Evening star., 1896-08-08
DELAWARE MIDDLE
The Higgins and Addicks Faction
Still Fighting.
PEACE NOT DESIRED BY EITHER SIDE
The Democrats Also Split in a
Pretty Contest.
7 WO TIC K E T s Z P

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
| WILMINGTON, Del. August y. 1898.
| Few states In the Union will cut more fig
ure In the coming campaign than the little
| state Of Delaware. The political situation
here this year is perhaps more complicated
| than In any other state In the Union. All he
| bitter feuds and factional strifcs that have
beset both parties in Delaware heretofore
| are but drop in the bucket compared
| with the great conflict 90 be waGed be-
| tween the republicans and democrats in
| the diamond state this year. 1t will lie the
| final battle for the mastery of the COM
u,onwealth.
Delaware will elect this fall not only Q
| legislature that will choose a successor to
| Anthony Higgins. whose seat In the United
| States Senate is vacant now by reason OF
the deadlock In the general assembly last
| year, but Cong essman. well as a gov
| ernor. who has power to fill more than 300
| county and state offices.
| 1t will slso be decided in Delaware this
| fall whether there will be a constitutional
convention and a change in the administra-
1 ton of the affairs of the state for the first
| time In hundred years.
An Old Feud
| The situation with the republicans of
| Delaware is indeed very Interesting and
has attracted widespread attention through
out the country. The bitter fa-tional fight
between Addicks and ex-United States Sem
aior Anthony Higgins is still on but there
are indications that the final conflict be-
| tween these leaders is near. This contest
| pegan eight years ago. when Mr.. Higgins
was elected to the Senate over Charles II.
| treat. Treat was the candidate of the re-
puDllcans OF Sussex county. The rotary
| system, by which each county was allowed
| to name candidates on the state and sena-
| orlai tlcket, was then In vogue in Della
| ware. The republicans had elected their
| nrst legislature In thirty years and were
| called upon TO choose a United States Sem
ator as successor to Eli SALISBURY SUSSEX
| ciaimed tnat II was her turn, but New Cas-
| 1e disputed her right to name the Senator.
| and presented Anthony Higgfls Kenf
county also took part In the discussion.
| ana onered George V. Massey Massey and
, t,ea. combined against Higgins. but the
| iat,er captured the prize after a brief dead
| lock In the senatorial caucus Higgins,
| victory dispeased the Sussex and Kent re-
Sunneans because IT threw the United
| locmed up as a political aspirant in Dela
ware just at that time, and the SUSSEX re-
Punncans 1ndorsed his candidacy for The
nt,h .eu u. states Senate IN order to get square
WIKI 'he New Castle people
| Addfcks' Fight.
| Addicks was not a potential factor I'm
Deiaware politics until 1894. when he an
nounced himself as a candidate for tho
1
| Anthony Higgins. The republicans car
| rfed Delaware in 1894, electing Joshua III
| MarVil governor, Jonathan S Willis 10
| congress, and nineteen out OF twenty
seven members of the legislature. on
| the question of the United States senator
| ship the legislature was ieadlocked for
| hve months, and adjourned May .. 1885.
without naming Senator Higgins success
| sor. Colonel DUPONT. who claimed that
| he was elected, made a fight before the
| committee on privileges and elections in
| the United States Senate, but was event.
| ually turned down.
Addicks and Higgins again came toeetb-
er In May last at the primaries. which
| named delegates to the state convention in
| Dover May u. at which delegates 10 the
| national convention were chosen. These
| primaries resulted in an Overwhelming
| victory for Addicks, his friends electing
more than two-thirds OF the total number
OF delegates. In the convention Addicks
and his friends applied the unit rule rig
orously, refusing to allow the Higgins
| faction to name their delegates 10 St
| Louis from New Castle county where they
had majority, with the result that the
Higgins faction bolted the convention and
held one of their own. The result of this
| fiasco. as is well known, was the seating
OF the five delegates named by the 0olting
convention by the national convention.
After the St Louis convention the Hig-
gins faction issued call for a state con-
| vention In Georgetown. July 16. The Ad-
| dicks faction followed suit by issuing a
call for convention in Dover July "A, ard
at the same time made overtures Of peace
| to the Higgins faction. These overtures
| called for a compromise on the nomination
of state candidates and electors, the Ad-
| dicks men offering a proposition that the
candidates be selected by conference and
frdorsed by both conventions.
Peace Refused.
The Higgins faction declined the over
tures, and July IA the Addcks faction held
| convention at Dover. They nominated
John Henry Hoffecker for governor aud
Jonathan s. Willis for Congress, and
! named James G. Shaw of New Castle. d.
NJ Wilson of Kent and d. ]. Focks of
| Sussex presidential electors. The follow
| ing Thursday the Higgins faction held q
convention in Georgetown and named John
{. Higgins for governor. Robert G. Hous-
| ton for Congress and William C. Spruance,
Manlove Hayes and ID. ]. Fooks presiden-
| tial electors. Fooks was the only nominee
of the Dover convention Endorsed by the
Higgins faction.
| The Higgins faction has been recognized
| by the clerks of the peace of the three
| counties as the regular republicans and
| they will be allowed to use the republican
| ticket at the polls. The Addicks faction
| will make their campaign under the name
of the union republican party. Addicks
| declares that he is in the fight to stay and
intends to try for the United States Senate
| again this year. Senator Higgins and his
| friends are keeping very quiet. as they are
endeavoring to get the national committee
to recognize them as the regular organiZa-
ton. The situation has become so complex
that in all probability the republican nation
al committee will intervene and try to set
tie the Addicl1s-Higgins muddle, for not
only is the state ticket at stake by reason
of the pending hostilities. but the national
ticket is placed in jeopardy by reason OF
the double set Of electors.
Democratic Troubles.
While the republicans are having their
troubles the democrats are not without
their disputes and differences. The demo-
Gratis of Delaware have never held an elec-
ton without q fight of some kind. and this
year they have one on hand which, though
IL may not be as complicated as the Ad-
dicks Higgins contest, yet II promises to
give a great deal of trouble before election
day There are two opposition factions In
the Delaware democracy, the Wolcott fac
ton and the Salisbury faction. James L.
Wolcott the leader of the former. wants
to go to the United States Senate. So does
Willard Salisbury, the leader OF the Sauls-
bury faction. and each leader will fight to
get the prize. Peter j. Ford of New Castle
is the candidate of the salisbury faction
for governor. while the Wolcott faction
will support either Ebe w. Tunnel. who
was defeated in 1894. or Acting Governor
Watson. Neither faction has vet definitely