The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-03
A Test Measuring the Initial
Strength of a Dangerous
Power.
COURAGE FOR BUCKLEY MEN.
The Genera! Committee Last Night
Heard Three Speeches and
Took One Vote.

Committee called by the -Bucklevites
forthe sole purpose of measuring strength
between the factions before it was too late:
for the anti-bo element in power, A. A.
Watkins, vice-chairman and acting chair
man since Max Peppers resignation, was
elected chairman.
But the victory was enough to make the
reorganizers quake and buckle on their
arIas and muster all their strength, and
the defeat showed the Buckley men how
strong they had suddenly become, and
gave them added courage and faith.
OF the 450 members of the general COM
mittee -339 came and voted, and Watkins
majority over James H. OBrien was but
thirty.
'~"Oh! that's nothing. Wen soon wipe
that ont, " said the Buckley leaders, while
the enemy was exuIting as much as it
could. Buckley in three weeks gathered
to his standard I54 out of 3S9 members of
the committee that controls the local party
machinery, and with his mastery skill at
political work and political organizing he
is after the comparatively few more that
will give him majority.
This drives him into the sewer" bravely
cry the anti-Buckley men, but not every
body believes that the experienced, relent-
lessly persevering boss will quit at this first
defeat, or that the INSCRIPTIONS boss, fer
tile in resources, IS not likely soon to be
seen astride the neck of the local Demo
cratic party.
The meeting last night began and ended
with the election of chairman. There
was not the bitterness expressed that was
anticipated. Major Harvey in nominal
ing Watkins boldly proclaimed the issue
TO be Buckley" and both sides under
stood the clean cut issue so well that they
accepted it frankly and in a matter-of-fact
way went to voting as soon as they could.
When they got through with that opera
ton they went home to await the next
move. The next move will be along soon,
whatever 1t may prove to be. One item of
political talk is that Buckley has captured
a majority of the Deuprey committee of
twenty-five and will let it reorganize the
party.
Sam Rainey is credited with being one
Of strongest ultimate forces behind the
present fighters OF Buckley, and with hay
ing an ambition to set up in business as a
boss for himself. The meeting last night
was but preliminary skirmish.
night because entry was denied to most
people who came without credentials as
members of the committee. Eddie
Greaney and Nicely Beggs kept door, and
MIST of the hundred or so who slipped in
without credentials and went to the gall
lery and lobby were favored characters.
Feet sMaloney tried to get in on a card
that Greaney said was forged, and amid
the row at the door the blacksmith gave
Maoney a blow on the nose. Maloney
didn't get into the hall to work for Buckley
and that happened to be the only fight of
evening.
1T was twenty minutes to o'clock when
the hubbub and occasional impatient roll
of feet and canes became louder and then
still as Chairman A. A. Watkins mounted
the rostrum and soon raped the house to
order.
- Thomas P. Cusick took his seat as secre-
tery and Frank P. Hughes and ]. J. Nc
Carthy sat as assistants. There was
slight protest against roIlcall, but it
went ahead.
When the call of the Thirty-frst dis
trict was ended a round-faced, good ma
tured looking fellow arose and declared:
'.Ar. Chairman, my name has not been
called" 1t was James H. O'Brien, the
Buckley candidate for the Craftsmanship of
the committee, and he was recorded as
present.
The rollcall showed that 2o2 of the $50
mem bers of the committee were there, and
when that fact was stated Chairman Wat
kins. made the simple announcement: CAT
the request OF a number of members of
INIT pol
the purpose OF electing chairman.
Nominations for chairman are now in
order"
The time for the momentous test had
come. There was a half-minute's silence
and then a stoutly knitted young man
strobe rapidly down the aisle and mounted
the front platform steps. He had in his
brain the eloquent and carefully prepared
speech which was to place in nomination
the anti-Buckley candidate for the chair
manshlp. The young man was Major P.
+. Harvey, Port Warden, whose anti-Buck-
ieylsm has naturally been but nurtured
and lnvigorated by its nearness to John
II: Wise and other able opponents of
buckley, and friends of the Federal ad-
ministration.
;There'was strong but decorous welcome
otapplause for him and he quickly pro-
ceeded IN vigorous manner to say:
=. Mr.; Chairman, For ten years prior to 1891
under
the: control and dictation of a political boss.
RMS political power welded at will CORRUPTED
every branch OF the Government and curtailed
the success Of the Democratic party. Ere
quent EFFORTS were made by earnest Democrats
70 escape'from this tyranny, but every effort
machine.
Through the. course of the reoreanized
Democraey~ln 1891, under the leadership of
nose giant intellects, J. F. Sullivan and j. J. !
D"yer, the power of this dangerous boss was
oVerthrown. This general committee was re- |
s1lt OF this movement. If reports are true to-
night the king of political debauchery is at
work egain and is openly seeking a return to
powef To prevent such a catastrophe / am
heEe, Mr. Chairman, TO place in nomination
ior the office Of chairman a gentleman whose !
record Is untainted, whose Democracy is I'M
Questioned and whose services to the Democ- |
Faey eRtitle him to the gratitude of every men, |
per OF the party. In order TO reorganize our
party so as TO escape and in behalf of the anti
ooss element of the party place in nomina- |
uon the name of our present acting vice-chair-
man5A A. Watkins.
Twice was Mr.. Harney's speech inter- |
fopted by hearty applause, and when he
stopped there was a storm of it that came
strongly and solidly from the body of the |
assem- blage. That burst of applause was
the p hrst slight manifestation of the anti |
buckley strength of the meeting, and it