The Portland daily press., 1896-03-27
s PEAKER REED UNRUFFLED.

$ PEAKER REED UNRUFFLED.
Attending to Business and Not Worry
ing about the Presidency.
Prospects-He Has No Organization, No
Headquarters and No Literary Bureau.
Mr.. Manley Predicts, However, That
He Will Be Nominated.
washington Correspondence of the
Springfield Republican.
If Speaker ReedEis concerning himself
about his presi Dental nomination, it is
not obvious either in his manner OF con-
versation. During the past four weeks
while the telegraph columns of the daily
news papers have been filled with the
movements Of the Mckinley forces with
all the surface Indications pointing to a
political ground swell for the Ohio can
d1date, Mr.. Reed has been calm and CON-
placent. Always accessible, always cour-
teous, even W hen he is least communica-
tive, he has been unusually SO since
the political tide seemed to be running
away from him. He is playing a "wait-
ing" game. His friends are doing their
work quietly, and he expects to enter the
convention with a vote not large, but
which, he is constrained to believe, will
grow steadily from the first ballot. He
declines to discuss his presidential pros
poets except with his intimate friends.
and is prepared to accept either a nomi
nation or defeat with his usual philoso-
ply.
Mr.. Reeds principal manager is Joseph
| II. Manleysof Maine, who was for SO
| many years Mr.. Blaine's faithful lieu
tenant. Manley is shrewd manipulation
of men and a politician of wide expert
ence. He is not given to waging his
campaign through the newspapers. and
| he is almost as reticent as Reed where
the latter's candidacy is concerned. He
a n0x AsEed ' Who're s the M -
strength is coming from, Manley smiles
Significantly and simply calculates,
wait until the convention meetsP" Be-
yond this he declines to talk. 1t is evil
IDENTIFY upon his advice that Reed is not
making more aggressive fight. He
believes that Mckinley will exhaust his
| strength on the first or second ballots,
and that when it is evident he cannot
win, the majority of his forces will go to
Reed.
| Reed has no organization. He has no
headquarters at Washington, nor has he a
literary bureau or any of the other ad-
! junots of the Mckinley boom. His hope
Of succeeding is Inanifestly in the event
OF McKinley's failure 1t Is to this end
that his friends are bending all their
energies, while at the same time doing a
certain amount Of missionary work in all
| the important states. Through certain
of his congressional friends, who are zeal
ously devoted to his cause, oorrespon-
dence is conducted with leading Repub-
licans throughout the country In the
hope Of creating so favorable sentiment
for Reed, either as first or second choice,
that ii Mckinley drops out of the race he
is certain to secure the additional votes
needed to make him the conventions
choice. The principal speeches delivered
| by him in Congress are being widely dis
tributed, but only in response to requests.
desires to- talk with him regarding his
canvass, but with these exceptions he is
literally Gin the hands of Els friends, !"
| as the phrase goes, and is doing nothing
| more to advance Ehis chances. What his
friends are doing does not appear on the
surface, and there are few indications
that they are doing much.
| The Speaker Is never absent from the
sessions of the House. He is always in
his chair, punotually at 10 O'Clock. when
| the House is called to order. When he is
| not In the chair he Can usually be found
in his committee room or the cloak rooms
in conversation with the members. He
is expediting the business as rapidly as
possible, and appears more concerned
about reaching an early adjournment
and keeping the expenditures down to a
minimum than in furthering his presi-
Dental aspirations. He dimes out great
| deal, although he cannot, in the nature
| of things, accept moro than a fraction of
| the Invitations that are sent to him.
| Aside from his great political prominence
| and personal popularity, he is a welcome
presence is eagerly sought for at all
social functions of whatever character
| There are two houses in town where
Reed Is not only a welcome guest, but
where. outside of his domestic circle, he
| finds his greatest enjoyment. These are
the homes of Senator Lodge of Massschu-
setts and Representative Hit Of Illinois,
the latter his lifelong friend. With these
f antilles he dimes most frequently, and
| it is under their roofs that Reed is seen
at his best Society, as the term Is gen.
| orally understood, he regards as bore.
Not that he is unsocial; he is, on the
contrary, a most companionable man.
But he prefers the company of few in
| innate friends where he may talk with
| more freedom and escape being lionized.
Reed is also bookish man and like
most men of cultivated literary tastes.
devotes all Of his spare moments to read
ing. He is fluent French scholar, and
his library at Washington contains the
works of all the best writers in the origi-
nal, particularly those of Bourget,
Maupassant, Daudet, Coppee and Georges
Sand. He is an omnivorous reader and
seldom lays hook down until he has
finished it. He is an intense admirer Of
Charles Reade He told me, a few weeks
ago, in speaking of this author that he
took up ''Never Too Late to Mend" one
evening after dinner, and read it all
night. OF late he has been engaged in
writing an introduction to q new edition
~ C1I+ - O. - II