Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-06
CAMERON OR A ROW
Plans of the Silver Republicans for
the Presidency.
IF THEIR CANDIDATE is net NOMINATED
There viii Be a Dramatic With
drawaI From the Convention.
IF THROWN IN THE HOUSE

The republican silver leaders of the west
are very determined to make Don Cameron
their candidate for President, or else to
raise a row. There has been a great deal
of vague talk about boiling the convention,
but there is good reason to believe that
the matter has gone further than this un-
authoritative talk indicates. The plans of
the silver republicans have taken more
definite shape. Two, only, of the Senators
who took part in the desperate fight
against the repeal of the Sherman law
have any connection with the silver party
movement which is engineered by the
Silver League" and has put forth Sibley
as a presidential candidate. These two are
Stewart and Jones of Nevada The rest
have been trying to hold to the old parties
as long as possible. While attention is
generally directed toward movements of
the silver party, the society of the Silver
Knights of America, etc, the work for the
white metal which is most threatening to
the old party organizations is being done
quietly by those silver men who have never
broken from their party.
Who VIII Do the Mischief.
Leaving out of the question the demo-
Gratis of Congress, a majority of whom are
advocates of silver, the silver Senators are
that little group, chiefly from the new
states, who are led by Teller and Dubois,
and who have kept away from alliance
with the populists. If any mischief Is
going to be done, it will be by these men
In the republican national convention.
They have persistently refused to be drawn
into third party movement, and they are
proceeding with fixed purpose to force
the republican convention to the nomna-
ton of their silver candidate, or else to
themselves withdraw in manner dramatic
enough to leave their seriousness not a
matter of doubt.
Their Plan of Operations.
Their plan IS very simple one for the
purpose in view. They have agreed among
themselves, apparently without a dissent
Ing voice, that they will make as hard
fight as possible in the republican conven-
ton, the most prominent leader in each of
the silver states heading the delegation;
and then, If they fail to get what they
want, to leave the convention in a BODY
Ihey do not propose to. hold a rump con-
Ventlon, but contemplate going home and
running republican electors not pledged to
any convention nominee, but under SOL
emn obligation not to vote In the electoral
college for any but silver man. They be-
heve that electors chosen in this way from
all the western silver states " ould hold the
- balance of power in the electoral college
between The two great parties, and that
they could force one party or the other to
cast their electoral votes for a silver man
for President, regardless of the convention
Eomina tions
Throw the Contest Into the House.
Should they fail in this, they would still
hope to prevent any election, and thus
throw the contest into the House, where
the choice would be from among the three
candidates having the highest number of
votes In the college They would see to it
that one of the three was man of their
choice. The House is already elected that
would choose the President in this event
and tEey think that in this House they
have the balance of power on a vote by
states, counting on all the silver states to
vote against their party rather than per-
nit tae election of any but silver man.
They count sixteen republican gold states
sixteen democratic states and twelve silver
republican states in the present House
They believe that the votes of at least ten
OF the silver states can be controlled so as
to ignore party altogether and to join with
either side. which will give them a silver
man for President If the republicans
yielded to IL EN- they would expect the
election of either Cameron or Teller If
they made a combination with the demo-
Gratis they would probably split the ticket,
giving the southern men the first place if
an acceptable man were presented