The San Francisco call., 1896-02-19
SAM RA|NEY IS REACHING.
Putting Politicians in the Mint
and Working to Control
the Junta.
Ed Lanigan Stays by Himself and Is
Suspected of Friendship With
Rainey.

The Junta's battle with the Rainey-
Daggett part OF itself is causing late
nightly conferences in the back room at
the headquarters in the Flood building.
Chairman Sullivan, Max Pepper, Samuel
Braunhart and Gavin McNab are quartet
into whose presence the political lieu
tenants 90.
The leaders mentioned think that they
have the organization safe from Rainey's
control. Rainey, however, is reaching out
deity Tor more power. Within two or
three weeks be has secured places in the
Mint for three Democrats OF political
value to himself, and in several districts
the Rainey-Daggett element Is preparing
to make an effort to increase its strength
in the new general committee to be chosen
at the primary next week. So the anti
Rainey powers now in control of the ma
chine must prevent Rainey from electing
too many delegates from the various dis
trlctS, and arbitrary dlctation as to how
many delegates this element may have is
resorted to on the ground of expediency
and self-preservation.
The war in the Forty fourth is still hilt
to hilt and savage. Chairman Sullivan
sticks 20 his decision that George Max
well, who Is running things here for
GdlISy, may tleCl DuJ Twelve Oh ne TWENTY
five delegates. Maxwell declares that he
will run ticket of twenty-five names, and
if they are elected, as they would be with
out fail, he Will demand the seating OF
them all according to Democratic princi-
pies. This promises to be the outcome in
the Forty fourth.
If it turns out that way there will be
contesting delegations from the Forty
fourth before the general committee at its
first meeting soon after the primary, and
that issue will serve as an exact measure
OF the Rainey-Daggett strength in the or
ganization. IL would be an occasion like
that in the old committee last October
when Buckley was the issue and A. A
Watkins was elected chairman, giving the
organization tenn mporarily to the anti,
Buckleyites.
Ed Lanigan figures in this situation, but
nobody knows just how. Nobody seems
sure of where this ambitious bosset is OF
where he will be pretty soon. Lanigan is
a sort of an independent factor yet. He
controls twenty-three of the delegates from
his own district and has a considera ole
scattering strength, giving him between
forty and fifty votes in the present general
committee Now, if LaDigan should COM
bine with Rainey and Daggett that trio
would come pretty near controlling the or
ganization. Rainey and Daggett have
about 125 votes at present and Lanigan s
strength would make hard com blnatloI
to beat. The anti-Raineyites figure LAM
gan with Rainey in speculations on the
situation to be on the safe side. Lanigan
rarely comes 20 Junta headquarters. He
attends to his own politics elsewhere and
waits to see what to do when the time
comes.
The Rainey people have majority in
Peppers distrlct-the Thirty -eig ghth-and
they are fiercely charging on Braunharl
! in the Twenty-ninth. Braunhart once
controlled that district when the party
was united. Then Charles McCourtney
and two or three others became strong
rival district leaders. When the recent
split over Buckley occurred Braunhart
was supposed to control the anti-Buckley
faction without question. He named
twenty-five nominees for the genera
committee the other night, but the Rainey
and Daggett elements. led by Nat Seelia
| OF the Mint, are out for a battle with
Braunhart, and q bitter district war ha!
developed. Seelig has nominated six ad-
ditional names, and there is much tall
that the Raineyites are getting lot oI
Braunhart's nominees away from him ant
expect TO beat him out in the end and rur
the Junta faction in that district them
| selves.
The hight against Rainey is becoming a.
interesting as the fight against Buckley
was before the divorce