Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-30
He Tells Why the Democratic Com
mittee of Eighteen Did Not
Fill the County Ticket.
NOT A CHANCE TO WIN THE FIGHT,
The Idea of Nominating District Attorney
Candidate He Says Is Surely
Suicidal
STRAIGHTOUT MOVEMENTS CONDEMNED
Every Effort Declared Needed to Place Judge Kennedy
on the Bench.


the ticket, was sent out last night, and is
signed by County Chairman Bremen. The
committee explains the action it took, and
hopes to draw off the legal contingent o.
the Democracy from putting another ticket
in the field 1t holds that it will take all
the efforts of the party to elect Judge Ken
nedy and that any talk of putting candi
date for District Attorney in the field is
useless and will only endanger the balance
of the ticket.
A meeting of the County Committee has
been called for Saturday to make arrange
ments for nominating delegates to the Con.
stitutional Convention. In this connection
it was rumored that the protesting Demo
Gratis had made a combination with the
Governor and Secretary Harrity to refuse
the report of the Committee of Eighteen
and put a full ticket before the people.
Conservative Democrats, however, believe
that the arguments of the committee will
have the effect of stopping this movement.
The full text of the address is as follows:
THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME.
To the Democrats of the county of ALE
gheny:
An opportunity has been presented to the
| Democratic party such as has not been
afforded it, perhaps ever before, to establish
a principle and secure judge with honor; a
| new court of common pleas organized in this
| comfy; bill framed by a Democrat, pre-
sented bya Democrat, voted for by every
Democrat present in the Legislature, ap-
proved by and its judges appointed by a
| Democratic Governor; the largest and most
| representative Democratic convent on that
ever convened In the county OF Allegheny
unanimously and enthusiastically indorsed
the appointment of Robert E. Pattison, the
Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, and
the principle of a non n-partisan judiciary.
BIRTH OF THE sTRAIGHToUTs.
These appointments were so eminently fit
that they received the approval of every
newspaper in the county of Allegheny, and
we're indorsed by the Republican County
Committee, after fair notice, by an over
whelming vote.
Subsequently disappointed Republican
candidates, whose names had been pre-
sented to the Democratic Governor of Penn
sylvania and rejected because they did not
as fully comply with the demands of a capa-
ble honest and uncomfortable Judiciary as
those selected, commenced the agitation of
opposition to the judiciary ticket nominated
unanimously by the Democratic convention
and almost unanimously endorsed by the
Republican County Committee, that their
selfish ambitions might be gratif1ed at the
expense of the administration of the law,
and that they might have q little cheap
notoriety by having their names paraded
through the press as candidates for judges.
This agitation bore fruit in the collection
of some four hundred (400) more or less rep
resentative sore-heads, ex-office holders and
disappointed Office seekers, representing no
organization, nor citizens delegating them
in au orderly and formal way (as the
primaries of the "Straight-outs' were unat-
tended) to represent them at this meeting,
which was managed by a Republican ex-of-
fee holder. who, by reason of his record
had been defeated by a majority of about
TO- 900 within two years. The name of one of
the candidates nominated by this meeting
had been presented to the Governor of Penn
sylvania and his appointment refused. He
was and is well known to have been the
representative of the "Republican ring of
Allegheny county without interruption for
the last Is years, and was defeated by Judge
Bailey in 1877.
Another candidate withdraws from the
ticket. One of the pretenses of this So
called "straightout" Republican movement
was that the Republican County Committee
had no right to make nominations for the
Republicans, yet committee composed of
five persons, under the management OF
Arch H. Rowand, Jr., (the life and spirit of
this so-called Republican "stIaightout"
movement) undertook and did nominate n
candidate for judge to offset the aforesaid
withdrawal without submitting it to either
q convention OF a county committee.
We appeal to the Democrats of this county
and say: That in this quarrel between the
two Republican factions the Democratic or
ganiZation has naught to do other than that
this "straightout" movement is theavowed
representative of bitter, rancorouS partisan
ship, which rejects the Democratic principle
Of non-partisan judiciary as essential to
t1a 1,11irh ctr ia 10 or1d
concede that the Democracy of Allegheny
county is entitled to representation in the
courts of the county
HAD NO ROOM FOR JUDGE KENNEDY.
The following from the Leader of Septem-
ber Z, 1891, in answer to the suggestion that
Judge Kennedy be nominated by the
"str.lightouts" to fill a vacancy then exist
ing on that ticket. explains itself, and shows
the intolerant thoughta and partisan principle
underlying this movement
Evening Leader, September !, lS9l.l
The suggestion that the straightout Repub.
licans place Judge Kennedy on their ticket
is utterly nonsensical. One of the chief mr.
poses of the straightout movement was to
nominate full Republican ticket The
straightouts cannot legitimately do other
wise nor does the impetus to put up q mon
grel list of candidates emanate from within
their lines. The Democrats might be reached
in that way, but the straightouts are not
cruising after Democrats with Kennedv,s
colors at their masthead. Hence mention
of Kennedy's name for straightout indorse-
ment is mistake and cannot be seriously
considered by the committee on vacancies
The sole object and only hope of the nar-
ties behind the "straightout" movement is
to elect Charles S. Fetterman, and they hone
to accomplish their object by defeating the
Democracy of this county; by falsely and
maliciously proclaiming dishonest alliance
between the leaders of the Democratic and
Republican parties. This is FALSE and those
who utter and circulate it know that they
are slanderers, as it involves not only a
charge of dishonesty against the Democratic
Governor of Pennsylvania, but the cor
ruption and servility of his appointees for
judges.
The election of the appointees Of Governor
Pattison can In no wise profit the leaders of
either party, other than that they NAV be
benefited, like all citizens, by the election of
a free independent, able and non-partisan
judiciary.
1t is ciaimed by some that the Democratic
party of Allegheny county can elect a dis
trict attorney this year, and therefore thev
advocate nomination for this office. The
improbaDility, if not impossibility, of this
is made manifest thus:
NO POSSIBLE SHOW TO WIN.
If the contest were between the regular
Republican candidate and the candidate of
the Democratic party, then everv Repub.
lican vote withheld from the regular Re-
nublican candidate, and cast for the Demo
cratic candidate, would count two; but with
three candidates in the field. a regular Re-
publican and an alleged "straightout" Re.
pubiican, and the Democratic candidate
then every vote withheld by O Republican,
from the regular Republican candidate, and
cast for the "straightout" candidate. only
increases tho possibility of the Democrntic
candidates. election by one instead of by
two. rs in the first case.
To illustrate: 1t is estimated. in view of
the existing political excitement, that there
will be at least $4,000 Republicans votes
polled at the coming election (reguIar Re-
nnblicans and tstTaightouts'). and that
there will be about 1900 Democratic votes