Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1889-10-18
A New Candidate.

From the Pittsburg Gazette of last Thurs
day we take the following:
Ex-State Senator J. W. Lee, the jolly
and rotund Republican leader of Yerango
county, was at the depot last night on his
way to Philadelphia. He has been in the
city for two days past attending to legal
business. Mr.. Lee has been devoting his
attention to law since his retirement from
the Senate, three years ago, but he still
watches political affairs with interest and
occasionly takes hand.
Thomas W. Phillips of New Castle,
would make good Governor" said Mr.
Lee, upon being asked about the race for
the Republican Gubernatorial nomination
next year. Secretary of the Common
wealth Stone has large following IN the
Northwest, and Senator Delamater has
many friends, too. So has Adjt-Gen. Has
tings. But the man hear spoken of most
frequently among the oil country Repubh-
cans is Mr.. Phillips. If he were IN the
field, and I had an opportunity for the
nomination myself, I'd step aside to leave
him take it. He is a broad, liberal man
and would make good Governor. He was
a great friend of General Garfield and as
sisted largely in the Indiana campaign in
1880 He has been for years extensively
connected with oil developments, one OF
the leading industries of Pennsylvania. He
has been quite generally talked of in the
Western part of the State. There is no or
ganized movement as yet to bring out Mr..
Phillips, but it is fact that he has been
more talked of for Governor in my section
than anybody else.
"The Gubernatorial nomination appears
to be anybody's fight. There are about
half a dozen good men in the field, all OF
whom have their friends, and no man can
tell at this early day who will come out
ahead. There is some very lively work
being done in several counties, and unusual
interest is shown in the result. This is
good politics and it means that when the
nomination is made it will be good one,
and all hands will turn in and give the
nominee big majority"
Ex-senator Lee has been repeatedly
mentioned himself as a candidate for Gov
ernor, but he himself says nay, II am not
a candida in any sense of the word" said
he last evening, ''You cannot put that too
strongly. l am not even dark horse.
But when the proper time comes l expect
to work pretty hard for somebody else"
Senator Lee said politics were quiet in
his section AS one result of the recent
prob ibition election there was more apathy
t han usual this year. This would have its
effe ct upon the Republican vote, but he
anticipated no serious results as there was
no organized detection. He felt confident
of Speaker Boyer's election.
The mention of Mr.. Phillips name for
Governor adds another to the already in
terestin ing list of possibilities for the Repub-
lican nomination. Mr.. Phillips is Presi
dent of the famous Oil Producers Protec-
tive As sociation. He comes from a solid
Repu blican county. Mr.. Phillips is urged
particularly as a business man. 1t is said
of him that from $4,000 which he had
fourteen years ago he has since not only
paid off $500, Indebtedness but has
amassed a fortune of round 81 200, 00C
besides. This has been done by oilpro-
ducing. At one time he had wells that
produced 1000 barrels day, and even now
his wells yield 800 barrels, which means
an income of just that many dollars every
twenty-four hours.