the convention
(and 1t was convention made up al
most exclusively of men who had ac-
quired political knowledge by expert
ence) insisted that a State was the best
Judge OF the political strength OF
its own sons; that ii it was question
OF relative strength between two OF her
sons, Indiana, who knew them best,
should have