The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-26

two things-to WORK for an Endorsements of
federal appropriation for the Lake WASH
inston canal, and 20 try 10 have James
Hamilton Lewis nominated for governor.
The action of the Republican state con-
vention had made the canal plank neces-
sary TO save from utter rout the Demo.
cratic party in King. Pierce county had
been attacking United States Senator John
Is. Alien for recognizing the canal as a
needed public Improvement The King
county Republicans stood by their friend
and in the face of steadfast opposition car.
RED through the state convention reso-
luton approving the course of Senator
Allen. This resolution made the Repub-
iican stronghold Of King impregnable,
and the Democrats realized that without
some word for the canal, their own or
ganization would cease even to be a
minority.
The instruction for Lewis for governor
was given because he was the overwheim-
ing choice of the rank and file of the King
county Democrats.
Both the canal and James Hamilton
Lewis had opponents in King. Against
the canal We're Junius Rochester, chair
man of the county delegation. Percy w.
Rochester and several others of less i'm
foi soANe. Lewis were aFrayeu
ID. II. Gilman. w. II. White. C.. d. Emery.
l.. ID. Ross. l.. B. Hart, J. NJ. Carson and
half dozen more, who are hard workers.
Most of the anti-Lewis men professed un-
dying allegiance to the canal and came to
olympia saying they feared the nomina-
tion of Lewis might defeat the canal pro-
Ject, and that reason accounted mainly foP
their opposition TO Lewis.
The ras~t.tsr 5ala-affor> g.
Lewis, and his enemies in King and else
where soon found out that were it not for
the canal question nc could easily get the
nomination for governor. Pierce county
was friendly to him; Spokane was un-
wavering. and with these three leading
counties united the chances of N. G. Bla.
lock. of Walla WalIa, B. +. Shaw, Of
Clarke, and C. II. Warner, of Whitman,
would have been slim.
The only hope, then, of beating Lewis
was an effective combination against a ca
nal plank Pierce county had cleverly
worked upon most of the delegations out
side of King, persuading them that q
plank condemning the canal in one phras-
ing or another would secure the support
OF the Pierce county Republicans and the
Tacoma Ledger, and would be a clever po-
hticai stroke. To make this union on tho
canal question was not therefore a difficult
task. Pierce stood ready to throw aside
Lewis In return for an anti-canal plank
blalock and Shaw were ready to combine
their strength to the same end. Thus it
came about that Percy w. Rochester, L.
ID. Ross and other King county men, in
their hatred Of Lewis, joined Pierce county,
joined DIR. Blaiock and b. +. Shaw in q
united effort to humiliate King county
and wreck their own party there. To the
credit of w. III. White, Z. ID. Emery, G.. q.
Heifner and few other anti-Lewis men it
must be said that when they found that
the enemies of James Hamilton Lewis had
joined to beat the canal they rallied for
King county and stood by their colors.
w. IL. White. who had gone to Olympia
breathing threats against Lewis, declared
he would accept proxy in the delegation
and help fight for the canal, though he
had gone too far to vote for Lewis and
would yield the proxy to Lewis man
after the canal battle was over.
In the face of the forces arrayed against
the canal the King county delegation,
weakened as it was by the detection of
Junius Rochester on the canal question,
went to pieces. James Hamilton Lewis
had had almost within his grasp the reali-
cation of one of the great ambitions of his
life. In his eagerness for Office Lewis for
got his obligation to King county. Seeing
that King county had no hope of winning
an Endorsement o. the canal, he counseled
a compromise. He and his friends hoped
that ny yielding they could keep the con-
vention from condemning the canal by
name, and that q resolution might be
drawn up upon which he could run for
governor. Accordingly Spokane and
King fixed up compromise plank which
went into the platform. The resolution
approved general appropriations for pub
lie improvements, but condemned expend-
iture of public money for ''the advance
ment of private enterprise" Everybody
knew that this latter term was pointed by
Pierce county at the canal and would be
used by the enemies of King as a direct
denunciation of the canal project.
Frantic but ineffective attempts are be-
ing made to get candidate for congress-.
for ". N. Goldman, of Dayton, will not run.