The San Francisco call., 1895-11-16
WATKINS STEALS A MARCH ON BUCKLEY.

eyes, swearing that he didn't propose to
let Those fellows" do him up, and he went
IN to see Mr.. Daggett about it, with what
satisfaction is not known, but it is known
that Lanigan cooled on the Junta several
days ago, and that he is now disgustedly
abusing it.
There are two things to provide Lanigan
with political motives. One is his individ-
ual political interests and his ambition to
be boss, and the other is the wishes of
Mr.. Welburn, under whom he has nice
job. Now, along with Lanigan's rebellion
comes the apparently well-founded report
that the Internal Revenue Collector, who
is going through course of political ath-
letic culture, while probably not person.
ally: hostile TO: the Junta has recently
changed his mind and concluded that a
primary election would be the right and
Democratic thing after all. Welburn has
no love for Daggett or Rainey, and his
only personal bond to the Junta is his
friend Gavin McNab, whose strength in
turn has come mainly from Welburn and
Daggett. Welburn has recently been say
ing little while quietly coquetting with the
Buckley leaders, and it is now claimed that
the Junta has lost him, too. If this is true
along with him go several bright district
political lights, including Thomas b. Gu
sick, Harry Zemansky, Tommy Chandler,
Mike Finn and Others
Early in the game Max Pepper was in
middle of the Junta fight for brief time,
but something or other appears to have
chilled Max and he is now assuming the
CAIN attitude of an indifferent observer.
Major Harney, the Port Warden, has
been one of the strong elements in the
Junta com mbination. Since Harvey came
and beheld the throne which Daggett and
Rainey had erected for themselves, he has
been loudly cursing Daggett and declaring
that the Mint Superintendent has no
earthly right to come here from Sisklyou
and try to boss the local party.
In this view of the situation the Junta
appears tc consist of Daggett and Rainey
and their 125 votes, McNab and Braun
hart with at least their own votes, and a
few scattering votes for trimmings. John
II. Wise, who is in the general committee
also, with his son Harry and number of
friends, is now not only opposed to the
Junta programme, but is openly affillating
with Buckley. Judge J. D. Sullivan,
politically famous as the great anti
Buckley reformer OF 1892 while not taking
an active part in the situation, has pri-
vately told his friends that he, too, was
opposed to the Junta programme OF re-
organization by the appointment of new
general committee by a few men who
have no clear title to the party.
The immediate issue in the party is it's
reorganization by the Deuprey committee
or through primary. What is left OF the
Junta stands back of the Deuprey COM
mittee programme now. They say that a
primary election would not be safe, be-
cause Buckley would capture it. Opposed
to them are two elements of the party,
each of which is daily growing stronger in
visible strength. One is the Buckley fac
ton and the other is that portion of the
party which does not believe in abandon
ing Democratic methods. Many of the
&l.o% I Il
party If he remains in control, but they
believe in primary elections, and so they
are helping Buckley to just what he wants
at the present moment.
So it is John Daggett's sudden looming
into unexpected power alongside of Sam
Rainey that has apparently and all at
once killed the Deuprey committee and
LIS interesting programme. Daggett has
put himself where he is a good mark, and
Democrats are swarming to throw bricks
at him. His enemies in the party, new
and ancient, are saying that he is using
the mint to control local politics, and is
sacrificing the administration interests of
the party to his own interests. They are
digging up the past. saying real mean
things about that old "bulkhead" scheme
in the State Legislature of 1860, when he
was Senator, and when some men with
money were trying to get hold of the water
front, and they are digging up and passing
around that interesting section OF the
platform of the San Jose convention of
1882, which read Daggett out OF the party
on account of his course with attempted
railroad legislation to which the party was
pledged, when he was Lieutenant-Governor
and presiding officer OF the Senate. This
Is what the enemies of Daggett are show
ing one another just now:
>. That we are not unmindful of the conduct
OF certain Democratic officers and Legislators
who co-operated with the Republicans at the
late extra session i'll frustrating the Will OF the
people and antagoniZing the true interests of
the State; that while no amount of care can
at all times prevent the intrusion into parties
OF faithleSs men, who enter with a false pledge
upon their lips merely to ruin and betray, yet
the party becomes responsible for the conduct
OF such Tecreant members only when, having
discovered them, it fails to condemn their
course; that it is the duty OF a party, If it is
true to itself and the people, to expel from its
ranks and to denounce as unworthy OF public
trust and lost TO all sense of honor, traitors
and pledge breakers; therefore we do now de-
nOunce Lieutenent-Goyernor Ohm NJ.
Daggett, whose casting vote was ever thrown
into the scale to turn the balance against the
people
THE omitted portions refer to three or
tour forgotten Democrats OF that day.
Judge Mcguire stuck by his guns yester-
day III an interview, in which he said:
l don't believe in the Junta's methods of re-
organizing the party. | don't believe the Dem
ocratic party can go before the world as the
champion of popular government and refuse
TO recognize popular government in the party.
The present scheme is for the general commit
tee to perpetuate themselves in power by
mere iorm-of organization. They perpetuated
themselves In power improperly from 1894 TO
the present time, and they now propose to do
II again upon the theory tn at it is better to do
that than to incur the danger OF Buckley's sue
cess at primary, but if they are permitted to
DO tnat now, when will that method of gov
erning the Democratic party cease? viii 1t
not be Just as dangerous to hold primary in
1897 as in 1898 and are these methods of self
perpetuatlon TO be continued indefinitely?
Daggett and Rainey's programme, according
to my information, is to have the Deuprey
committee now appoint but 250 members and
then to have these 250, whom they will con-
troll, to appoint the other 200. and thus SECURE
the "works." But whether that is so or not.
no junta or clique or combination of men can
be permitted to take the government of the
Democratic party out of the hands of the
voters. 1t may be that few leading citizens
OF this country could give US purer and better
governments, National, State and municipal,
than popular elections give us, and when we
are ready to abandon popular elections and
put the government of the country into the
hands of small class or junta of the people
the Democratic party may properly abandon
self-goyernment, but as a Democrat having
faith in the people and a belief in the right OF
the people to govern themselves l protest
against any scheme of government which does
not come from the democratic people.