Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-13
TALKED TO QUAY.
President Harrison Tells Him to Answer
the Charges or Resign Ills
Leadership.
The Interview More Spirited than the Friends
of Either Party ara willing to Admit.
National Committee Meeting OF.
Boss Quay and Ben.
Special to the Gazette.

Special to the Gazette.
WASHINGTON, May 12.-Assistant Sec
Rotary Leach of the Republican national
committee is out of town for the day.
First Assistant Postmaster General
Clarkson is absent from his office,
and Senator Quay has nothing to say to
newspaper correspondents about these
days, hence it is impossible to get direct
information from official sources as to
why the meeting of the national execu-
tive committee has been postponed. AT
committee headquarters the statement is
given out to all inquiries that
the death of Mr.. Clarkson's father
was the cause OF the change;
but this excuse was framed last
week when the new date for the meeting
was set for the goth of May, and since il
has leaked out that the postponement is
for an indefinite period, another will
have to be invented. The truth, as well
as 1t can be gathered from sources out
side OF the committee, seems to be that
the recent interview between the presi-
dent and Quay was more spirited than
the intimate friends of either party are
willing to admit. The president told
Quay in very plain terms that the
charges published against him were do
ing not only the senator himself, but the
whole party, great damage as long as
, they 6tped unanswered. Quay was dis
posed to- ignore these remarks, but
the president pressed him more
closely, and finally asked him
outright what answers he could offer to
the accusations. Then Quay assumed an
air Iof suppressed indignation and inti-
mated that he knew of no authority
under which he was called upon to an
swer partisan newspaper TRADES if he pre-
ferred to treat them with silent con-
tempt. The president was firm, and re-
spOnded that the course of q man &C.
oupying Quay's position was clear He
was bound either to clear himself or to
get out of his conspicuous place at the
head of great party
Quay went away apparently indiffer-
ent to the presidents criticism, but re-
Election and consultation with some of
| his personal political friends caused him
to take a different view of things. He
determined to kill two birds with one
stone, to get out of the leadership, but
TO battle the enemies who wish to crow
over the fact on having forced him out.
He would resign. but he would not under
fire. The only way to avoid this
ignominy, however, was to postpone the
meeting of the committee, the only body
which could act upon his resignation,
which would have to elect his successor.
He arranged therefore to make the death
of Clarkson's father a pretext and to set
later a definite day which could be
changed again as soon as the news of the
postponement and its ostensible reason
had been circulated throughout tae coun-
try. Quay's idea now is to await till the
exposure has ceased to be used and the
newspapers have generally found some
thing else to talk about, and then to call
the committee together and present his
resignation. Thus he can, he ianoies,
glory over his accusers while at the
same time relieving the party of what he
knows is Q serious incubus upon it.