The evening times., 1896-06-15
BOTH PARTIES MAY SPLIT
Financial Question Causing the
Leaders Great Anxiety.
FACTIONS TO NOMINATE
There Is n Possibility of Four Candi
dates Entering the Field Besides
Those of the Prohibitionists and
POpulists-The Situation of To-
day Compared to That of 1860.

The progress of ante-convention devel-
opments in st. Louis seems to presage a
general free-for-an Presidential contest,
such as has not occurred for the third of a
century. IN 1850 all the conventions split
up, and even in the days before Populism
and Prohibition had attained the dignity
of possessing national platforms and tickets.
four candidates were offered for the pop
ular suffrages, each representing sepa.
rate and distinct phase of sentiment
The Presidential tickets then were Bell
and Everett; Dougiassand Johnson; Brecken-
ridge and Lane; Lincoln and Hamlin. 1t
will be observed that the dissa tisfaction in
the old parties, and the bolts resulting
therefrom, was fatal, and u new party,
making its second national campaign, was
successful, Mr.. Lincoln becoming the chief
executive. Had these internal dissentions
been avoided, it is more than probable that
the triumph of the Republican party might
have long been deferred, or rendered alto
gether impossible.
FINANCE THE BONE OF CONTENTION
The situation now does not differ ma
terially from what it was in 1860, with
the exception that the bone of contention
is finance instead of slavery. And the
chances are good for the comparison being
carried to the end.
In st. Louis it is, of course possible that
q straddle may be devised upon which the
gold money men of the East and the free
silver men OF the West will unite but the
adoption of an out-and-out gold platform
while satisfying the East would compel the
silver forces to bolt. Hence, if Mckinley
is nominated on the basis of gold financial
policy, it stands to reason that the bolting
silver Republicans will nominate Senator
Teller, or some equally representative man,
and mai Ike distinct campaign.
At Chicago the conditions will be exactly
reversed. The nominees of the Democratic
party must be pledged to free coinage and
no straddlc will be accepted. Hence the
New York and New England delegates are
already casting about to find some means of
averting the threatened calamity, and de-
claring thatif the worst comes o pass they
will withdraw from the convention and Sc
lect a candidate oftheir own. Consequently,
1t is both possible and probable that tie
sound money men at Chicago will bolt and
select as their nominee Russell of Massa-
chusetts. or some other pronouncedly safe
gold man.
POSITION OF THE PoPULISTS.
Thus. the leading old parties would furnish
four Presidential tickets, the bolt in each
party being for entirely different reasons.
but with those reasons reversed exactly
the same Such condition OF affairs would
leave the Populists in most puzzling con-
dition They would be robbed by both
boting factions OF the chief article embodied
in their confession OF faith-the free coinage
OF silver. and no dra wing card would be
left for them to use in obtaining voting
strength from either of the four factions op-
posed to them.
The proper policy OF the Populists then
would be to carefully yinvestigate the relative
chances of the boiling silver Republicans
and the regular Democratic nominee,
pledged to free silver, and indorse which,
ever of these candidates seems to he the
strongest and the most likely to win
out in the November elections. Any other
course would simply be political suiciae
and settle the contest before election In