New-York tribune., 1896-05-27
ILLUSIONS DISPELLED.

ILLUSIONS DISPELLED.
The nomination of Mckinley at st. Louis
seems now TO ne accepted as almost certainty
by pretty much everybody, friends and oppo-
nents alike with the exception OF Mr.. Platt, VINO
still insists that 1t Is an mpossibilty The last
ditch of the rapidly disappearing opposition ap-
pears to be a lingering hope that there VIII DE
nj least one ballot and he will not be nominated
by acclamation. This state of things Is not III
all i'm accord with the plans and eXpectatlohS
of several prominent persons, who undertook
several months ago to relieve the RepuDllcah
voters of the bother and worry of selecting
candidate An illusion has been dispelled. Ihls
wear tbe Republican voters are naming the can
didate themselves And it ought also to be said
that the influential leaders who supposed az nrst
that they could 90 right along and make the
nomination without reckoning with the mass OF
voters have, with few exceptions, discovered
their mistake, and are now quite recohciied 10
the situation. Senator Davis. OF Minnesota was
the first TO discern the force of public opinion
as to ''fnvorte sons" and yield gracefully to the
inevitable Senator Chandler learned something
when he met his New-l1ampshirc constituents
in State convention; as did Senator Proctor, Oh
Vermont. in similar circumstances; ana DOM
I have accepted results with becoming rcsigna-
| tion The same NAV be said of Senator Cul-
lom. of Illinois Senator Elkins of West Vir-
| cnia and Senator Quay. Of Pennsylvania. or
| Speaker Reed and Senator Allison, both leading
candidates for the nomination. but neither OF
| ,bem active in his own behalf 1t need only be
said that nothing in the progress of the prelinl-
| mary campaign or in its probable result has
| appeared to disturb their equanimity or AFFECT
| their spirits.
It being pretty much settled that the voters
were determined on having their own way, and
that Mckinley was their choice, another illusion
began to take the place Of the one that politica.
| leaders and not the voters were oinnip0tent'
ond thot was that II was the bounden duty OF
| the leading candidate-and n duty he could not
| escape without laying himself open to the
charge OF being cowardly, double-dealng, lgno-
rant and in general lowdown. tricky poll
tician-to answer in detail all the questions that
might be flung at him by seventy millions OF
people as to his views upon all the subjects un
| der discussion in the civilized world, beginning
| with the Mosaic cosmOgOny and coming down
to coinage In short, II was that the candidate
| or prospective candidate should make his own
| platform and make it several miles long. IN
der that ilusion-thOugh 1t might, perhaps. be
called more properly piece OF grand strategy
| by the combined OppOstion--Mr. Mckinley has
been bese: by correspondents OF newspapers
which make no conceament of the fact or their
irreconfable hostility TO his nomination and
election. And they have bombarded him with
questions which they know, and he knows, and
they know that he knows have no other earth
" purpose than to entrap and msrcprescnt him.
Under this bombardment Mr.. Mckinley has
maintained such courteous composure and ad-
hat II Inns n
generally understood that the Convention, and
not the candidate, will make the platform. and
that in the campaign which follows the record
of the party the principles enunciatcd in Its
platform and the perfect fitness of the candidate
will be the potential factors affecting the result.
So. those Illusions being dspelled. there now
comes another, which is, that though Mr. Nc
Kinley himself does no talking. the men who
visit him, invited or uninvited, are the recipi'
ents Of his confidence and the authorized ex-
postors of his views Not only Of his views
| upon current questions, but as to who shall be
associated with him on the ticket, who shall be
chairman of the National Committee, who shall
compose his Cabinet, who shall manage the
campaign in this State and who shall have the
great Federal offices In this metropolis. 1t is
safe to say that neither Mr.. Mckinley nor any
Of the gentlemen who have been most prominent
and active In support Of his candidacy have
ever signiied In any most remote degree de-
sire to influence the action of the party through
its regular channels In any OF these particulars
The Convention will select the Vice-President
the National Committee will choose Its chair
man; the Cabinet will not be mOrtgaged to any
|, body; the New-York Republican State Conven
ton to be held in September will choose State
: Committee to conduct the campaign IN this
State, and, without doubt, unless the party II
this State is bent on suicide, committee that
can be trusted; and for the Federal offices ir
the metropolis men will be chosen who have the
, confidence Of the party and the people There
r Is no need to take any Of these things out OF
, their regular and natural order. Above oil
there Is no need Of worrying about who shal
C run the campaign in this State The Republican
), party is a party Of common-sense 1t will COIN
e NIT the management OF the Presidential cam
+ paign to the friends, and not the enemies, Of it
n can andidata