The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-27
.POPUL|ST ROW
HERAL DS THE
LOCAL STRIFE
Party Machine a Bone
of Contention.
OUTS ANXIOUS TO BE ms
G. D. GILLESPIE TALKS OF JEAL-
oUSY AND REVENGE.
Chairman of the County Committee
Says the Charges Recklessly
Made by the Outs Are
Without Foundation.

The factional row in the local Populist
camp appears to be early reminder or
the coming summer and fall campaign
somewhat the willow catkinS are ad-
vance heralds of summer. The perennial
Democratic fight will bloom soon and the
first thing the city knows the summer or
political joy will be here.
The local PopuliSt party is small, but
fierce. 1t has duality composed of the
ms and outs and the outs are obeying the
mysterious law of their being by trying
to be the ms at election time. So 1t is
quite natural that epithets, charges In
war paint, threats and tales should multi
ply. Control of the party machinery is
at issue. The fight is also between the
fusion and the middle-of-the-road wings.
The charges of misuse of campaign
funds and similar weaknesses recently
made by certain of the outs against the
last campaign committee and dismissed by
the executive committee few nights ago,
have not been dropped, as appeared by
the report in yesterdays Call of an in
tention to institute a suit, which, 1t Is
said, will result in some interesting dis
closures regarding campaign FUNDS and
campaign methods last fall.
Last year the party was controlled by
the element called. the ''fusionists," led
mainly by George D. Gillespie and A. B.
Kline. These gentlemen, with B. ]. Pie,
Henry Huppert and M. Meakin, composed
the campaign and purity of elections
committees, and against them, ana eSpe-
cially against Gillespie and Kline, the
wrath of the outs is directed. The most
active among the latter, according to the
accused committeeman. are Dr.. w n:
Griswold, George H. Clough and Garrett
There are others in the background
behind these men," said George d. Giles
pie. who is chairman of the new execu-
tive committee, of which A. B. Kline is
secretary. ut is all an effort to get hold
of the organization. new primary law
will be in effect this year, and these peo
pie hope to be able to throw mud enough
and make enough people suspicious OF us
without risking any direct charges to de-
feat us as convention delegates at the
primary.
the work of the committee and have tried
to get DR.. Griswold to make some specific
charges and in writing, but all he will do
is to shout .boodlers' at the committee.
He began 1t in the county committee
it's meeting two or three weeks ago. L
insisted on an investigation. and 1t was
referred to the executive committee. For
this purpose the executive committee
met in committee of the whole with DR.:
j. A. Miller chairman. A committee of
five to investigate the accounts of the
GriSwold name three members. Ihe
committee was instructed to report last
committee Garrett w. Smith read a list
of charges which he wanted the sub
committee TO investigate. DR.. Miller OBJ
jected that they were outside of the scope
of the committees work, which was to in
vestigate the accounts, but asked DR..
Griswold to move that they be referred
to the Grand Jury, which he declined to
do and tore his signature from the
charges. Griswold wanted to make the
committee a court of inquiry, we to APP
pear with attorneys, stenographer ana
notary public and answer questions. They
would be judge, jury and prosecutor and
we could ask no questions OF them. we
couldn't see it that way.
1.-The accounts and bills of the committee
were fully examined by the minority OF
the committee and reported correct and
fair to the executive committee. Girls
void for the majority reported progress
and wanted time and he said he could
prove that funds were improperly handled
I insisted that he state facts and he re-
fused whereupon the minority report was
approved, clearing the committee of all
charges and that was supposed to end the
matter. Now they are talking in the air
again and threatening a suit. That is all
bumcombe and we only laugh at them,
while demanding specific charges.
They have said that Mr. Pie of the
campaign committee went to Mr.. Patton
and offered him the party Endorsement
for $500 That is on par with the rest
of their charges Mr. Pie never spoke to
Mr. Patton in his life. Clough was secre-
tary of the county committee and he got
mad because We didn't make him Secre-
tary of the campaign committee. These
fellows don't know what to do and they
are just throwing mud on general prin-
oil