The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-17
His Friends TO
Gather
FOR A CONF ERENCE.
Plan Of Campaign May be
Fixed Tonight.

The ,Searls men are to get together
to night to count noses and to listen to
the reports from the leaders of the op-
position to the reelection of Mayor
Dodge
The place of the meeting is kept Sc
cret. and the proceedings and delibera-
tons of the run together are likely to
be withheld from public gaze if the
statements Of the one or two searls
men who talked just little yesterday
are to be relied upon.
! The ostensible purpose of the gath
ering is to outline a plan of Campaign.
1 But the friends of Mr.. Dodge, who
have keit theirsears to the ground,
| claim that it win really be decided this
| evening, whether Mr.. Searls will re-
main in the canvass or not. AS was
! stated in The Spy yesterday morning,
there are several of his friends who
| have labored with him to draw out of
4 the fight, and unless the reports from
/ the leaders of the opposition are ex-
| tremely encouraging, it is possible that
4 he will do so.
The withdrawal of Mr.. Searls is
| spoken of as possibility rather than
/ q probability. The men at the helm of
| the opposition craft are said to have
| had too much trouble in securing a
candidate to oppose Mayor Dodge's
success at the republican primaries, to
| permit of his withdrawal at this time
| And for that reason it is hardly prob
able that there will be any Withdraw
/ ing. If there should be, the opposition
/ to Mayor Dodge, as far as it can mate
rialize in the primaries, is dished, and
! the only hope Of the anti-Dodge men is
| in a citizens movement
! And according to what are claimed
| to be well founded charges, there are
many of the men interested in the anti
! Dodge movement who are considering
a citizens movement if they meet with
| failure at the caucuses. To the credit
of Mr.. Searls, it can be stated author
itatively that he has already an
nounced his intention to abide by the
result OF the cauouses. There are also
men connected with the anti-Dodge
movement who say that in the event
of the mayors success at the primaries,
| they will turn to and do all in their
power for his success at the polls in
| December.
But this state of affairs doesn't exist
in the hearts of all of the opposition
men. Feelers have already been made
relative to a proper candidate to lead
a citizens movement in case the Searls
canvass to carry the caucuses meets
with defeat.
One of the men who has been asked
to consider the question of running foi
mayor as a citizens candidate is AL
derman Burton w. Potter Mr. Pot
ter admitted this to a Spy man yester.
day, and stated in addition that he hac
replied to these queries with the re-
mark that it was too early to consider
such matters. Mr.. Potter would I'M
doubtedly like to be mayor of Worcrs-
! ter some day, but his friends say that
his head is too long to s>sk the Office
through channels of this kind
As yet there has been no meeting OF
the Dodge men. They are quietly rest
/ ing on their oars and seemingly take
considerable satisfaction from the al
legged troubles of the Searls leaders. II
the Dodge men were not worried Tues
| day, there was no cause for their wor-
riment yesterday, for the Searls move
ment made little or no progress in "a
! hours-at least this is the claim of the
| Dodge men.
From conversation with several of
! the anti-Dodge men yesterday it was
/ evident that the mayor still has the
I best of the situation. The Searls men
were nevertheless as enthusiastic and as
sanguine yesterday as they were Tues
/ day, and claim that things are coming
their way slowly but surely. The pres
1 ent pace, however, is far too slow