Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-08-22
JEFF JOHNSON.
Breezy Chat With an Austinfan About the
Political Situation in Texas.

breezy Chdb WITH an AuStlnlan ABOUT the
Political Situation in Texas.
JEFF Johnson, a well-known citizen of
Austin and a man who keeps a pretty
steady finger on the political pulse, was
in the city yesterday and clasped hands
with a GAZETTE representative and i'm
mediately blurted out:
Who is going to be the next governor
of Texas?''
"Young fellow responded the
scribe, as he fixed cold and stony glare
upon the gentleman from political head
quarters, ''you We got nerve. Don t
you know that a newspaper man never
tells anything he knows? Besides, if 1
should tell you who is to be governor it
would rob the question of all the ele-
ments of uncertainty and leave i'll it
nothing of interest for you But with
you it is different. Suppose you set forth
your views on the subject -
Gwen, to tell you the TRUTH said
Mr.. Johnson, accepting the opportunity
III the same frank spirit in which it was
offered, the thing is so mixed l can
hardly tell. There s jim Hogg. A few
weeks ago l thought Jim had the thing
grabbed He had made himself mighty
solid with the Grange element and ali
anti-monopolists, until here come the
question from the Farmers Alliance
folks wanting to know if the trust law
prohibited them from doing certain
things. They expected him to say no.
But they were disappointed. He read the
thing over carefully and wrote back that
he thought their proposed action was pro-
hibited by the law. And now they are
hopping mad, and will probably knife
him from this out. Then his
squabble with the sheriffs made him a | OF
more enemies who will be active and
dangerous. And all because he, under
OATH construed the law as he thought it
should be construed. 1t looks as though
these two things, and the opposition he
has aYowed in railroad and monopoly
quarters, would beat him. 1t reminds
me of what Horace Chiffon said of Hogg.
He said if Hogg was called on to construe
a law and he knew that to give it q GER
tain construction, which he considered
the correct one, would defeat him for
governor, he would construe it that
way.
g Where does Wheeler stand in the
race?''
"sHard to tell. Wheeler is the only
man so far mentioned who has any dis
tinctive following. He has a good many
frst-last-and-all-th e-time friends, but
not enough to nominate him. Whether
he can draw from the others in the event
Of a lock, which is almost certain to
come, cannot tell. He is a lucky fell
low, and apt to bob up where least ex-
pected. -
''Who else will have a good standing
in the racer"
"Why, Throckmorton, for one.
have been up to Mckinney, and find
those people in earnest about Throck-
morton g candidacy. had thought be-
fore that it was mere talk, but 1 find
they mean business. The old man has a
strong following, too, and while do not
think he can be nominated l do believe
he will be "a able to do a great
deal TO lock the convention, and
much towards making the nominee. 1
think Tom Browns chances are gone.
He has played hard game, but don It
think it will prove a winning one. -
''How about McDonald?'
ga splendid man; would make a first
rate governor, but don t think he viii
be a candidate just yet. He might be
run in as dark horse to break dead
lock, but 1 don It believe he wants to be
thought a candidate. -
What of EXall?"
Nothing. He has no sort Of show.
If Dallas had held Judge Henry back he
would have made fine compromise can
dIdate, but Exall is too short to reach
Seth Shepard is perhaps the strongest man
Dallas has now, but he has been defeat
ed so often that he will hardly be can
didate soon again. -
''What other asplrants are Thereof
"Well, don't know that there are
any more real candidates for the next
nomination, but when the lightning goes
to playing around 1 don t think either j
T. Breckenridge of Austin, Bill Pope of
Marshall, or Dick Hubbard of Tyler
will run for a feather-bed. I'll
tell you something that has surprised me.
1t is the amount of talk there IS in
favor OF Ross for a third term. l don t
think he viii be candidate, and the
nomination would have to be forced on
him, but there are many people who
would like to see him reelected He is
a safe and conservative man and they
have confidence in him.
''How about candidates for other state
offices?"
81 think Billie Workman, for treas
urer, and Charlie Culberson, for attor-
ney-general, viii be hard to beat.