The Van Buren press., 1898-01-22
TO BACK A SILVER MAN.
Hill Makes Bold Move to Regain His
Lost Place as Demo.
cratic Leader.

state and In the election Of the next
governor of New York.
He proposes to regain the leadership
Of the regular Democrats. Of the
Chicago platform Democrats, Of the
silver Democrats Of the party. And by
the bold and abrupt announcement that
he himself is and was In 1896 loyal
Democrat, he hopes to cover Richard
Croker with confusion.
This coup d'etat planned by the
former senator during his recent visit to
New York was disclosed yesterday with
his sanction, by his confidential friends
and advisers. No bigger stone has
been thrown into the frog pond of state
politics for many month.
That the erstwhile recluse of Wolf
ert's Roost should lay his hand upon
his heart and say. II, David Bennett
Hill, voted for Bryan, and don t care
who knows it, Is enough to rob those
of their breath who have been chanting
a dirge over him as moribund states
man and plotting to seize the power
from his nerveless hands.
The author of the cry. II am
Democrat . says in effect: 81 am
Democrat still l am no deserter, no
traitor, no goldbug. stood by the
Chicago platform at the polls
although. to be sure, I didn t say any.
thing about it-and l stand for the
regular Democracy now, against those
who abandoned the cause in 1895
More specifically and more signifi
cantly, Mr.. Hill says to the Democrats
of the state:
Your candidates for governor and
United States senator must be men who
fought for the Chicago platform in
1896. understand that Mr.. Croker
and his friends are planning to nomi-
nate candidates who bolted both tickets
and platforms. Mr.. Croker himself fled
the country to evade the issue of that
election. Such is the man who is
reaching out for the control of the
Democracy of the Empire State Perry
Belmont and Jacob A. Cantor, both of
whom he is grooming for the
race, are out and ont,
uncompromising, bitter goldbugs, who
helped to defeat the candidate Of their
party
Mr.. Hill was asked by his friends to
name the man he would prefer for the
governorship, but he would not commit
himself to that extent.
THAT must wait till the fall, - he
said, sententiously. January is no
time for indicating such preferences. =
But in the course of general con-
the former senator spoke in
high terms of Judge Robert G. Titus, of
Erie National Committeeman Frank
Campbell. of Steuben State Chairman
Elliott Danforth and others whose
loyalty to the party in 1896 was un-
questioned.
In regard to John B. Stanchfield, who
had been reputed to be Mr.. Hill s
choice for the head of the ticket next
fall, one of the leader 8 friends ventured
to remind him that Mr.. Stanchfield had
refused to preside at Bryan meeting.
Much as / might like Stanchfield, -
David B. Hill is reported as having
replied, 'if it is established that he
was traitor to the Chicago platform,
he need not expect my support. -
But you yourself he was re-
were accused of having
bolted the Chicago nominees and plat
form.
1T is true, replied Mr.. Hill,
that l took no active part in the
canvass of 1895, but I voted
the straight Democratic ticket, just the
same. -
Before leaving the Hotel Normandie
yesterday for Albany Mr.. Hill appeared
in the highest spirits and seemed to his
to whom he confided his
plan of campaign. to have keener in
sight into things political and stronger
grasp of the situation than ever before.
Although his name had for so long been
from politics, he exhibited
the old exhaustive familiarity with the
doings In the smallest hamlets in the
state-thst familiarity wherewith he
was wont to amaze such men as Elliott
William F. Sheehan, and
even Hugh Mclaughlin, by telling
them more than they had ever suspected
about their own individual districts.
But it was in regard TO the larger
question that he was most emphatic
and most interesting. He expressed
the calmest conviction that Democrats
up the state would not listen to Mr..
Croker's proposition of nominating q
goldbug ticket, and assured his friends
that the country Democrats would
come very near controlling the conven
ton. He made 1t apparent that be-
tween now and the fall he would bend
all his prodigious energies on the task
of rehabilitating himself in the conf
dence of the silver Democrats, especially
above the Bronx. and to join with then
in selecting one of their number to rur
for governor, with an entire state ticket
composed of tried and true Chicago
platform men.