The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-07
MITCHELL OF THE
SOUTH ON GAFFEY.
Leaders of the Fierce Los
Angeles Factions Are
Here.
GAFFEY rs GRATING"
Mitchell Tells of the Corrupt
Purity Crowd" and Of CAT
fey's Schemes.
HOT SHOT FOR GAVIN MNAB.
Chairman Mott of the National Silver
Union Settles a Ca ifornia
Rivalry.
HOT SHOT FOR GAVIN MNAB.

tions-the '1ong-hairs" and the short
hairs" the purity" and the "trinity'
crowds-are at the Palace Hotel talking
politics with politicians. They are John
T. Gaffey, Collector of Customs at Los
Angeles and the Daggett of the southern
Federal brigade, and Attorney John w.
Mitchell, who is talked of for Congress and
who has led the Santa Monica end OF the
harbor fight down there.
The distinguished gentlemen are the OPP
posite poles of the battery that is in opera
ton down there. They represent the Fed
eral brigade and the anti-Federal brigade
elements; gold and silver, San Pedro and
Santa Monica, the ms and the outs and
the opposite shores of a boiling Tophet.
At the State Convention they will lead
the two parts of a sundered Los Angeles
County delegation. Perhaps they repre-
sent the Buckley and anti-BuckIey, Dag
gett and anti-Daggett sympathies of the
Los Angeles Democracy.
Ii it was known what John T. Gaffey
will do or try to do at the convention it
could be told whether Galley will be for
the Buckleyites or for the Junta. 1t will
not make any difference to Gaffey, and ali
will depend on which combination is the
most profitable TO play.
Gaffey is part of the Federal brigade and
must be ranged with Daggett where adj
ministration interests are concerned, He
is no enemy to Daggett and he has been
in close consultation with Daggett and
McNab, which same proceeding has small
significance, of course.
Gaffey wants to make his friend and the
author of his appointment a delegate at
large. But that will be no trick. White
is the only Southern man mentioned and
it will not require any particular com bina-
tions with Geary, Pond and Murphy, the
gold candidates, or with Foote and
Mcguire, the leading silver candidates ap
here. The Buckleyites have Endorsed
White and there is no open opposition to
him in the Junta.
But Gaffey and his friends wined and
dined Chris Buckley and took him to
Santa Monica, when the latter was in
Los Angeles not long ago, though they
turned around and shouted that the other
faction was for Buckley. Gaffey talks
politics with the Buckleyites just as conf
dentially as with McNab and Daggett
Mitchell is openly against the Junta,
and especially against McNab. The Los
Angeles County convention will not be
held until Saturday next, the 18th inst,
but the prospects are that the Mitchell
faction will win two-thirds of the delega-
ton and that their votes will oppose hand
ing the local party over to McNab, Rainey
and Daggett.
Gaffey is making every effort to prevent
Mitchelps election as a delegate and the
fight will be hot and close one.
Mr.. Mitchell talked yesterday about the
fierce and uncompromising struggle in his
own county and the prospects of the State
Convention. Mr.. Mitchell's information
about Mr.. Gaffey and the opposition ma
turally has value of its own through the
fact that he is not preiudiced in their
favor.
II have taken little hand in the Los
Angeles fight" said Mr.. Mitchell
through my absence IN Washington for
six weeks just prior to the primary cleo
ton. l am now up here on professional
business before the Supreme Court.
"From my latest advices | am able to
say that % to 80 of the SO delegates from
Los ANGELES County will be our friends,
and they will be for silver. am advised
that George S. Patton, the Gaffey-
man of the County Convention,
will be beaten. Ny Judgment is
that, in view OF the bitter contest. an i'm
partial man, not identified with either
faction, will be chosen, and that it will
likely be General George Merrill of Po-
mona. The breach which has existed so
long appears to have widened, and the
fight in the convention will be hot one.
1.-THE Federal brigade through Gaffey
and his friends have made great efforts to
capture the delegation. They colonized
precincts and elected some county conven-
ton delegates thereby. My precinct, be-
tween Los Angeles and Santa Monica, is
small one. It has never yielded more than
eight or ten Democratic votes. When ]
got home and went TO the poles late in the
afternoon l saw wagon load of Mexicans
x.,k faHH ofe .o1 env,t 0Y1 70 5000 q
precinct. They cast twenty-seven votes
and won the precinct. This is the purity
crowd which we have dubbed the purity
push
"They set up the 'Buckley!' cry against
us and tried to fasten the Buckley and
railroad collars on our necKs. But when
Buckley was down there Gaffey and his
friends took him to Santa Monica and
Gaffey gave him banquet at his home. /
have vet to meet Buckley, and neither
nor my friends had anything to do with
Buckley when ne was there.
"But Gaffey will not get much of the
delegation. Collector Wise said to me
yesterday that he expected solid gold
delegation from Los Angeles County. The
Federal brigade down there had been ex-
pected to deliver Los Angeles County to
the Federal brigade here. But there will
be silver men even among Gaffey's dele
gates which he and the Herald can't hold.
What stand Gaffey will take don't know.
He is acting under administration orders,
but at the same time must act with Sena-
tor White, WHO caused his appointment,
and who is supposed to be a silver man. !"
Mr.. Mitchell was asked what he thought
Gaffey would play for at Sacramento and
he replied:
''He will be first interested in the future
Senatorial fortunes of White. He hopes
by having majority of the Los Angeles
County delegation to control the nomina-
ton for Congress in that district. To this
end he will doubtless try to get Patton
nominated again and to effect combina-
ton with the Populists.
"Gaffey is further interested in San
Pedro. He, Patton and others are inter-
estet in lands down there and have been
fighting that harbor battle for years. They
have got planks into county convention
platforms favorable to San Pedro and will
try to get the State convention to indorss
San Pedro as the last one did, thou gh
don't know what State convention has
to do with naval harbor sites.
ttTI q anDears IN he here making com hi :