Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-07-24
THEY'RE OFF.
The Republican Delegates to
the State Convention.
DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY STAND

Supposed to be for Culom, but Billy
Mason has Pull and May Upset Their
Calculations The Part Rock Island Coun
ty Will Play.
The Rock Island county delegation
to the republican state convention
departed for Springfield over the C.,
b. & Q. at Gas this morning. The
delegation as named by the county
convention was changed some
what, Hon. c. II. Deere. having
been given proxies in order to
strengthen, it is supposed. the Gull
lom contingent. While the delegates
are ostensibly for Cullom, having
been named under that impression,
though they were in no sense for
maily instructed, and in the last for
night there has been a gradual
breaking away from fhe standard of
the ambitious statesman whose main
stock in trade is the fact that he
bears resemblance to the immortal
Lincoln. The shades of Billy Mason
have been lowering over the county
since his minstrel performance here
before the county convention, and
strange as it may seem, he has made
inroads among the delegates. AS a
prominent republican who has at
tended state conventions before, and
is one of the present delegates, said
yesterday: The delegation is sup
posedly for Cullom, but there is no
counting on how it will stand when
1t comes to a show down. Billy Ma
son has not only many admirers. but
actual followers among the dele
gates. In fact his strength has grown
SO since the county convention that it
would not surprise me if he polled
nine of the Rock Island county rep
resentatives.
May Compromise.
This you will see leaves wide
question for compromise, and it
would not surprise me in the least if
the Rock Island county delegation
would 90 over to Medill before we get
through, although it is possible that
it will be held in line for Senator Col
lum. This depends upon the inhu-
ence that is brought to bear when
we get to the capital"
Some Inside History.
If the inside hist ory of the infiu-
encc the foxy old Cullom has taken
in the political affairs of Rock Isl
and county was investigated st
would take one back to the
county convention. 1t will be re-
mem bered that at that time Mr..
Deere, who is Cullom's represen-
tative in this district, was elected
delegate to the state convention, but
in the shaking up that was done
among delegates afterward. in order
TO provide for cases where duplicates
had occurred-that is, where promi-
nent republicans had been placed
among accredited representatives to
more than one convention-Mr
Deere was taken off the state dele
CATION and sent simply to the sena-
torial. The reason of this was sim
ply that Cullom, having found that
there existed throughout the state a
spirit of opposition among republ-
cans to the idea of nominating a can
didate for L. S. senator in the state
convention, he advised Deere ito look
after the senatorial and legislative
nominees. And he did. for had not
Fisher, Payne and Stickney gwen
Deere comprehensive understand
ing as to where they stood, they
would not have been nominated.
But Deere had not lost sight of the
state convention either. He knew
what he was doing when he got off
the state delegation, and after things
had been fixed up to his liking in the
senatorial convention, he was not
long in getting the credentials of W.
+. Eastman to the state convention.
Mr.. Deere's notion is to make the
thing doubly sure for Cullom as far
as this senatorial district is con-
cerned. whether the state convention
nominates or not.
Prof. j. T.. Gustus went down with
the credentials of Prof. &. w. Foss.
while States Attorney Searle went in
place of DR.. James Cozard