The age-herald., 1899-04-09
MERELY SCHEMES
 FOR ADVERTISING New YOrk'S Rival Dinners Have No
 Significance. BRYAN WOULD KEEP AWAY If He Knew the Real Character of the
 $1OO Feast. CROKER'S MOVEMENTS WATCHED He May Attempt to Enter the Arena of National Politics, But He Could Weild No Power Whatever
 Growing Unpopular
BRYAN WOULD KEEP AWAY
CROKER'S MOVEMENTS WATCHED

New York, April S.-It is so easy to ob- tain free advertising in this city that clever fake well managed may become a national affair. Two Jefferson day dinners, so-called, are to be served and eaten in New York this month, and much ink has been wasted trying to make the people throughout the country believe that these affairs were to be of some political impor- tance. How they are to affect the political fortunes of any man, parry or faction it is difficult to see.
 The democratic club dinner will be a Tammany feast pure and simple Local ip- tefest in the affair disappeared 1t was known that neither Bryan any ether democrat of national importance would attend. The managers of this d!n- Ter have been compelled to send out sec- end notice to Tammany men to come for ward and pay their subscription for tickets. he tickets will all be sold and paid for be- cause the rank and file of the democratic club fear the dispfeasure of Croker, but most of the members would be glad enough to dispose of their invitations at half price.
 Jefferson M. Levy is to be the guest of honor at the Croker dinner, because he IS a pet of the Tammany chief and by accl- dent of inheritance owns Monticello. Levy is cordially hated by the rank and file or Iammany and his presence as guest of honor will keep away some of the braves who refuse to carry shawl straps and steamer rugs for the cllef to win an of- flee.
 The rival claimants to the management of the S1 dinner are at dlggers points and have appealed to the courts, one faction trying to enjon the other. The men who planned this dinner are political and labor agitators who have no power or influence in politics. Only the prospective presence of w. J. Bryan has kep. alive the move ment. Without his conditional promise to attend it is dollars to dCughnuts that no such dinner could have been served. The real friends of Bryan in this city say that he will make grave political mistake il he attends the affair. ills presence alone can make the gathering important and If he is there he will break bread with a strange crew of woud-be politicians who hope to use him to advertise themselves. II MT. Bryan has been informed of the real character of the prospective gathering he will probably keep away.
 Talk of Crokers Movements
 There has been a lot of talk recently about Croker's plan for taking part in a movement in national politics against Bryan and the Chicago platform. If he has any such plans they need not be re- garded seriously. Mr. Croker's power in New York is on the wane and there is lit tie chance that he can control the delegation from the state to the next na- tional convention. If a movement against Bryan and the Chicago platform develops in New York during the next ten months il will be led and managed, not by Croker, but by the gold and mugwump democrats who follow Grover Cleveland. These mensj are in a position where they could go into such movement with everything to gain and nothing to lose. They have no organi- zation to maintain, and when they lost their fight they could vote the republican ticket as they did in 1896 Croker, with all his despotic power in Tammany could not lead that organization out of a democratic national convention or to bolt national ticket in the year preceding a city election lie is not going to be very important fac- tor in national politics this year or next.
 The so-called Cleveland democrats in the Manhattan and Reform clubs have been studying the national situation for some time and they have already decided upon a plan of campaign. If they find that the majority of the democrats of the country demand Bryan and the Chicago platform in 1900 these followers of Cleveland will re- l main republicans outright four years and | make no fight. They will not make con- | test for control of the next national con- i vention unless they believe there is a l chance to raise a new issue for the cam | paign. If they do make d preliminary con- | test they will make no alliance with Tam many Hall
 No New Tori, Candidates
 The best informed politicians in this city say that New York will have no candidate ] for president or vice-presdent in the next national convention. Governor Roosevelt I will not take second place on a ticket with Mckinley any other candidate This ! statement is made on the highest authorl- i ty He may sometime be a candidate for | the nomination for president. but not in | 1900 unless there is a great change in po- litical conditions during the next ten or twelve months. The democrats are too | much divided to make the taking of can | didate from this state for either place on | the ticket good politics. The talk of Au- gustus Van Wyck as the candidate of Cro- ker is mere complimentary talk. Van Wycll could not by any combination of circumstances get the delegation from this slate.
 New York has ceased to be a "vicessory'' state in national election. National head quarters were moved west in 1896 and for some years to come the Empire state will have to struggle to regain lost prestige in the political affairs of the country.
 New York is FrickIe
 No rural community in the world is more easily swayed from an extreme of public opinion to another than the great city of New York. For several years the people i have been clamorinS for rapid transit and | for three or four years of that time there was apparently an overwhelming demand | for the building of an underground railway at any cost and on almost any condition. There was always a respectable minority opposed to the cons truction of the road by ! the city, but no one dreamed there would be serious opposition if private capital of- fered to undertake the work.
 A few days ago when real rapid transit seemed almost as far away as ever the Metropolitan Street Railway company came forward and offered to build the under ground railroad complete it in three years and pay the city five per cent. of the gross receipts in return for a perpetual fran chise. For two days the public and the newspapers seemed fairly dazed by the lib- erality of the offer. Then the city comp troller suggested that the turnel could be |