The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-07-29

Sdsca cIllilcIS Wlltu out
| 80
And 30 on VIC may go through the en-.
tire state and show thnt tho first san.
guIno estimates OF Watts' strength have
been grcntly shaken from their foundn.
ton by the new conditions which have
arisen, and when the convention meets,
1t Will be- found that Watts may not
show up with o than 800 votes which
lr may count on ~ certain for him on
the first ballot, while there will BE- even
II greater number for Smith. Mr.. Watts
Is farther on from tho nomination than
he was II week ago. and will be beaten.
] cannot see, In View Of the new dcvcl-
Opmnts, how he n recover his lost
ground, without tho withdrawal OF one
or two Of the other candidates. II is
hardly likely that the strength OF Ralph
snyder would go to Watts II Mr.. Ralph
snyder should withdraw, for the feeling
between the two men is not OF the Da-
mol and Pythins brand. Every condI-
tlon ut this time points to the probability
that Colonel Smith will STEADILY gain
from now until convention time.
One thing which has contributed
largely to the loss OF strength by Mr..
Watts has been a recent assault on his
sincerity as an advocate OF the Chicago
platform. Watts Is 70 closely identified
with the Cleveland administration,
holding one OF the best places In this
state within the gift Of the President,
that many OF the radical POpocratic
free %sllverItes look upon him with sus-
piCiOn. Mr.. Watts has done all he
could 10 combat this feeling. by claim
Ing TO he n OF the original free silver
lies, dating his faith rs far back as
1878. but the opposition Is calling ntten-
ton to the fact that at n time not long
since. when the administration had
hopes o fstemming the fifty-Ccnt dollar
tide, he vas In cordial sympathy with
the administrations financial policy,
and Within Il few months past an inter-
view was published with him In the
Wheeling Registers Washington dis
patches In which he took decided
grounds against the free silver craze.
They charge that the Kanawha states
man only got into the silver band wag-
on when he saw that the PopOcrats were
going to capture the Chicago conven-
ton. Mr.. Ralphsnyder. 1t will be re-
membered. charged him with having
declared 10 him ut n time that he (Mr,
Watts. was a sound money nan and
would run for governor ms an ndminis-
tration candidate. These doubts being
thrown on Mr.. Watts sincerity for the
cause. It Is not surprising that he should
have lost strength which at first seemed
to be going oil his " way.
ss
1t Is beginning to look as II Cam
Sommers has the inside track for the
nomination for auditor. Candidates
are moi. rs numerous as in former years,
owing TO the generally dcmoralized con
dltion OF the Democracy IN the state,
and Mr.. Spmmers has not had more
fight on his hands than n leading can
didate usually does. There have been
whispers that there Is a combination
between him and MIR. Watts. ! do not
know that there IL actually such a COM
blnc, but some color is given 10 the ru-
NOR by the fact that the Wheeling Reg
lister Is booming both gentlemen joint
ly, and they are the only two candi-
dates the Register IS supporting for
anything on the state ticket. Tn,
Register steadily refuses 70 recognize
that there are other candidates for gov
crnor besides Watts and is publishing
almost daily boom articles for Sommers
for auditor. For n long time the Reg
lister ignored the fact that Colonel Smith
was n candidate for governor, though
the ln%tclliGencer had been publishing
the names OF all the candidates for
weeks. and 1t was not until Colonel
Smith wrote the Register n letter and
called Its attention 10 the fact that he
WAS in the field that 1t gave him n show.
In its editorial mention OF the fact. thu
Popocratlc organ was careful 10 avoid
anything Ike an endorsement. II there
Is nm impression abroad that there Is 4
Watts-SOmmers combine. the Registers
curse Is responsible for 1t. 4 similar
combine between the MacCorkle mana
gers and the Ohio county managers in
1892 defeated the late Lafe Garden for
the nomination for auditor. History may
repeat Itself. G. 4. D,