The San Francisco call., 1898-08-23
NO s. P. MEN TOLERATED Railroad Plans to Cap lure Two Supreme
 Justices. But Republican Leaders Have Put Down Their Feet on
 the Scheme.

CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Aug. 22.-Aside from the contest for the gubernatorial nomination there are none that present so many complica- tions as that for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The conditions that will surround the selection of the two men who will be chosen as candidates by the convention for this position are so many and varied that in the opinion of many prominent Republicans the circumstances of the contest for the coveted places will have a material bearing on the success or defeat of the party at the coming cleo tion. Since the delegates to the conven- tion have begun to arrive in Sacramento it has become apparent even to novices at the political game that the political bu- reau of the Southern Pacific Company is interesting itself in the work of the con- vention and particularly in that part of it that concerns the selection of the two candidates for positions on the Supreme bench. Some of the clerks and confiden- tial secretaries of the big men in the yell low building in San Francisco arrived here last evening, and since then have been busily engaged in issuing orders to such railroad henchmen as are members of the various county delegations.
 It became apparent to-day that these orders related to the two places on the ticket left vacant for the names of the conVentionS S candidates for Associate Jus tice of the Supreme Court. It has also
 
 to secure one of the places for T. B. Mcfarland, one of the retiring Justices and a candidate for renOmination by this convention. The railroad secretaries and confidential men have not yet made clear their preference-or rather that of their superiors-as to which of the remaining candidates for judicial honors shall be selected for the other place on the ticket. This will no doubt come to light in due time and will have its effect on the chances of all the contestants.
 The attempt of the railroad company to influence the acts of the convention in a mater so important as this is being condemned by the men who are looked upon as the leaders of the party, as we'll as by individual delegates from all parts of the State. If this expression of opin- ion is to be taken as any indication of the manner In which the names of the rail- are presented to the convention the re- suit will not remain long in doubt. The utteranceS of Major Mclaughlin chair man of the State Central Committee, and others, regarding the attitude that will be assumed by the party toward any at- tempt that may be made by the corpora tionS to influence the campaign contrary to the wishes of the people at large, and particularly the voters of the party, have been accepted by Republicans in all parts of the State as a declaration of principles believed that at least nine-tenths of the delegates to the convention have come here with a firm determination to turn down any railroad candidates whose names may be presented to the conven- tion. It Is needless to say, therefore, that the barefaced attempts of the rail- road company to influence the selection