The San Francisco call., 1896-05-04
The Opposition to Mckinley Will
Have a Majority at the
Start.
a DEL1BERAT1vE CONVENTION.
Figures Given Out by Grosvenor Are
Greatly Exaggerated and
Misleading.

the Republicans in Washington to-day are
. Mr.. Fessenden, member of the Republican
National Comm for Connecticut, and
Hon. j. S. Clarkson, member OF the same
committee for Iowa. The gentlemen mad
. a conference with Senators Quay and Alli-
son and other friends. In the evening Mr..
.'Clarkson was seen and asked by CALL
:. correspondent:
= HAS Mckinley majority of the dele
= gates already, and what of the claim that
hewill be nominated by acclamation?'
= "He has not nearly a majority yet, nor
will he, in my judgment, enter the con-
vention with q majority" replied Clark
: son. '.Indeed, he will be shorter of ma
jority on. the first ballot at ST. Louis than
Blaine was in the emotional year of 1876,
Grant in 1880 or Sherman in 1888, when
the latter in field of fourteen candidates
votedfor on the first ballot had 329 votes.
He will not be nominated by acclamation.
because can say positively that Allison,
Quay and Morton will remain in the con-
test, and so, surely, will Reed, and 1 Judge
so viii Bradley and Cullom. The States
of the first four-named gentlemen have
instructed their delegates to 60 to st.
Louis to present these gentlemen's names
to the National Convention, and there is
no doubt. that this will be done. Allison
has not the least idea of withdrawing, nor
has Iowa any idea of giving up the fight.
/ believe this is true of other candidates
and their States.
mckinley will fall from 80 to 100 votes
short of enough to nominate at the start.
and the field will represent from 525 to $50
votes. BY the field L mean Allison, Reed,
Quay. Bradley, Morton and CLllom,
alr 6,v r&oI IL 1&k
able men as Harrison, Lincoln, Foraker
Hobart, Davis and General Tracy of New
York, and Others who might be ftly men
'tioned.;. for our party is as rich in its ca
.pable reserve of available candidates as it
is strong in the candidates offered. No
man fit to be President or receiving call
from his party could or would resist the
-. duty TO accept the nomination for Presi-
dent
- lyon believe that new names may pos
sibly; be considered at ST. Lous?"
THAT is always supposable, and, in
years of'emotional campaigns such as this
= has been so far, nearly always inevitable.
1t is historic fact in American politics
that at the elimination of an enthusiastic
campaign every party, from instinct at
least, avoids the perils of factional or
emotional nomination. The Republican
party has always followed this rule, ex-
.ceptin Blai ne's case in 1884, when defeat
followed at the polls. The National Con-
vention at st. Louis will put party inter-
est above any mans g ambition and choose
not factional candidate, but one who
!. will draw every Republican vote ST the
polls and thus make party defeat impos-
=, sible."
=. You believe the field, as you call it,
will hold frm2"
:: II do. 1t knows that Mckinley cannot
be nominated without its help, and many
of. McKinIeY's delegates know it, too.
There are more Mckinley delegates likely
=. to break than among delegates in the field.
Enthusiasm and emotion do not stampede
delegates. Besides, enthusiasm is as often
warning as an assurance. For instance
the enthusiasm for Mckinley among Re-
publicans and. in Republican papers is
good enough, but the enthusiasm for him
in the Democratic papers is not SO good in
itself nor so reassuring to our party"
"Then you do not believe the story that
i. the delegates for .avorite sons will break ?"
"No; ali the talk about bosses and CO.
ercion and unwilling delegates is absurd,
This has been a contest of absolutely free
choice II absolute free choice has been
hindered anywhere it has been in Ohio
alone, and if there are any reluctant dele
gates who will vote against their own per-
sonal choice and Judgment it will be
eighteen delegates in Ohio. In no other
State has there been an organized attempt
to coerce delegates with State pride or
State power"
'iThen you mention General Harrison as
being in the field of available candidates?"
Eyes; every man fit to be President and
who is q good Republican is always avail
able to his party; and Harrison is a good
Republican and responsive to party duty.
What the people demand this year in the
Republican candidate and platform is a
certainty. In one respect Harrison would
give the earliest certainty of any one who
could be nominated, for the day he should
be nominated the country would know
exactly what his policy as President would
be on tariff, and exactly what it would be
on finance, and this would quickly bring
confidence and good times behind it,"
':You have seen General Grosvenor's
tables?"
Eyes, and they are grossly inaccurate.
He claims far too many votes for McKin-
ley and appropriates practically all the
contested votes, of which there will be
hundred or more. The public should be
treated candidly and given figures that are
accurate, and contested votes should not
be claimed for any candidate as vet. AS
samples of Grosvenor's inaccuracies, he
counts practically all of Texas for McKin-
lev, while Mckinley has at most six votes
in that State and three of them contested.
He counts all the votes in Tennessee as