Los Angeles herald., 1891-05-29

in love with Harrison Will make every
effort before and at the convention to
induce Mr.. Blaine to accept the nomina-
ton himself Already they are crying
that he is the natural leader of the par
ty, while the president is but its official
leader. Scores of Mr.. Blaines old friends
have, to my personal knowledge, visited
or written him, imploring him to permit
the use of his name, at any rate not to
write letter that would take him out
of the range of possibilities. Notwith-
standing all this the chances are that
Blaine will stand for the president and
that the president will be renominated.
At the present moment the most for
midable rival the president has appears
to be General Alger, of Michigan, who
was also a candidate in 1888. General
Alger is very wealthy, warm hearted,
benevolent man, who has managed to
gather about him coterie of friends OF
whom any man might be proud. Many
of these friends, like Mr.. Clarkson,
Colonel Dudley, General Thurston, Ben
Lowell, of Massachusetts; Senator-elect
Gallinger, of New Hampshire, and ex-
Senator Platt, of New York, are skillful
and powerful politicians.
In case Major Mckinley succeeds in
carrying Ohio on a protection platform
he may be formidable rival in the
next convention. His weakness as
candidate is in the situation at home,
where Senator Sherman, the Nestor of
public life in America, has by no means
concluded to initiate his friend Ed
munds' example and voluntarily step
out of service 1t is considered pretty
certain that Mr.. Sherman will stand for
reelection to the senate; they do even
say he will go out for the presidential
nomination with as much vigor and con-
fidence as of yore. Ohio cannot send
two candidates to the front and do good
for both of them. So if Senator Sher-
man should decide to try his luck once
more in the presidential sweepstakes it
is difficult to see where Mr.. Mckinley
could get in. Moreover, one hears
good deal of this sort of talk at Wash
ington, to wit: That the party is in
certain sense divided between the advo-
Gates of reciprocity and of protection,
and that in selecting candidate it will
be we'll to choose one who has in times
past been counted "home market and
orthodox protectonist statesman, and
who is also identified with the expert
ment of reciprocity. The friends of the
president say he fills the bill exactly.
Senator Allison, who has twice been
an aspirant for the nomination, will not
make the race, it is said, this year. But
Senator Cullom will be in it. Illinois
will send delegation solid and enthusi-
astic in his support. Cullom not only
looks like Abraham Lincoln, but has
many of the traits and good qualities of
the emancipation. 1t is pity Mr.. Cul-
lom's legislative speciality, the railroad
transportation question, has been too
far from the active sympathies of the
great masses of people, too little par
taking of sentiment, to make him really
popular.
Judge Gresham, who was the candi-
date of Illinois three years ago, but not
of Indiana, will not be formally present
ed in 1899. His friends say they will
rest their case on the belief that if the
party wants man to win with it will
take the Judge. fresh from the bench a
which his decisions for the people an
against monopolies have made him ont
of the most popular men in the country
In this connection | hear that Colonel
William Wade Dudley, the well known
politician who has never been recog-
nized by the president at the White
House, though he was so largely instru-
mental in pushing his friend General
Harrison from law Office to the execu-
tive mansion, is to be a delegate at large
from Indiana. Colonel Dudley really
lives in Washington, but his popularity
is SO great in Hoosierdom that even the
warm friends of the president admit he
can have whatever he wants. Dudley
plainly says he is opposed to the presi-
dent, but the administration managers
will elect him delegate at large, and
meanwhile seek to reconcile him with
his old friend.
Among the Democrats there is CO
nundrum quite as interesting as that
which bothers the Republicans Will
it be Cleveland or Hill? Will the gov
ernor go into the convention with New
York solidly at his back, and thus pre-
vent the nomination of Mr.. Cleveland!
If he kill off Cleveland will he also kill
himself? These are questions which one
cannot answer with satisfaction to him
self or any one else. The prophets are
as yet chary of venturing opinions.
They are travelling in the west, the
south and southwest, making inquiries
into the political situation and prepar-
ing for next years struggle as if they
were in earnest. AS yet there are no
signs that Governor Hill has given uT
the idea of receiving the nomination fo1
himself. When he does make way, as
the probabilities are he will be COM
PEELED to do by the popular demand fol
Cleveland, it will not be until he has
made himself the residuary legatee OF
his big rival. If Mr.. Cleveland wants
the nomination next May he will have
imperative need of the New York votes
controlled by Governor Hill, and as two
terms-one of which he has already had
are all Mr.. Cleveland could hope for,
why could not Governor Hill be his sue
cessor as the Democratic candidate?
Viewing all the field over, there are
plenty of wise men who believe the rival
candidates next year will be the rivals
in the campaign of 1888. These wise
men must not forget the "dark horse, y
| however. The "dark horse" in the Dem