Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-06-18
The General Outlook.

Chicago, June IS.-A more complex
situation was never seen two days before
the meeting of Presidential convention.
Such developments as have occurred only
tend TO pile mystery upon mystery. The
air is filled with rumors, with hints of com
binations with charges of treachery and
suspicion of insincerity, and out Of it all
develops nothing tangible. As accurate
description of the situation as could be
made at this hour, is that about five hun
dred delegates are tolerably certain how
they will vote, if they don't change their
minds before the balloting begins. The
remainder are all at sea. Everybody is
afraid to strike out in any direc-
ton, preferring to wait and see
what other people do. There is
much conferring among leaders, much rum
ing after and arguing with individual dele
gates. but very few declarations in favor OF
any of the various candidates. The Cali
fornia people declare Blaine is their first
and only choice. They say they are not
talking of other candidates, and that
Blaine will surely be nominated. The Maine
people are naturally pleased at the show of
loyalty 10 their favorite. In Massachusetts
there is little tendency to take up Blaine;
some of the Blaine men in Pennsylvania
who do net live to be led into the Sherman
camp by Senator Quay are talking Blaine; =
few of the Nebraska delegates, are showing
an inclination to return TO their old idol, az
are few of the Texas men, and the state
ment is made that il would not take much OF
an ipducement to break the Iowa delegation
from Allison to Blaine, but the general
verdict is that the California effort is
failure. Mr.. Blaine's sons say it would be
useless to nominate their father. General
CLAYTON says no friend of Blaine's will talk
of nominating him; that if Blaine be nomi-
mated at all, il must be in the natural
course of events, without any juggling to
prevent q nomination, and with the con-
sent of all the candidates who have en-
tered the contest in good faith, supposing
Mr.. Blaine to be out of the way by his own
action. Joseph Nancy, of Maine, William
Walter Phelps, ex-senator Patt, of New
York; National Chairman Jones' and Others
of Mr.. Blaineis close friends, make the
same statement. Ii is claimed by many
leading party men that the nomination of
Blaine is impossible, except in the
extremely remote contingency that
the convention ballots for days without
making~a choice and the candidates
unite in withdrawing in Mr.. Blaine's in
terest. 1t is undeniable that few Blaine
men, notably Stephen b. Elkins and 4. C.
Kerins, would like TO have the work OF the
convention so shaped as TO make Mr..
Blaine the final outcome, and they are
supposed in certain way to be making AN
effort to that end. There is rumor that
Elkins and Kerins have letter, in dupli-
cate, from Miss Dodge (Gail Hamilton)
written two days after the Paris letter of
Mr.. Blaine, in which the statement is
made: IF the country insists upon hav-
ing Mr.. Blaine for leader, he will accept
and Immediately return home and begin
the canvass. The facts about this matter
are that the letter was written
just after the Florence letter, and
not after the Paris letter of Mr..
Blaine, and was addressed to Elkins.
The significant feature of it is that Elkins
and Kerns have been consulting as to
whether they should publish the letter or
not, and have allowed the fact to leak out
that they have such q letter. This means
that these men and a few of the "0ld
Guards would like to help along the
Blaine movement A dinner usrts at the