The San Francisco call., 1895-10-10

pleasure for an interview, has again ap-
peared on the scene of party politics, and
will fight with his old time desperation
and cunning TO wrest the party machinery
from GAVIN McNab, John Daggett and
MAX Pepper.
Had Buckley triumphed in the recent
contest wherein O'Brien was defeated for
chairman of the general committee he
would have dispersed the old committee
without much delay and created new and
smaller council to direct affairs. The slate
was already prepared for a small commit
tee whose members could be relied upon to
register the will of the dictator. He
planned TO secure complete control in six
weeks.
Men who profess to know the true ins
and outs of local politics, who get behind
the scenes, SO to speak, assert that Buck
ley is in desperate straits. In word, his
barrel of coin is very nearly empty. 1t
was full at one time-the time when John
Boggs sought to preserve the auton-
omy of Colusa County and when the
Glenn boys wanted the county of
Glenn on the map of California.
1t was full when plant Supervisors deliv-
cred street railroad franchises on the order
of the boss. 1t was full when the Legisla-
ture did Buckley's bidding. 1t was full
when the gas company, the water COM
pany and the Southern Pacific Company
permitted golden stream to flow into the
barrel. Since then there has teen a con-
slant drain from the reservoir and the
sources of supply have been diminished or
tapped by legion Of smaller bosses.
Tho borra1 ir now ar,o ~ ayd Rr1oi- ;e
a borrower. Men who know him best say
that with. all of his sagacity in politics ''for
the stuff" he is lacking in business. sense
as regards investment. His property near
Livermore has never been productive. His
City real estate has not been remunerative,
and he became so hard up for ready money
that he was compelled to borrow $4,000 to
make O'Bnens fight for the craftsmanship
of the general committee.
Buckley has been obliged to sustain
heavy pecuniary expenses since his de-
thronement. The fight to Canada and
the tour of Europe cost a deal of ready
coin. 1t was not alone the spending of
cash that made the position so embarrass-
ing as the cold fact that there was no
welcome. In financial sense things have
gone on from bad to worse. Shrewdest of
politicians know that nothing discredits a
boss so much in the eyes of the rabble as
the knowledge that their dictator is broke.
He may be moral delinquent or social
bankrupt, but that counts for nothing
with the "push" as long as the boss has
the dough" Hence the report is spread
that Buckley has vast personal treasure
that his fortune is so large and his invest
ments so profitable that the spending OF
$4,000 or $4,000 in little political skir-
mish cuts no figure to speak of.
Tonight the ol6 guard of Bucklev's
army will be assembled for review. The
situation is so critical that the boss must
fight one more hard battle to get on the
payroll OF the corporations. The Demo-
Gratis in the camp of Gavin McNab and
John Daggett know this, and while they
profess no alarm they cannot conceal con-
Germ lest some of the men on whom they
count will fall down. They know that if
Buckley once becomes intrenched In the
Deuprey committee or the general COM
mittee the fight of factions will have to be
settled by the Democratic State Central
Committee.
Frank Gould, chairman of the State
committee, is counted upon as SO hostile
to Buckley and Buckley political methods
that he would not recognize the boss if
the entire local machine was set up in the
Occidental Club. Gavin McNab has the
greatest faith IN Chairman Gould's fidelity
to the cause of pure politics, and cannot
conceive of any condition that would in
duce the Democratic State Central Com
rnittee TO acknowledge the return of Boss
Buckley to power. Admitting that Gould
asy be AZ true as steel, the anti-Buckley