St. Paul daily globe., 1888-05-29
FSkE is The FAVORITE.
Ee VIII Probably Be the Presidential
Nominee OF the Pr0hibisionists.
WHAT HIS CANDIDACY MEANS
Cold Water Champions Figure Upon
Polling a Vote That Will Aston
ish The Natives.
Snecial TO the Globe.


be greater number of delegates in the
national Prohibition convention, which
opens here on Wednesday, than have
participated in any similar gathering
since the third party was brought into
existence. Less than fifty accredited
delegates were at Columbus in 1872
when the first presidential ticket of the
Prohibitionists was placed III the field.
At Cleveland, in 1876, there were less
than hundred, and in the same city,
eight years ago, eleven states were rep
resented by 139 men and women. But
in the next four years the growth of the
movement was phenomenal, and nearly
500 credentials were handed in at the
Pittsburg convention in 1884. Even
this showing, however, will be eclipsed
during the next few days, when fully
1900 delegates, representing all but two
or three of the states, and with between
1900 and 5000 friends and adherentS Of
the canse behind them, will take this
city by storm. The enthusiasm which
is manifested over the coming cOnven-
ton has surprised even the Oldest
and most Sanguine Of the prohibition
workers. The New York delegation,
which will be i'll late tonight, occupies
an entire train specially chartered for
the trip. Another train load comes from
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and
third from Maine and other New Eng
land states. Every congressional dis
trict in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin
and the Northwestern states will have
its delegates. Several carloads come
from the Pacific coast. and for the first
time in the history of the party there
will be strong contingent from the
South. SO large, in fact, will be the
gathering that it is tonight considered
doubtful if the spacious hall which had
been engaged for the proceedings will
be found adequate to meet the demands
of the occasion.
From 100000 to 100000 votes is about
the figure that, in the opinion of old
veteran campaignerS like Prof. Samuel
Dickie, of Michigan, chairman of the
retiring national committee, the prohi-
bition ticket will poll in November
Fifty-siX hundred voters deposited
their bollOts for the cold water candi-
dates in 1872, and 9,700i in the centennial
year. The ticket of 1880, headed by
Neal Dow, received 10000 votes in fif-
teen states, but in 1884 fifteen times
that number were cast in thirty-four
states for st. John and Daniels. Dur
ing the last two years, however, there
have been elections in thirty of these
states in which state prohibition tickets
have been voted upon, and the aggre-
gate of these votes is 2S7, GOO. 1t is upon
these figures that the
PROPHETS OF THE PARTY
predicate their opinion of what will be
shown next November. There has been
great activity all along the Prohibition
line for the past year, and especially in
the South, where Sam Small, who is
upon the pay roll of the national COM
mittee, has been working with might
and main to bring the local option ele-
ment into accord with the national
movement. As to the political parties
from which the increased strength is to
be drawn, Chairman Dieke says: 1--WE
will make the largest gains in the
North from the Republicans, and in the
South from the Democrats. The tenn
perance sentiment in the states south
of the old Mason and Dixon line is grow
ing and deepening. This is especially
true in Georgia. In the North our
principal support will be drawn from
the Republican ranks, a great many
temperance men of that party being dis
satisfied with its eQuiYocal position on
the temperance question. In Michigan.
especially, the Republicans will lose
heavily from the fact that they voted
against constitutional amendment and
passed local option law which has
just been declared unconstitutional
Said another trader in the movement:
"With Gen. Clinton B. Fiske as our
nominee, we shall gain the votes of
thousands of people who, otherwise,
would not be attracted to our ticket.
His candidacy will appeal to the soldier
element, as we'll as to the solid people
of the South, who, now that Lincoln has
gone, reverence him more than any ether
living representative of war time. He
will command the active support of the
universal peace union, of the friends of
the Indians, and of many other move
ments which have found in him a warm
and earnest champion. He will be, in
short, a magnetic candidate, who will
poll not only the full vote of the party.
but an outside'vote, the size of which it
is not possible to determine''
The prohibitiOnistS will have plenty
of funds with which to run the cam
paign. From 1882 until 1885 the total
expenditures of the national committee
were in the neighborhood of S6,00O out
of which the expenses of the campaign
of 1884 were paid. a few months ago,
however, it issued an appeal for
special fund Of $500, GOO. to be used solely
in the coming contest. The response
has been very liberal, and it is expected
that by the end of June the full amount
will have been subscribed. The con-
ventlOn is likely to be too lively to be
harmonious, except upon the woman
suffrage question. A resolution favor
ing the
ENFRANCHISEMENT OF WOMEN
will be submitted under instructions by
the New York delegation, and it will be
vigorously opposed by the Southern
element. \ compromise is being urged
by those who want to avoid trouble, but
the Sutfragists say that they will be con-
tent with nothing less than an out and
out plank. A demand will probably be
made for revision and reduction of the
tariff, aud several of the resolutions will
follow after the lines of the platform
adopted by the Union Labor conven-
ton at Cincinnati. Several of the dele
gates united to-day in request to the
proprietor of the Grand hotel, where the
headquarters of the national committee
are located. that the bar of the house be
closed until the convention was over.
The reply was refusal, courteous but
emphatic, and as nearly every room in
house had been engaged by the Eastern
delegates, While the capacity of all other
hotels is overtaXed, the sensitive ones
had no alternative but to submit. No
other name beside that of Gen. Fiske
lSmentioned for the presidential nomina-
ton, while as his running mate, Green
Clay Smith. and George w. Bair, of
Kentucky, Joshua Lavering, the Balti-
more coffee millionaire, John A. Brooks,
OF Kansas City, and John Tanner, of
Wisconsin, all have their supporters.
EX-GOv. st. John will be the permanent
chairman