The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-08

no Senatorial deadlock. The pres
ent Legislature will elect a United
States Senator to succeed the
Hon. Stephen NJ. White, and the man
elected will be neither D. NJ: Burns nor
U. S. Grant. So much has been made
certain by the developments of the past
twenty-four hours.
Though it has been known to others
for days and even weeks, Burns has
but just now permitted himself to real
lie the utter hopelessness of his cause.
That he does realize it is made more
than certain by the fact that he has
confided his belief to a few of his
closest friends and supporters and has
enlisted their aid to assist him in saw
ing whatever he may from the wreck of
his misguided ambition. Two weeks
ago he might have named the Senator
had he so desired. To-day he can only
hope to gain such favor from the sue
cessful candidate as may be given him
which he holds a st-diminishing in
fluence.
The change in sentiment that has
brought Burns face to face with defeat
deals at the same time a death stroke
to the waning chances of the candi-
date from San Diego. But Grant, I'M
like Burns, now boasts of having an
agreement with the political bosses of
the railroad company whereby he is to
fall heir to whatever votes the corpora
ton can command in the Legislature
1t is no doubt true that such a contract
is being negotiated and that the date
of transfer is fixed for the latter part
of this week. What effect this will
have on Grants chances of success may
be inferred from the following recital
of facts:
The railroad influence can command
and deliver to any other candidate than
Dan Burns no more than eight votes in
the Legislature. This is acknowledged
by the corporations agents themselves,
and is we'll known to all familiar with
the situation here. There are at pres
number Of legislators who now solemn
ly assert that if the Southern Pacific
Company or any of it's agents seeks to
assist in the election of Grant they (the
legislators) will desert him in a body
and cast their votes for some candi-
date who will be acceptable to them
and the communities which they repre-
sent.
In order that he may hold his present
strength until he can wheel his prom
jsed railroad supporters into line Grant
is burning his bridges behind him and
is resorting to all sorts of subterfuges.
To-day the information was confided to
his supporters, confdentially, that on
Thursday or Friday Senator Stratton
and Assemblyman Knowland of Ala
media would change their votes from
Barnes to Grant. During the past two
days, through the fundamentally of
Grants paid agents, tn two legislat-
ors have been deluged with scores Of
kilograms from residents of Alameda
County urging them to break the dead
lock, and suggesting that the best way
of doing so would be by voting for
Grant. In many instances these tele-
grams have been followed by letters
from the senders asking the legislators
to whom they were addressed to pay no
attention to the kilograms, as they were
sent under pressure brought to bear by
men whom the writer's did not wish to
antagonize.
To show how futile are these last
efforts Of Grant to whip reluctant leg
islators into line 1t is only necessary to
state that both Stratton and Knowland
unqualifiedly assert that they will not
vote for Grant this week, and that they
have no good reason to believe that
they will ever vote for him. There are
few men in Sacramento tonight who
are not willing to make known their be-
lief that both Grant and Burns are out
of the running, and that there is now
an open field for the candidates who
have no blots on their escutcheons and
who are known to be acceptable to the
people of the State.
The suspicion is so strong that Grant
is seeking to augment his strength by
questionable overtures for a block Of
votes that one man of high standing
who has been voting for the San Diego
candidate declared to-day that he
would abandon Grants cause if the
negotiations were carried forward to
a transfer Of the block Rumors are
flying thick of a determined effort on
the part of the Grant managers to do
the boldest kind of commercial politics
TO finish the job which Green began
early last summer.
There is no Disgusting the fact that
the Burns men are apprehensive Of
danger. The cause of the sudden change
of base on the proposition to absolve