Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-10-19


certainly not lost any strength with
/, the party rank and file. Of distin-
| guished appearance, urbane and pol
ished in manner, he is bold and ag
| gressive in action and fitted to adorn
any position to which his future for
| tunes may lead him.
Governor MacCorkle was not prom
| inent in State politics until. in 1892,
he captured the gubernatorial nomina
| ton at a convention in which politics
pure and simple was for the first time
| in the State openly recognized and
practiced as one of the fine arts. His
administration has terminated too re-
Gently to allow it to be said whether
he has advanced or refrigerated pO-
| litically during his four years term.
| Some indiscreet utterances on the tar
| if before the Ways and Means Com
mittee of the Fifty-first Congress hurt
him at the time. Still he may be said
/ to be at the present time at least, an
| available oak in the grove of Senator
ial timber.
| 1T would certainly puzzle the aver
age Democrat to explain the success
of the Chiffon brothers in politics.
| Some would even deny that they have
! succeeded. Others would say that they
! have the ability to select the winning
horse with unerring certainty and the
happy knack of riding him past the
! grand stand with sucn a fluOrish as
| to cause the spectators to lose sight
| of the horse in staring at the rider.
| Still others would argue that they
only succeeded because they allowed
! the late Senator Kenna to do the
| head-wOrk, while they were content
with noisily leading on the brush
| beaters after he had prescribed the
extent and direction of the hunt.
| Without admitting the truth of any of
! these explanations, it may be truth
fully said that the Messrs. Chiffon for
| several years past have exercised more
! influence in the ranks Of the State
! Democracy than any other person eX-
| cept Senator Camden and the late
| Senator Kenna.
! EASTERN PANHANDLE GROUP.
| THE habitat of the Eastern PAN
| Handle group is in the Eastern Pan
! Handle and through basin of the South
| Branch Of the Potomac Though not
| entirely without practical politicians it
| preserves more of the traits Of the
| anti-bellUm school than the other sec
! tons and contains several highly cul-
/ tivated speakers and scholars. 1t also
| embraces one or two aggressive free
! lances. Among its leading members
! are United States Senator c. J. Faux
ner, Judge E. Boyd Faulkner, eX-
! Judge d. B. Lucas. James NJ. Mason,
! ex-senator Henry G. Davis. c. Wood
| Daily and, until recently, pX-POstmas-
/ ter General Wilson. This cluster in
| cludes so much talent OF a very high
! order that it could not be expected to
be unanimous on any question. Ac-
cordlnginly, during the Wilson tariff
| crusade, Mr.. Davis rather severely
/ lurked in his tent, while Senator
Faulkner was occasionally heard to
/ doubt whether Mr.. Wilson was suffi-
GENTLY practical to make a good leader
| in the House of Representative and
| Judge Lucas has felt constrained to
| help defeat his partys nominee when
/ he thought intelligent ability and
! scholarly attainments had been neg
! lected or sighted in choosing the can
| dldates The defecJiOns in the recent
| campaign have, however, served to
! throw somewhat Of a mantle of OBJ
I
! there is a chance that the ex-Judee
/ may lead reunited Democracy to vic
| tory in the gubernatorial contest Of
I 1900. Mr.. Mason has the reputation of
I being too decidedly meteoric TO make
/ good leader. Mr., Daily has been
/ constant and sturdy soldier with a
| nigh record for brilliant and efficient
/ party service, and stands we'll in all
| quarters. Judge Faulkner used TO fill
! conspicuous post among the State
! leaders, but Of late years he has rather
! languished in the shade of his younger
| brothers advancement, the present
! Senator. 1t would not be surprising If
! he should resume his old place at the
| expiration of his brothers Senatorial
| career in 1899. The recent departure
| OF w. L. Wilson from the State has
| removed him from further cOnsidera-
| ton. Ex-senator Davis, whose chief
/ bond Of union with this group is To-
| cality, by cordially supporting Byan's
| nomination, has largely regained his
! old following in the party, and should
! he not regard his advanced age as a
| bar to an active campaign for the SEN
/ atoTship, he could, in addition to sa-
/ curing most Of the votes that are us1l-
/ ally influenced by this group, rely uDon
J very considerable support from the
( conservative party men in all sections
! of the State. When his capacity, eX-
! perience and equipment are considered.
I 1t would seem that he stands foremost
among the possible successors to Sen
! ator Faulkner.
| THE FAIRMONT-GRAFTON GROUP.
The last to be considered is the
| characterization group. 1t is To-
Gated in the vicinity of Grafton and
! Fairmont, in the middle of the north
| ern tier Of counties, and not far from
| the Pennsylvania line, in a region
noted for its Joke ovens. coal mines.
oil wells and kindred lines Of indus
! trial enterprises. Most of those prom
inently Identified with it are more or
less closely connected with some OF
! these extensive and varied industries.
Perhaps the proximity of the Kew
/ stone State and the nature of the bust
! ness followed by the chief members
| have had a controlling influence in
| forming the characteristics of this
! group. The learned and brilliant al
! yocacy OF abstract political princiDles
| that marks the Eastern Panhandle. or
Virginia, school, is entirely absent
/ here. Practical results are the main
! objects Of this school, A constant eve
IS kept on tie political field between