Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-06-02
NO FAVORITE SONS.
1epew Says They Are "Not in
It" at Minneapolis.
BACRIFIOBD IN THEIR OWN STATES

There Is None Left Over To BE Slaugh-
tered in the National Convention-The
Silver-Tongued Orator of the Empire
State Criticises the Blaine Boomers,
and Says Trifling Is Out of Place-Har-
rison's Advance Guard Arrives at the
Flour City, First on the GrOund-Five
Prohibition Conventions.
CHICAGO, June 2-Chauncey NJ. Depew,
W. X. Vanderbilt and H. Seward Webb
arrived here last night to attend the an
nual meeting of the Chicago and North
western and connecting lines The party
registered at the Auditorium hotel, where
delegates from a dozen or more of states
Here in waiting to meet the silver-tongued
orator from Gotham and to secure his
views on the political situation. To a
reporter he said that the situation was
different from that of all previous conven-
tions in that there were no favorite sons
to be sacrificed. All of them had been
SACRIFICED in their own states.
Staked All on an Interrogative.
The only chance in his judgment of
Harrison being defeated was that the con-
vention should vote for half a dozen diff
ferent people and so prevent a choice until
the opposition to the president had a
chance to concentrate. But the supreme
effort to induce Blaine to become a can
didate had practically retired all other
candidates, so that unless Blaine allowed
his name to be used Harrison would be
the nominee, both by the potential force
of his record of his friends and by the de-
fault of opposition. 1t was remarkable
that so shIewd, so successful, combina-
ton of political managers as the com bina-
tion against the president should have
staked their all upon an interrogative.
Flirting with Caesars Ghost"
If Blaine is candidate they have of
course the potential influence OF a great
name, a great fame and universal popu.
larity. But if Blaine failed to say that he
is in the race they would be like the last of
the Caesars, or like Mahomet's coffin-sus-
pended in the air. Nothing could be more
suggestive of the difficulties of the situa.
ton TO the opponents of General Harrison
than the spectacle of such able and prac
tical politicians as his friends Quay,
Clarkson, Plat and Foraker flirting with
the ghost OF Caesar and the coffin of Ma.
homet.
He Depew) had been a friend of Blaine
when Conkling dominated in New York
and as against Grant, Garfield and HAYES
and had there been any intention on the
part OF Blaine to become a candidate be-
fore the forthcoming convention be
thought that he (Depew) would have been
entitled to know it. Had he received that
information it was likely that he would
have gone with the Blaine column Nc
such intimation having been received it
must be taken for granted that Blaine's
letter to Chairman Clarkson, and through
the latter to the Republican party, was
both official and final
Will Stick to 1.-THE Gospel Text"
He had been brought up in a religion
that believed in sticking to the gospel
text and taking no stock in commentary
The fellows that now advocate Blaine's
nomination with so much enthusiasm
men who had always been hostile to the
Blaine scripture-were depending upon
the commentary. They were told that the
convention was to be stampeded. How
would 1t meet? Under great responsible
tiles. The delegates would feel and know
that the Democracy would start out with
fifteen states, and that it would take but
four more, and these the so-ealled doubt
full states, to bring them success.
No Time for Any Trifling.
This situation did not permit of senti-
ment or theory or of the exercise of per
sonal vindictiveness. The convention
could not afford to trife with so grave 6
situation. If the convention should
nominate Blaine and he should decline, Of
course General Harrison could not be G
candidate for the position that the CHIEF
officer of his cabinet and rejected, and the
decentralization of such an event spread al
over the country would defeat the Repub
lican party even before the canvass had
begun. Such was the responsibility that
rested on Blaine.