Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-05
A POLITICAL SQUALL
Trouble Expected When the A. P. A.
Supreme Council Meets.
ADVISORY BOARD and MKINLEY
Its Action viii Be Investigated and
May Be Undone.
MAY JOIN THE POPULISTS

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The biggest kind of political squall is
said to be on the tapis for next week, when
the supreme council of The American Pro-
tective Association meets here.
From an undoubted and trustworthy
source-a man who has been prominent in
the recent political workings OF the execu-
tive committee of the advisory board, and
who has kept track of all that has been
done-a Star reporter learns that trouble
is ahead, and that Unless the spirit of COM
promise and brotherly feeling prevails there
Will he some bad scars LETT in the A. p. 4.
ranks when ii is all over. There is not
even an attempt to conceal the fact that
there is friction. 1t is manifest in the Va
riOuS A Z. y. papers, and in the talk of
the leaders of the order.
What Has Caused 1t.
The informant of The Star reporter says
that iii" trouble has been caused by the
port of the executive committee of the
advisory board, in condemning McKin-
ley, and in eulOgizing many of the other
republican presidential candidates. The ex-
ecutive committee, of which Judge j. H.
d. Stevens of St Louis is the chairman,
Is said to have exceeded its authority and
to have gotten the order in a bad plight
in making fight on Mckinley, when his
record is declared to be less Objectionable
to the mass of the order than the records
Of numerous other candidates. 1t is hinted
that the executive committee will be Sc
vere,y criticised by leaders of the order. and
may be officially criticised by the supreme
council itself unless the committee can
make a satisfactory showing of why it at
tempted TO array the order against Nc
kinley.
Big Secrets and Grave Charges.
II oh,
secrets in connection with the work of
the advisory board executive committee
and not even the most talkative members
OF the order will say what any of these
are Charges against the committee will
be made to the full advisory board, which
viii make report TO the supreme council.
The advisory board of the order had it's
origin year aga. at the last annual meet
ing OF the council. In view of the fact that
this was election year. it was decided to
establish an advisory board, corresponding
In many ways with the national committees
of the political parties. This board consists
or two members from each state council.
The state president is one of the members
ana a person selected by the state executive
committee is arOther. The two members
mt st lie Of different political faith. When
the time came to consider the records of
the republican candidates. a. had been de-
Ciei Ip"n, an executive committee of thir-
teen members was selected from the board
committee. it is said, was to report to the
luil board before its action became final
Some Inside Facts.
OF the thirteen members Of the executive
committee, it is said that only seven. ?
bare quorum, met here in March to 90 over
the records Of the candidates. One Of the
seven had to be telegraphe1 for TO mako
tie quorum. The story is that the west
ern members present Were enthusiastic
supporters Of Mckinley, while the eastern
nIeh We're against him, the ma jority for
Reed. After diCkerinS several days the
committee could come 20 no understand
ing. The western men held out for Nc
kinley and the eastern men against him
rms misunderstanding, it is said. is what
inuuced the committee 10 hold session in
New \ Ork city. dfterward in Boston and
later in Cincinnati. Before the board final
" adjourned Judge Stevens and the other
Mckinney men on the committee had been
convinced that Mckinley was not the man
they wanted. and agreed to the report
blackliSting him.
All Kind of Stories Told
The ~ p. a. men who are for Mckinley
and many of those who are against him
are convinced that the executive commit
tee made q bal blunder They say that the
committee listened to all kinds Of stories
about the Ohio man; that McKinley's enc
session here and poured story after story
into the ears of the members. 1t was not
the business OF the committee, it IS said,
10 be influenced by what they were told.
IL was their business TO go over the rec
OrdS of the candidates and come to a con-
cluSion from those reCOrdS-in other words
TO act upon the public career Of a man
and not upon his alleged private acts. such
as his church membership, his appoint
ments while governor &c.
Mny l-ulo What IS Dane
While it is sad that there is a proba-
bilty that the Supreme Council will undo
what has been done by its executive COM
mIttee, ii will not commit itself to Nc
kinney or any other republican candidate
The council Will have a knotty problem to
solve. 1t will have to consider what its
political course is going to be and which
of the parties it is going to support. 1t
Will have TO make the best bargain it can
somewhere or will lose all standing as a
political organization.
In the dilemma which will confront the
council it is stated that a movement will
he made to turn the a. L. A. to the silver
party and populists and bring about a
grand fusion of the three bodes-silver
porulists and a. P. A.
No Hope With Democrats.
VIII not the advisory board consider
the democratic candidates and do some
thing to have the order recognized at Chi
caSo?' the reporter asked the man who
was talking to him.
No. nothing will be done along this line
We have no hope of doing anything in the
democratic convention. In fact il is gem
really conceded that the democrats will
adopt plank CCndemning the organiza-
tIon As i see il, there is nothing left for
us TO do now but TO fuse with the populists
and silver men. They have invited us to
be present at their conventions in St Louis
on July ~. They are ready and willing to
welcome us, while the other parties are
either giving us the cold shoulder or open-
ly COndcmnIng us. Give US 4 ticket like
Teller and Linton or Tillman and Linton
and the combined forces will sweep this
country"
Promotion Papers Approved.
The Presilnnt has annroNel the M narS