Evening star., 1898-11-07
CONTEST IN CALIFORNIA
Republican Ticket Has to Face Strong Fusion
Combination.
Claim is Made by Managers That
Democrats Will Lose Two
COngressmcn.
pecial Correspondence of The Evening Star.

| Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
| SAN FRANCISCO, Cal, November = $685.
| Probably no state in the Union is having
as sharp political contest as California.
| Republicans and democrats are battling day
and night, and the contest appears to be
growing more bitter as the campaign draws
| to a close. The whole campaign has been
wased on state issues, with the fight cen
| tered on the heads of the two state tickets.
! The republicans have a strong fusion of
democracy and populism to contend with,
and arrayed against them is the same ele-
ment of anarchy that chara cterized a part
of the last national campaign throughout
| the Union. 1t is a significant fact that the
men prominent on the conglomerated ticket
throughout the state are men who have
| failed in speculative business and become
disgruntled.
Mcclure, the democratic candidate for
governor, is single taxer, and is maxi lg
desperate canvass, charging the republican
state candidates with being under the in
! 1uence of the railroads. California has
such large cosmopolitan elemtn-illiterate
foreigners who have become naturaliZed-
that it makes the ''fioa ting vote easily in
fuenced by the incitabie speeches of the
pnpuistS and democrats
The republicans onened their campqign
several weeks later than the democrats but
are making a most vigorous campaign The
same element of yellow journalism that
has to be contended with in New York city
is raging in all its fury on The coast but
the clean, legitimate newspapers have al
ready largely counteracted the effect of
"vell0wism -
Two wears ago Mckinley carried the state
by 5000 majority. From polls of the coua-
ties just received the republican managers
are confident that their state ticket viii
carry by $1,000 majority. In place Of three
republican congressman to represent the
state they confident that two more VII
10 ha Nxrifh It,.,
solid delegation of seven congressman. The
results in the second and fourth districts
are. however. considered very dou3tfil par
tic ularly in the former. in view of the per
sonal popularity of the fusion candidates.
MCGUIRE the candidate for governor. 3r-
RED the fourth district for ''oap1s sSS two
yeas ago by majority of 5000 votes. hut
the republicans expect to reverse The Irc.-I-
Gus vote by eecting Julius Hahn. The sixth
and seventh districts which have Lcel ire
strongholds of the populsm and represent
ed by c. A. Barlow and y. II. Castle are
expected to give large republic 2la aj.srti"s
this election. De Vries the democratic can
diGate for reelection in the second district,
Is .aking The strongest race, since his sup
port of most of the Presidents y Iii. les in
Congress has added to his per or II popolar-
itv in the district
The only outside speaker the republicans
have had has been Webster Davis, assist
ant secretary of the interior. Although Mr..
Davis had never been in California before,
yet the state committee knew his reputa-
tlOn as p0iltlcdl speaker ana assigned hin
to the principal cities of all the congress
sional districts in the state except one. He
has spoken at Sacramento, Oakland, San
Jose, Modesto, Fresno. Bakersfield Los An
geleS and San Francisco, and at each meet
ing he held his audience for from one hour
to two hours and a half. There is ques-
ton that Davis has done the party great
service in this state. His speeches were
devoted entirely to national issues and
from the enthusiasm his exposition of them
created. and from reports wherever he
spoke, it is evident that that line of cam
pagning will materially assist In carrying
the state in an Endorsement of the national
administration. His closing meeting in San
Francisco was one of the largest meetings
ever held in the state, and his line of argu-
ment, eloquent and convincing in favor of
a Congress that will aid the President in
carrying out his policies, which mean so
much for the future prosperity of Califor-
mia as a commercial center, met with en-
thusiastic approba ton. He also pleaded for
n legislature that will elect a republican
senator in the place of the democratic-pop-
ust senator now representing the state
The state committee is sanguine of sending
a republican senator in the place of Stephen
A. White the incumbent.
AS an evidence of the bitterness of the
campaign here the candidates on both tick
cts from the top to the bottom have plac-
arded ever available and conspicuous place
in the cities with banners and posters and
pictures. Surely in no state In the Union
is so much money spent In thus advertiS-
ing the candidates. Market street. San
Francisco. has almost solid roof of BAN
ners waving over it. The ferry boats to
Oakland are covered with political posters,
windows are full of them, telegraph poles
papered with them and the trees In the
woods leading to the city are sign boards
for candidates from governor to dog catch |
er. Even street cars and dray wagons have
rented their sides to the political cand1- |
dates. so that he who runs may read of
the bitter political warfare that is wagfng. |
Thousands of situations have been filed |
through the want columus of The Star.