The morning call., 1894-09-06
MAX TO STEP OUT.
Den1ocracy's Leader Has
Cried Enough.
DECLARES HE WILL RESIGN
Unless a New Committee Should
Be Appointed.
THEN HE WOULD BE SUPPLANTED
In Any Event There. Will Be New
Chairman-IDgratitu Quite
Vanquished Him.
THEN HE WOULD BE SUPPLANTEI

crestfallen and disgusted. be will step
down and out.
1t has been said any time these past six
weeks that POpper would resign. but not
until yesterday did he admit that he had
such step in contemplation. Even now
he thinks that it will not be necessary for
him to take that action. but in any event
he will not be chairman of the
general committee a few weeks hence.
The end NAV come much sooner.
Several prominent men OF the committee
went TO Mr.. Pepper yesterday and ad-
vised his resignation. He told them that
if the general committee should decide to
hold over be would resign. He did not
like the idea of relinquishing his position
under fire and should the committee de-
termne to provide for its successor at
once he said he would simply die with 1t.
u shall call another meeting" he con-
tlnued, "tor the purpose of considering the
question as to whether the committee will
instruct the municipal convention to ap-
point new general committee. II it de-
cides to do that there will be no occasion
for any action of mine, as the present
committee will then soon cease TO exist
and the new body will elect its own chair
man. If. on the other hand. the commit
tee decides to hold on shall drop out"
Mr.. Pepper is very sore. He says there
never was anv secrecy about his partner
ship with Buckley. Everybody knew that
he was interested with Buckley in the
street-sweepiEg contracts, the partner
ship having existed for ten years For
months past the men who profess
to be his friends and supporters.
who swore they would stand by him
through thick and thin, knew that he had
paid TO Crimmins and Kelly $3.50 a month.
Yet as soon as Chris Buckley told Andy
Clunie to agltate the matter at the mo-
a
party most harm and the Republican
party and Colonel Burns the most good,
many Of those uDOn whom he had most
relied turned upon and began to abuse him.
II have had enough of it," said Mr..
Popper. Under no circumstances will l
stay at the head of the party or have any,
thing to do with the management of the
present campaign. l have no political
ambition. / never have and never expect
to run for an office. This thing was
pressed upon me BY men who knew all the
circums tances, and since L have been at
the head of affairs have done everything
in my power for the party. This is the
me another lesson. / relied upon
my friends. l was open and above
board. l could have played smart as
they call it, and | could have lied to them,
but l thought / was talking to friends and
concealed nothing. / met with encourage
Il
went on and did the best l could and now
l am through with it all. Let them take it,
have had a meeting with the finance
committee tonight and l have the affairs
of the committee almost in shape. There
is now nothing to keep me, and, as l said.
if the committee does not authorize the ap-
pointment of new committee, which car
ries with it the selection of a new chair-
man, shall hand in my resignation"
There is no excuse for Mr.. Popuer and
he doesn't attempt TO offer any. He says
he paid that $3.50 monthly. and the good
Democrats VINO knew it and applauded
him are righteously indignant now that
the public knows of 1t, ana are clgmOring
for his dethroDement.
1t is too early yet to predict who will be
Peppers successor. The question has
scarcely been mooted. Jim OBrien, Gavin
McNab and one or two others have been
spoken OF at times during the campaign
when Peppers resignation was deemed
possible, but there is nothing definite now
upon which to base a guess.
Andy Clunie has proved eminentlv suc-
cessful as a bomb-thrower. He almost
shattered the Democratic local organiza-
ton with his Buckley y-prepared petard.
and he blew his friend Max Pepper into
thin air. The excitement following the
explosion has subsidized. Pepper has dis
appeared as political entity, the Demo-
cratic committee hangs together by a
miracle. and the thought of the statesmen
is now for the immediate future and all
the spoils that a municipal convention,
however slim the party's chances of sue
cess at the polls, can give.
A great rush will be made for appoint
ments as delegates to the Democratic
municipal convention. Ambitious politi-
clans we're out bright and early yesterday
morning looking for county committee
men, in the hone of securing one of the
600 places provided for by the Democratic
general committee on Tuesday night.
There was a great deal of discussion
Yesterday of the action of the committee.
The mem bers Of that body were pleased
at the outcome of the fight which has been
in progress during the past ten days They
considered that they had tided the Demo-
cratic ship over very dangerous oDstruc-
ton and thus averted a total wreck of
party prospects. But outsiders see more
dangers ahead. The power given the CON-
mittee of eighteen is sufficiently great 10
cause another fight among the members
of that committee, aud it is predicted that
the eighteen men Will find it hard to agree
upon any arrangement that will be salts
factory TO all. the resolutions Of the
governing body made no appOrtiOnment
OF delegates among the various districts
Nor do they state how many each member
of The committee shall name. The
eighteen men are simply authorized to
appoint 80 men, and that is as far as their
instructions go. They will have In their
hands the appointing of delegation suf-
ficiently large to prove the balance of
power in the convention, and it remains
to be seen whether these eighteen com.
nitteemen will make new departure in
Democratic politics and select their men
without regard to their own personal ends,
The holdover general committee has at
last done very well for itself, whether it
has considered the party's In nterests or not,
The members Will appoint 450 delegates.
whe will, of course. be ruled 10 the conven-
ton by their makers. Then eighteen
selected general committeeman will ap-
point $50 more delegates, who will also be
creatures of the appointing power. And
so it Is said that the general committee
might just as well have resolved itself into
a convention and named the candidates fol-
municipal Office as to have chosen this
roundabout way of controlling the actions
OF the nominating body.
Ihe eighteen district committeeman will
meet next Tuesday night to select one
member each of he nomiD atiDg committee
OF eighteen, and then the dozen and half
so chosen will get together and choose the
100 delegates. The present arrangement
is that the members OF the general commit
tee will at the same time name one dele
gate each, thus providing the 450 delegates
Until Tuesday night, when the nomiua ating
convention meets, the Democrats have
nothing to do but TO consider that matter,
and they are felicitating themselves upon
the cessation OF nightly caucuses.
The failure Of the general committee to