The San Francisco call., 1898-08-19

N@-N DO4-AS
 California.
 It has witnessed the final passing of Gavin McNab, the whispering boss of San Francisco Democracy; the stepping down of Mayor Phelan, also of San Fran cisco, from his high perch on the pedes- tai of political purity and his acceptance of the methods of a ward politician; the :: attempt of a great political party to pre- vent young and honest men from having :. a place in the plan of party leadership, the futile attempt of the Examiner to dictate the affairs of the party; the lin- ing up of the honest country Democrats against the corrupt political organiza- tfons of the three principal bosses of the State, and the punishment of Senator Braunhart
 From the list of events as enumerated there has been omitted the fact of the nomination of James G. Mcguire as the candidate of the Democratic party for .: Governor. This was not an incident " either unexpected or particularly impor- tant. For two months past 1t had been known that Mcguire would be the nomi- : Hee of this convention for the place at the head of the ticket. The formal tender of the nomination was made to-day without pomp or circumstance as was to be ex- pected, because the facts had become patent to even the uninitiated, and had been heralded again and again from one ,. end of the State to the other Besides the Populist State mountebank slipped in 'aforetime and stole the Democratic plum der. Thus 1t is that the nomination ef Aaguire was not an event-merely cir cumstance.
 But there were other things and plenty of. them that are destined to occupy a prominent place in Democratic history. Chief among these, perhaps, was the final passage of Whispering Gavin McNab, For many months this personality had been a disturbing factor in Democratic politics, and his attempt to gain control of the Democratic organization of the metropolis and of the State and turn 1t to his own use had been matters of much political importance. He desired to be, besides dictator, the nominee of the party for Congress from the Fourth Congressional District. His wish to oc cupy Q seat In the. halls of the American .:Congress was due. he said. to a desire to purge himself from the accumulated filth gathered from his political associations To-day another man received the nomf- nation which he coveted. The Fourth Congressional District Convention has chosen James H. Barry as it's candidate for Congress, and the Whispering Boss is left free to pursue his devious ways and cover his political character with addi- tional coatings of flth-it being presumed that he will not change his associations
 Yesterday McNab's friends took a poll of the Fourth Congressional Districts delegates and found that his friends were :. not sufficiently numerous therein to make a certainty of his nomination in case his name was presented to the convention as a candidate. McNab then announced his intention to withdraw his name from the list of prospective candidates. the fact of this announcement being told exclusively fin yesterdays Call.
 .: When this became known Barry's friends went to McNab and made the re- quest that if the Whispering Boss with drew his candidacy he should throw his strength to Barry. This McNab declined to do as the fight between himself and ;. Barry for the nomination had been an extremely bitter one. Barry then an- nounced his intention Of fighting McNab on every proposition the latter advanced.
 This morning the latter sent for Bar rvs managers and proposed to compro- mise. He said that he wished to receive a vindication at the hands of his party, and in order to make 1t apparent to the public that he had vindicated himself 1t
 would be necessary for him to receive the nomination for Congress in order that he might decline to accept, thus proving that he was not actuated by ulterior motives in his desire to be the boss of the Democratic party. In order to re- ceive the nomination he would have to receive a majority of the votes of the district convention delegates, and In or der to do this he proposed that Barry lend him sufficient support to insure him the nomination, he on his part promising fo decline the acceptance of the honor
 The nomination would then, of course 20 to Barry, McNab would be vindicated and Barry win the nomination. without the trouble of contest. This programme was faithfully carried out, and It may be that there are a few delegates present here in Sacramento who are not aware of the fact and who now labor1ng under the delusion that McNab is as pure as an angel, and Barry very lucky man. The circumstance of Mayor Phelans fall from the high plane of political pur- ity was connected with the nomination or . the candidate for Associate Justice or the Supreme Court Yesterday the Mayor made an address r0 the convention that was so well received that there were many who then made the prediction that he would four years from now be the standard bearer of the Democratic party. To-day he descended to the lower levels of political chicanery, and as a result the prophecies of yesterday are without pre- Judice. The Mayors undoing was due to an effort on the part of the San Fran cisco Examiner to force the convention : se select Judge Jeremiah V Coffey as It's candidate for Supreme Judge The Ex- sminer forced him to enter into the fight, and in his efforts to influence the conven- tion against its own will the Mayor re- sorted to tactics that are familiar to the claim residence on the sunny side of Market street D.
 He circulated about the floor of the con- vention hall, button-hoed country dele gates. cajoed, threatenel and implored and finally rounded up the sum of his in- dignity by announcing as the spokesman of the San Francisco delet.tlor that tba 1 vote of the delegation was 153 for Coffev and 1 for Judge Conley of Madera Scarcely had he ceased to speak when eleven members of the convention arose. ! from their seats and announced that their votes had been cast for Conley. The vote of the delegation was therefore re- corded as 143 for Coffey and Il for Con- Iey-and Mayor Phelan had never word to say.
 It is sometimes true that all signs fail in a Democratic convention. For days and weeks and months there have been rumblings and mutterings and open de- nuncjations of the fusion agreement and