Omaha daily bee., 1896-06-06
TIE cHlcAGo CANDIDATE.

THE CHICAGO CANDIDATE.
For the presidential nomination at
Chicago the element that is now prncti-
cally certain to control the convention
has three avowed candidates. who have
received the endorsement of their state
conventions. These are eX-Congress-
man Bland of Missouri, Ex-Governor
Boies of Iowa and Senator Blackburn
of Kentucky. AS to the latter he can
hardly be regarded as a possibility,
chiefly for the reason that he is not
classed among the leading opponents of
the free silver policy. While probably
having as much ability as the Missouri
free silver candidate, Mr.. Bland, the
latter is veteran in the cause who has
persistently laborcd for 1t during twenty
years or longer and whose name is con-
spicuously identified with legislation in
the interest of silver Mr.. Blackburn's
effective work for silver has been con-
fined to Kentucky. Besides this, he
has little to recommend him as presi-
dental candidatc. Mr.. Bland is ap-
parcntly not being much thought of out
side of Missouri and even in that state
there is little manifestation of interest
in him. His friends reasonably urge
that he is the logical candidate If the
national convention Is dominated by the
free silver men, but this does not seem
to make any very strong or extended
impression. The Inference is that there
is great denl of doubt about the Mis-
sourians availability with the sup
porters of free silver who are not demo-
Gratis. but who it is expected will be
drawn to the support of free silver
candidate. The leaders of the element
which expects to make the platform and
nominate the candidate at Chicago de-
sire man who will be likely to attract
populists and free silver republicans.
Ex- Governor Boies would undoubtedly
be a more available candidate than either
Bland or blackburn and he probably
has better chance than either of Sc
curing the nomination, but he is not be-
ing as much talked of now as he was
few weeks ago by those who will have
n great deal to do with shaping events
at Chicago.
1t is quite possible that there will be
repeated at Chicago the history of 1872,
when the democrats endorsed the nomi-
nation of Horace Greeley by the in
dependent republican convention, hoping
thereby to attract enough republican
votes from Grant to defeat him.
ryl ,ntNt n
Senator Teller the candidate OF
the Chicago convention and If
the Colorado senator is willing the move
mcnt is not unlikely to take on great
strength. 1t is said that some very
earnest work is being done to press the
claim of Senator Teller for the Chicago
nomination. Those who are doing this
urge that his popularity in the west
would carry for any ticket which he
headed the electoral votes Of nearly
every republican state west of the Mis-
souri, river They say that his nomina-
ton would be endorsed by the populist
convention and by the convention of the
national silver party, both of which will
meet subsequent to the convention at
Chicago They urge, above all, that
Senator Teller stands for the embodi-
ment of the free silver idea and that his
nomination would arouse enthusiasm
for that idea in all the states west of
the Alleghenies So far rs the Colorado
senator is concerned, there is little
reason to doubt that he would accept
nomination at the hands of the free sill
yer democrats. All he is as public
man he owes to the republican party
and he will go into the st. Louis conven-
ton as a delegate of that party. but he
has already announced his determination
to desert the party if it declares for the
gold standard. If, therefore. the free
silver democrats want Mr.. Teller they
may be assured of two things-that he
will be given the opportunity to with
draw from the republican party and
that he will accept n nomination at their
hands. If the Chicago convention should
nominate Teller the democracy would
be more overwhelmingly beaten than 1t
was with Greeley in 1872 and would
have less chance than it then had of
surviving its defeat.