Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-11-26
CONGRATULATIONS DEIAwAl

marking that if Benjamin Harrison had
not enough respect for them to admit them
they hadn't enough for him to wait.
Chairman Clarkson begged them to wait,
while he personally went to Private Score.
tary Halford and strongly represented to
him the unwisdom of keeping the national
committee Of the party cooling its heels in
waiting. llalford went to the President
and told him what Clarkson had said.
The President saw his mistake and told
Halford to bring them in. Twenty min
lltes had then elapsed, and most of them
were too mad to go in. However, under
Clarkson's coaxing, they went, to find that
Mckinley, Secretary Noble and Uncle
Jerry Rtsk had been occupying the Presi-
dents attention.
After u formal exchange of courtesies,
as brief rs Foraker's famous interview
with Harrison, the committee then hur-
ried over to the State Department, more
opposed to Harrison and more devoted to
Blaine than before, the warmth of Blaine's
greeting bringing out effectively the cold
ness of Harrison's.
THE BLAINE CYCLONE EMBLEM.
The bob-tailed flag which the storm left
flying over the White House occurs to
two-thirds if not three-fourths of the
national committeeman as emblematic of
the Harrison boom us it appears after hav-
ing been struck by the Blaine cyclone.
Blaine is already as good as nominated, if
not as good AS elected, according to these
men. Minneapolis was selected because
Blaine preferred it to Cincinnati, fearing
the fatal Foraker. The great Blaine north
west will gather at the Twin Cities, as they
nre now universally called, and Blaine will
inevitably be nominated. They have no
doubt that he will accept. "If he would
not" they say, "he would tell us so now.i
he has had plenty of opportunities. He
had dozen more to-day. Two of them
were semi-public, when a declaration for
Harrison or even declaration that he
himself could not think Of accepting the
nomination would have been appropriate
and would have been certain to get prompt
and continental publicity.
TWO OPPORTUNITIES IGNORED.
The first occasion was when the trium-
phant Minnesota delegation Except the
postmaster and ex-senator "Gil" Pierce.
editor OF the Minneapolis Tribune, the
only Harrison paper in Minnesota, who
refused to go) called to tell him, as plainly
us they could without embarrassing him,
that they expected to follow him as the
party's candidate in the next Presidential
campaign. There were newspaper men
present. Blaine, with customary caution,
affected Ignorance of the details of the
committees action last night, although he
had waited up till after midnight to get
the news, and asked when the convention
would be held. June 7th," said half a
dozen men at once.
We'll" said Blaine, laughing his old
time laugh. II hope Minneapolis will be
thawed out by that time"
"Ah, Mr.. Secretary said Mr.. Eustis
you have no reason % imagine that there
is any GOODNESS in Minnesota toward Won. =
~ know that said Blaine heartily
whereupon Mr. Blethcn said Before the
convention meets, Mr.. Blaine, You will re-
celve indubitabe testimony as to the in
crease in the warmth of feeling the people
have for you.n
To which Mr.. Blaine replied only with
his significant smile.
THAT SIGNIFICANT SMILE.
That significant smile did duty little
later when the entire national committee
"aiter brlef, cold and formal call ut the
White House-came over to nav its re-
spects to Blaine and several of its mem
bers reminded him of the desire of his
party that he should lead it once more,
Ihen was his chance to say that his health
or ms loyalty to his official chief or
something else would prevent his accent
ing that honor, President Harrison thinks
he ought to have refused it in some en-
phatlc way. SO do other Harrison men in
Nh'h - Wv bult Instead OF
doing so, Blaine responded with that en-
couraging smile which his visitors all read
as meaning: Go ahead and when the
time comes will be found ready"
blame was very complimentary to the
committeeman. Observation-Disclosures them
upon the selection they had made of a
convention city and of an early date he
SAID he thought they would manage the
next campaign admirably. Chairman
Clarkson reminded him that their powers
expired when their SUCCESSORS were chosen
by the convention in June.
Yes said Blaine, "but Won ought to
hold over until after the campaign. .
Alier the committeeman left Mckinley
paid his respects TO Blaine and afterward
walked over to the White House arm in
arm with him, where Blaine left him TO
SO in to the cabinet meeting.
The great majoty Of the visiting states.
men, who got to work at once to elect dele.
gates to the convention under Clarkson's
call, expect to elect delegates who will
nominate Blaine, and have no fear 81
being embarrassed by any encouragement