Evening star., 1898-10-21
ILLINOIS is DOUBTFUL
Both Parties Claim 1t, With Chances Favor
ing Republicans
Almost Certain the Democrats VIII
Gain Six or Eight Representa-
tives in Congress.
Special Correspondence, of The Evening Star.

Illinois may reasonably be placed In the
doubtful list for the fall elections. Local
conditions are largely responsible for this,
and there is a strong chance that a gov
ernor who carried the state by 115.000 two
years ago may have his administration and
| his candidates repudiated by the people by
from one-sixth to one-third Of that number
of votes.
Both parties lay claim to the state. but
there is not the same ring of certainty and
sincerity in the claims of the republican
| managers as in the past. Indeed it is with
the greatest reluctance the officers Of the
state committee will talk at all on the out
| look, and figures are something practically
| impossible to get from them. On the other
| hand. the democrats loud and positive
| In their claims. and without hestancy emu
merate facts upon which they base their
| claims of victory.
The campaign is peculiar for the reason
that there is no distinct issue between the
| parties that is accepted by both. The re-
publicanS are making their fight on ma
| tional issues, and the keynote of their cam
| paign throughout the state is found in the
| opening speech of the campaign, delivered
| by Congressman Lorimer in this city. He
| explained to his hearers that the real ques-
| ton in this falls elections is: Shall the
| national administration be indorsed?"
| Democrats Take Up Local Issues.
On the other hand the democrats are
making their entire fight on state and local
! issues. For a time they played the sick
soldier Issue for all it was worth. but the
| time when that was useful effective ap-
| pears to have passed. OF the state issues
| what is known as the ALLEN bill'' is the
| most prominent. The last legislature passed
| an act permitting city councils to extend
| franchises for street railways for a period
of fifty years and providing the rate of
fare shall be cents, and shall not be
| subject to change for twenty years. The
previous street railway laws limited the
life franchises to twenty years, and named
| no minimum limit for rates of fare. The
| bill was passed by the Yerkes city railway
| crowd, which has corruptly controlled city
councils in Chicago for decade, and the
| same methods and arguments were used in
| passing the Allen law. In the state plat
| forms the republicans did not name the
Allen law. but promised to repeal any leg
| islation not entirely satisfactory to the
| people" The democrats denounced the law
| boldly, and promised its absolute repeal.
Notwithstanding this action the democrats
| permitted the reconciliation of several
| members who helped place the law on the
| statute books. and therein lies the only
weakness in their fight on the Allen issue.
| In the campaign this issue has been
forced to the front by the democratic stump
| the republicans except in a few legislative
| districts Governor Tanners signature to
| the bill makes him personally responsible,
| and the cry Of the democrats is Down with
| Tannerism." The governor in the two
| speeches he has made during the campaign
has paid no attention to the Allen issue,
| but has defended his administration largely
| on the ground of economical management
| of state institutions and has attacked the
Altgeld administration, preceding his for
extravaganza and dishonesty. the latter
| based on several embezzlements. shortages
and largely overdraWn appropriations.
Silver Question Tabooed.
| The silver question is practically tabooed
in tIa al
| refers to it with much feeling and appar-
| ent great interest in his speeches. and the
| democrats, of course. have 1t in all their
| platforms. But far as the street talk,
the general run of speeches and the liter
ature sent out is concerned, no attention
| is being paid to the silver question. Some
| of the republican congressional candidates
are talking for sound money, as they did
| in 1885, but it occupies about the position
| now that the tariff question did in the cam
| paign two years ago.
There are other local issues, but they are
| less prominent, and will change few votes
either way.
There Is but one state office of Importance
| to be filled this year, that of treasurer.
Floyd K Whitemore. personal friend and
protege of Governor Tanner, is the repub-
| lican nominee. and Millard Fillmore Dun
lap Jacksonville banker, treasurer of the
state committee, and a strong Altgeld fol-
lower, was named by the democrats. The
more influential populists fused with the
democrats. but the "mddle-of-the-road"
crowd refused to accept the agreement and
named a state ticket. but it will cut little
figure, and two-thirds of the populist vote
is confidently counted on by the democrats.
In addition to the treasurer, a superin-
tendent of public instruction and regents
for the State University are to be elected.
Women vote for the school trustees, and
there Is considerable interest in this end Of
the campaign.
In 1892 Grover Cleveland carried the state
6y "a attS votes and that is about the plu-
rality the democrats believe they will end
| this campaign with. In 1894 the repub-
licans carried the state for their treasury
candidate by $4,000, and in 1896 Mckinley
won by 141 900 Even in that campaign
Tanner ran behind the ticket 10000. and
this year. when the principal fight is
against him, the democrats hope to swing
the state around 10000 votes the other way.
Claims of. the Republicans.
The republicans claim, outside of Chica-
go, the fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth
eighteenth, nineteenth. twentieth, twenty
| first, twenty second, eighth, ninth, tenth,
twelfth and thirteenth districts. They
claim certain the first sixth and seventh
| in Chicago, and the other four in the city
as doubtful, with chances favoring the re-
publicans The democrats, on the other
hand claim the fifteenth, sixteenth, seven
teenth, eighteenth nineteenth. twentieth
and twenty-irst as absolutely certain the
cratic. and the eleventh doubtful and prob
ably republican. In Chicago they claim
everything but the first and seventh They
! concede to the republicans only the eighth,
| ninth, tenth, twelfth, thirteenth and twen-
tysecond In the present House the Cook
county delegation of seven is solid repub-
hcan, and the democrats have but five
members in the state.
Chairman John NJ. Smyth of the Cook
county republican committee has expressed
the situation in Chicago very aptly, and 1t
applies to the entire state. He says:
General apathy is the commander-in-
chief of the opposition forces, and if we are
defeated it will be due to him entirely.
The conditions prevailing throughout the
country Is also found in Illinois. Repub-
licans are not livening up their leaders
| would like, and in TINS state the democratic
organization is well in hand, is active and
apparently has its followers thoroughly in
terested.
The state is really doubtful although the
majority to overcome is so great that re-
publican chances seem the best at this
writing. The peace Jubilee the presence
and speeches of President Mckinley and
his associates, including some of the war
heroes. has helped the republicans might
ly, and just now 1t is probably safer to pre-
dict republican victory on q small mar