Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-06
THINKS HE WILL GET THERE.
COLONEL STONE CONFIDENT. OF HIS
ELECTION TO CONGRESS.


He Thinks His Nominatiou Was Fair md
square-Nobody Asked to Vote for Him
ut the Convention-He Was n Dark
Horse.
The Republican side of the Twenty-third
Congressional district is settled until the
County Committee meets. Colonel William
A. Stone will remain in the field as the Re-
publican nominee. Colonel Stone yester-
day conferred with a number OF political
and business friends. In the afternoon he
gave THE DISPATCH the following state
ment:
81 had no knowledge nor intimation from
any living person that Colonel Bayne in
tended to decline that nomination until
after the election Of his delegates and until
early Monday morning. when he sent for
me and told me that he had intended to de-
cline, and suggested that should take the
nomination from that convention. He sent
for few delegates who we're handy to
reach and friends of his, had them
meet Monday night, and there he told
them that he intended to decline that
nomination. They all urged him to stand
as candidate, and 1 with the rest, because
/ was not particularly desirous of going to
Congress now. 1 hoped to be candidate
sometime, when Colonel Bayne might get
through, but was not q candidate this time,
at all. We urged. him to stand, and he
would not do it. He said: Now. gentle
men, 1 am going to quit; shall decline that
nomination
DIDN'T ASK FOR A VOTE.
"There were a dozen or two of leading
friends and delegates there, and after they
failed to persuade him to stand, then they
got to casting around among themselves as
to whom they could nominate. 1 did not
ask a man to mention my name. Of their
own accord they selected me. That is, all
came 10 the conclusion that was the man
they wanted. Until that time I did not
know what was to be the outcome of the
matter, ANYMORE than the man in the moon.
1 did not suppose they would select me.
All l knew was that few hours before I
had been told by Colonel Bayne that he
would decline, and that I would be very
acceptable to MIN.
"After they had agreed upon me, as fast
as anv delegates were seen they were told
what Colonel Bayne intended to do-not by
me, but by those who were there. When
the convention assembled Tuesday morning
at 10 o'clock, nearly all his delegates un-
derstood that he was going to withdraw,
and nearly all had expressed themselves as
favorable to me. After his declinstion of
the nomination was nominated, and nomi-
mated almost unanimously. Some of the
Shiras delegates were for me, and since l
have returned from the East to-day have
seen and heard from several of them-and
that is a good many out of that number
that are for me and intend to support me.
QUITE NATURAL TO ACCEPT.
"What was I to do in that convention?
Say that it had no authority to nominate
me? l had no doubt about their authority.
They had no doubt about it. Put yourself
in my place. l wanted to 60 to Congress,
but was content to wait and bide my time.
They nominated me almost unanimously.
1t was the natural thing for me to accept it,
and do not know that have committed
any breach of faith, or violated any law, or
committed any crime, or wronged anybody
in accepting it. 1 do not know any reason
on earth why that convention could not
make a nomination.
'Now, Twill be elected. do not thiuk
there is any question about that, and my
friends do not think SO. have had assur-
ances from a great many strong men, and
am getting them all the while. have al
ways been a worker in the Republican
party, but if the people in nv district do
not want me to 60 10 Congress do not want
to go. think this nomination was regular.
1t is the nomination of dark horse, which
has been done many, many times. We have
precedents for it even in national conven-
tions. 1t is among the possibilities In every
convention, as everybody knows. L was not
a candidate before the convention; not seek
ing the nomination. 1t came to me volun-
tarily, without the asking, and was a selec-
tion by a majority of all the delegates in the
district, and do not see for the life of me
why am not the regular nominee"
Colonel Stone is very apparently in an
easy condition Of mind. The only hing
that seemed to worry him yesterday was the
temperature.