Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-11-12

OF CoMBINATIoNs.
The speakership candidates are getting ready
for the fight. but the Representatives are moi
coming in very fast and there is nothing fol
them to work on. Henderson, Burrows, Can
non and Reed are expected to have their head
quarters in good running order within
day or two, but it will be week OIL
ten days at least before McKinley'G
forces are in the field. Mckinley arrived
at the Ebbitt today with his wife and will leave
again for New York on the 345 train this after.
noon. 1t will be probably ten days before he
returns. He will then be at the Ebbitt house
So far, his friends say. he has not lifted
his hand to promote his own candidacy,
Yet they are very confident of his cleo.
ton. They do not think that the result OF
the election in Ohio Is going to injure
his chances in the least. In the first place
they do not think that he will be hurt in the
redstricting of the state by the democrats, but
If he Is put In a district that is hopelessly DEM
ocratic 1t is said by the republicans that they
will run him in a new district where he can be
elected. He is bound to be reelected to the
House, they say, whatever happens.
MR.. REEDS CANDIDACY.
Mr.. Reed is supposed to be on his way here,
but he has not yet put in an appearance. As
the man who is expected to lead on the first
ballot his coming is looked for with consider
able interest, especially by the other candidates,
who want to have him where they can Judge OF
what his strength is and what he is doing.
While it liz still conceded that
Reed will have the most votes
on the first ballot there is said to be a little
reaction setting in which makes his very great
pre-eminence matter Of doubt The other
candidates are acting upon the assumption that
his boom, by being started too soon, will wear
itself out before the caucus.
They assert that it has already begun to drop.
The fact is that as the candidates all begin to
get their forces in the field some of them begin
to look more powerful than they did in the
distance. The result looks much more doubt
full as closer view is got of it.
THE CHANCES ARE
that when the campaign is completely trans
ferred to Washington each of the candidates
will have a boom in turn and at the last moment
the matter will look more doubtful than at any
other time in the canvass 1t is quite evident that
there Will be very determined fight to The fin
ish and that no one will have walk over
Burrows, Cannon and Henderson are making
all the fight they know how, and as the fight
draws toward the close things are liable to be
sprung at any time that may change
the whole face of the situation
10 very llttle III TIC tdlk OI u combination
between the western candidates. Mr.. Cannon
is understood to be in favor of such a combina-
ton, but MIR. Burrows and the rest do not take
kindly to the suggestion. On the start unless
things change materially from what they now
are, the whole field of candidates will be
FIGHTING AGAINST REED.
1t seems likely that if he is to be elected the
thing will occur quickly. The rest argue that
if he does not develop some extraordinary
strength not now to be looked for, so as to get
the nomination on the first or second ballot,
he is beaten. They think they can fight him
better, each candidate holding all the
votes he can get, than they could in an attempt
to throw all their votes to one man. In such a
transfer some of the votes might get lost on
the way and be picked up as estrays by the man
from Maine. As the situation now is each
candidate feels that he has pretty good
chance to win and each will stay as long
as there is that chance-and perhaps longer.
The situation is such rather to induce new
candidates to enter the race than to drive any
of the old ones to combinations in favor of
any of them. The fact is that
during the progress of the fight the
only combination that is at all likely is that
which will inevitably occur between all the
other candidates against the one who is for
the moment thought to have the lead. There
will always, of course, be combination against
the favorite, whoever he happens to be. at any
time. Any one who assumes on the start that
any particular man is going to win runs very
great risk of being woefully disappointed.