Rock Island Argus., 1895-03-04
M'CONOCHIE BLUFF.
Formal Announcement Of Can.
didacy With 1t.
DECLARES he Is UHPLEDaED.


He Has Promised Kseosnissoa Come Out
and Fsos Hln-Ag.inst Parceling Out
O0ces On 0eaeral Princspaes, Too.
The willy William McConochie has
declared his candidacy for the repub-
lican mayoral nomination. He has
been looking for an opportunity to
announce himself, and in yesterday
mornings Union he hit upon it
through q straight bluff. In it he
seeks to create the impression that
he is q much abused, but particu-
larly, an untrammeled candidate. He
challenges and defias the bringing to
him of persons to whom he has prom
ised favor in the event of his nomlna-
ton or election. He wants any of
these persons who have been alluded
to As composing the McConochie
slate to confront him with the facts.
OF course the willy Mac is much ex-
pectant that any of these whom he
has taken into his confidence would
give away the confidential relations
existing under such an understand
ing. A man who has been promised
the chief of police or chief Of fire de-
partment by McConochie would be
very apt to publicly proclaim such a
condition. It will be remembered
that when McConochie first ran for
mayor he made Just such assertions
about being free and untrammeled; /;
he sputtered and spouted and ut
tured defiance about the slate pub
lished in advance. but when he went
into Office the appointments were
made precisely as previously an
nounced. The same was true of his
second administration, and after his
entry upon it there sprung up a lit
tie rebelling army of disappointed
folk to whom he had previously
made promises conflicting with those
he afterward recognized. And yet
in the face of all these facts relating
to his past acts of duPlicity and the
revelation of adherence to a similar
course again, he has the audacity to
maintain in his Sunday epistle:
And l wish to take this opportu-
nifty to say, once for all, that l con-
slider the duties of q mayor otheH
than those of parceling out city
offices, and il am to be candidate
at all. l must be one free and un-
trammeled by any promise OF office
both before and after the nomination
otherwise under no circumstances
must be considered at ALL" And to
add that '.no candidate ought to be
asked or expected to fill any offices
until after election. and l for one
don't propose to do it."
Cunning beyond Conception.
The cunning of the ex-mayor sur
passes imagination. He is nothing
if not foxy. Approaching only this
latest stagger to mislead the public
is the neat piece of work he is now
engineering on the street, in that
which he is working through Phil
Miller, one of his slated appointees
as given Saturday night and which
is none other than the appearance OF
Miller as an ostensible advocate of
the candidacy of ex-Ald. b. F. Knox.
Think of that! Can anyone imagine
Phil Miller "legging" for Frank
Knox for mayor in dead earnest?
There is no man in town whom Phil
Miller hates more than he does Knox
and he hates a good many-but he
has made no concealment of his utter
contempt for Knox, as the outcome
of the old volunteer fire department
days.
Yet, the willy Mac realizing that
Miller is . dead weight-that must
nevertheless be provided for-has
put him on the track of Knox.
And Miller is doing it.
Aud McConochie is unpledged.