The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-27
BY FOUR SPECIALS.
A Novel Suggestion for Making the
Delegates calfornia's
Guests.

In conversation with a representative OF
THE CALL yesterday afternoon Franklin
K. Lane suggested a novel means of in
dUcing the Republican National Commit
tee to hold the convention in this City.
He said:
The two great objections urged by Eastern
Republicans against holding the convention on
this coast are the time that the journey takes
and the great expense of the trip. Unless these
disadvantages can be overcome l am satisfied
We cannot get convention for many years to
come. Four years age I tried to induce the
members of the Democratic National Commit
tee to hold their convention in the West for the
sake OF the party and for the sake of the West.
and found that from Mr.. Brice down the OBJ
lection was made that it cost too much to come
here and took too long.
81 propose, therefore, that California offer
such an inducement to the Republicans as
no other State has ever offered. We should
offer 10 make the delegates to the conyen-
ton our guests from the minute they leave
their Eastern homes until they return to them
again. 1t is q very simple thing for them to do
and would require much less money than at
first supposed. Let California charter four
trains of Pullman cars and start them at the
Atlantic seaboard. One might start at Boston,
another at New York, another at Washington
and the fourth ct Atlanta. At these different
points the delegates from the surrounding
States would gather. On board each train
would be committee of representative Cali
fornians to give them welcome. The dining
cars would be loaded with California products,
fruits, wines, etc. Then these four trains
would travel westward, coming by different
routes and paralleling each other through the
country, stopping at one point in each State to
take on the delegates from that State, and at
last, and not later than four days from the
start, arriving in San Francisco. The Boston
train could gather up all the delegates from
the Northern belt of States, that from New
York the Central tier, and 30 on.
Could there be grander advertisement for
the State than the carrying out of such a
scheme? The delegates would be California 8
guests. We need to make friends among the
powerful politicians in both parties if this
coast is ever to have recognition either
in the way of appropriations or Offices
The Interior Department at Washington,
which has ten times more business this side
the Mississippi River than the other side, has
never had chief from any State further West
than Missouri. 1t is possible for miserable
little slough in Indiana to get appropria-
ton of hundreds of thousands for improve
ments, when our harbors have to get
along with an occasional thousand
We don't count To say that the Pacific
Coast wants something means absolutely moth
idea what our possibilities are. The Pacific
Coast States are no factor whatever in National
politics at present and they never will be until
we can get in touch with the political
men of the East. We can't go to them, there
fore we ought to bring them to US, even ii we
have TO pay for the privilege of seeing them.
At one time when in Washington I made a
canvass among the members of Congress to dis
cover why they did not pass the Nicaragua
canal bill, and found that the only Western
political power the Congressman knew any
thing about was the railroads, and as several
gentlemen said to me: 'The railroads don't
want the bill to pass, and most of the men here
don't know anything about the Pacific Coast,
except what the railroads are good enough to
tell them"
The proposition is very simple one. To OBJ
tain recognition we must have the leading
men of all parties know what our part of the
country is and what it wants. The only way
TO give them that Information is to get them
here. SO, 1 say, if they object that 1t takes a
week to come here we should give them four
dsy special train; and when they say that the
trip costs too much we should offer to make
them our guests from start to finish. This