Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-23
His Nomination to Be Decided on
This Afternoon.
INFLUENCES at WORK FOR REJECTION
Opposition Solely Because He is a
NONRESIDENT.
ONE SENATOR'S OPINION

evening between the friends and opponents
Of confirmation in the case of Chas. H.
]. Taylor of Kansas, the Senate will go into
executive session at $50 o'clock today for
the purpose of finally disposing Of that dis
puted appointment An effort was made
last evening to get the case finally before
the Senate, but it was so late when the ex-
ecutive session was held that 1t was deemed
best to postpone the last struggle until
today. and the agreement was. therefore
made between those who believe in home
rule for the District and those who are
| afraid to defeat the colored man from Kan
sas for the local Office.
Mr.. Taylors friends are today claiming
that he will be confirmed by a safe ma
jority. The opponents to the nomination,
while not conceding this. agree that the
contest will be very close and that the re-
suit Is in doubt. The peculiar campaign
conducted by Taylor and his coadjutors of
his own race, has resulted in convincing
certain republican Senators that II is I'M
wise to oppose any colored man of any
political party for any office. At the same
time Mr. Taylor has, through certain agen-
cies. persuaded many democrats that IL is
| good policy to encourage negro democ-
| racy by rewarding colored men whenever
possible.
Influences Against Confirmation.
Influences hitherto unsupported, however.
have been put at work today, from local
| sources, against confirmation, mainly d.
rected toward a few southern Senators
| whose position has not yet been definitely
| ascertained. This opposition. as has been
all the opposition to Taylors confirmation.
| is based upon his non-residence, entirely
| without reference to his color.
1t was forcibly presented to several Sem
ators that If Mr.. Taylor had remained upon
his farm in Kansas, attending to his legit-
| innate duties as q citizen, and adhering to
| the faith of the President, as laid down In
the latters famous declaration that 'the
office should seek the man, and not the
| man the Office" there would have been no
| evidence here in Washington Of any kind
as to Mr.. Taylor's color. In other words.
had he not come to washington, first to
seek the office. and, second. to insist upon
confirmation when he was nominated to be
minister to Bolivia, nobody mere would have
| known, except by report and hearsay, that
Mr.. Taylor belonged to the African race.
Again, had he gone home after his nomina
| ton was practically defeated by the COM
mittee on foreign relations, and sown
spring wheat on his Kansas farm, leaving
the nomina uon to be recorder Of deeds to
| come to him unsolicited, as the President
| believes all appointments should come, the
| local democrats would never have known
by ocular demonstration the complexion OF
| the candidate.
1t is he who has raised the race questio On,
and he only who has placed his color in
| evidence. This he has done SO zeaIoasy
and so persistently that he has clouded the
minds of many Senators who would other
wise have been very glad to vote against
his nomination on the strict basis of the
| home rule doctrine
! VIII BE a Full Attendance.
The vote taken in the Senate today on
the motion of Mr.. Teller to lay the tariff
bill on the table, 2s to S. shows that a very
full Senate is in attendance at the Capitol
today. This precludes the possibility of the
absence of quorum when the Taylor case
/ t1al1 l.
| be no necessity for the violation OF pairs to
make a quorum, such as occurred last Fri
day.
On the first vote taken on Friday last. be-
| fore the pairs were broken, and before the
republicans withdrew their votes to prevent
| quorum being secured, the vote stood ex-
| actly tie. The opponents of the nomina-
| ton, however, were mostly absent, and
some OF them were not paired, so that this
| vote may not have been an exact index Of
the temper of the Senate. 1t may be that
| the advocates of confirmat ton are ovar-con-
fdent of success. 1t is certain that they
| have somewhat overestimated their strength
| on the republican side. for most of the
| western republicans, 1t is ascertained, will
vote against confirmation on the home rule
question only.
What One Senator Says.
republican Ser ator said to a Star re-
| porter:
Il have opposed THIS nomination solely on
| the grounds that this office is most peculiar
| In Its character. 1 have not been able to
find any other instance where the office
| deals so directly with local affairs as does
| this. In the case of United States marshals
| or registers of land offices or receivers of
public moneys. in which cases the doctrine
OF home rule is frequently violated. there is
always the United States on one hand with
the people of the locality on the other In
this case, however, nobody can possibly
have any interest in the business Of the
| off1ce other than local people, and the emol-
| uments of the position and all OF its ex-
penses are paid fully by the city Of WASH
| ington. For that reason and that reason
| only 1 have opposed this name and will
continue to oppose ii, until the end is reach
| ed, for l believe that here at least is
chance for the administration to live up to
| Its home rule doctrine. The nomination
| may be confirmed. but II so. II will be the
result OF trick that has caused the situa-
/ fiQn IfniSilrldarSfaad