The San Francisco call., 1896-09-09

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This is the only visible price that can be
hoped for by the Populists for the mutt
lated fusion which has Just been consum-
mated in addition TO the doubtful honor
OF having three weak candidates for Con-
gress in three hopeless districts. But
these future rewards are only birds in the
bush and not in the hand. In return for
empty promises unoficially made the
Southern Pacific Company has succeeded
in keeping the railroad issue out of poll
tics for the next four years. The pledge
administered TO the candidates to oppose
funding the railroad debt is mere empty
form, for the funding bill will be disposed
of next winter, before the newly elected
Congressman shall have taken their seats.
The bill would have been passed at the
last sitting of Congress but for the fact
that its passage might have disastrous
effect upon the prospects of the fusion
ticket Just put up for the Southern Pacific
by George W. Baker, John Daggett Boss
Gator and others of the same political
quality.
The leading Democrats, however, do not
propose to give the Populists any collec-
torships or postmasterships. The old rule
holds good, "to the victors belong the
spoils," and the Democrats will demand
and will receive all the spoils in the event
OF Bryan's election. Mr.. Bryan has since
his nomination announced himself as
Democrat. He has indorsed the Chicago
platform and has denounced the Peoples
party platform at st. Louis as too radical
and as one which he could not conscien-
tiously support.
The fopulists are not aware of what
!
they would cease TO dream of collector
ships and postm asterships and would
content them selves with rejecting on the
glory that is theirs to be linked with the
corpse of a party which they denounced
two years ago for being morally and po-
liticaly rotten.
The three parties yesterday finished the
remaining business pertaining to the &C
ton of the conference committee, and
then betook themselves to the considera-
tlon OF ways and means for raising money
with which to carry on the campaign.
1t is understood that The four non-fusiou
candidates, Monteith, McGlashan, Kelly
and Maddux, will experience no difficulty
in having their names placed on the ticket
by the Secretary of State. Should the
chairmen and secretaries of their conven-
tlons refuse to certify their names a writ
of mandamus will be served upon them
and they will not be able to evade it.
They have been regularly nominated by
regular conventions under the purity of
election law, and no power can keep them
off the ticket.
1t is the opinion of many ersons well
versed in the law that A. B. Kinne's name
will not be placed on the ticket the OBJ
lection being that he was not nominated
by convention nor by petition as the
law requires. He was nominated by a
certain number of men representing three
different political parties. These men
met, not as convention, but as a COM
mittee on conference and in secret session,
which is against the spirit OF the purity OF
election law. Several mem bers of that
committee had taken part in other con-
yentions and had voted for other candi-
dates for the same offices, and this being
prohibited by the election law inVaIidates
all the work of the committee.
Another objection that may be urged is
that whatever changes were made in the
original nominations for the purposes of
fusion were made in pursuance of a cor
rupt and unlawful bargain and sale propo-
sltion, wherein one party promises to vote
for certain candidates of the other party
if that other party will vote for certain
candidates of the party OF the first part.
Such bargains are prohibited by the spirit
of the law.
prominent Democrat on being asked
yesterday whether the Populists would get
any OF the political patronage, replied:
They'll get nothing. Didn't we give
They'll get left; that's what they'll get"
Chairman Wardall denied yesterday that
j. Taylor Rogers had charged Wardall
with having betrayed him, as stated in
yesterdays CALL. Mr.. Wardall made the
following statement:
cit appeared in the Joint committee that
unless we could have seven union candi-
dates there would be no union candidates
at all. The committee absolutely refused
to make Mr.. Rogers the fusion candidate
in the Fifth District. He failed to obtain
tWo-thirds majority of each committee as
required by the plan of action.
when that fact was ascertained there
remained nothing for the Peoples D arty
to do except to give the office to the Demo-
Gratis outright or name some other Popu-
list In place of Mr.. Rogers. There being
no available candidate who could be
reached at that moment because the last
hour OF the conference by limitation of
the plan OF action would expire at mid
night on Sunday, l, on the spur of the
moment, proposed Mr.. Kinpe and he re-
ceived fourteen of the fifteen votes, he
himself, declining to vote. l was acting
under the impression that some subse-
quent arrangement could be made by
which Mr.. Rogers might be retained, but
at the meeting of the several committees
on the following day 1t was found to be
absolutely impossible to make any Change
In any respect whatever, because it had
been determined that the report of The
committee must be approved as a whole
or rejected as whole, otherwise the whole
scheme of uniting the forces would newt
ably fail.''
Mr.. Rogers happened along just as
Chairman Wardall was making the fore
going statement. and in response to a
hypnotic crook of Mr.. W ardaIl's right fore
finger he approached the group with the
air of crushed tragedian and muttered a
monosyllabic assent TO what Mr.. Wardall
had said in denial of the report that he
had accused Wardall of having undone
him by means of false statement. The
clerk of the octopusphobiac Mayor had
lost mis- jaunty carriage, and If he had no
complaint to make concerning the manner
IN which he had been treated his appear
ance and manney belied that supposition.
Ioh,a w Mitnhall ~ a nolar s.-L...