The San Francisco call., 1899-04-01
Al TGELD NOW
HAS THE SWING
His Faction Is Duly
Recognized.
Special Dispatch to The Call.


CHICAGO, March 31.-The Demo-
cratic National Committee to-day Off
cially recognized the Altgeld faction in
the mayoralty campaign as the regu-
lar Democratic organization. The press
bureau of the committee, which issues
a weekly bulletin to Democratic news
papers Of the country, in the issue for
this week has an article on the Chi
cago situation" which asserts that the
late Democratic city convention was
Democratic in name only. The article
| declares the convention failed to an
nounce allegiance to the Chicago plat
form, and that all real Democrats of
Chicago are supporting John P. Alt
| geld. 1t then proceeds to fay Mayor
Harrisons administration in detail.
Eight hundred Democratic papers
take the press bureau service. Each
week 1t sends out such literature as has
received the approval of the National
Committee.
Governor Altgeld's managers to-day
received proofs of the matter sent out
| for the issue of April 1. Later in the
| day they issued the following:
| What Democrats throughout the coun-
| try think of the merits of the controversy
between Altgeld and Harrison IS correctly
stated in the Democratic press bulletin, Is
sued from the press bureau of the Demo-
cratic National Committee. The bulletin
! is printed every Saturday in the interest
! of Democratic papers all over the coun-
! try. What it says of the Chlcago sltua-
! ton may be taken as official. Under the
! caption of 'The Chicago situation, IN lts
issue of April l. it says Harrison Demo
| Gratis of Chicago, in convention assembled
failed to announce allegiance to the ma
! tional platform of 1896. This, for the rea'
son that they owe no allegiance to It. Tc
/ tell the truth, there were no real Demo
| Gratis in the convention. 1t was Demo
! cratic in name only"
All the real Democrats of Chicago are
supporting John P Altgeld, who Is run
| ming on the national platform, ana, al
though elected as a Democrat. Harrison
! has never done anything while in office tc
! entitle him to the honor of being called
Democrat. He no sooner got into thf
mayoralty than he placed himself under
| the protection of Mark Hanna S Chicago
agents, Editors Kohlsaat and Lawson
and, as a result, the doors or the CITY
Hall have for two years been closed tc
real Democrats.
The city of Chicago has been badly gov
erned in other ways. A man without any
! strength himself, and with no vestige OF
tration of affairs, with but one or two
notable exceptions. surrounded himself
with lot of low-down ward politicians
| including ex-convicts, who nave peen
! plundering the city right and left 1t is
stated that at least a million of the peo-
! pies money has found its way into the
! pockets of Harrison's henchmen.
Governor Altgeld declined to talk
about the statement, saying it spoke
for itself.
w. H. ("Coin') Harvey said it was
a remarkable statement
This seems to come very close to
Chairman jones' he said. II have no
doubt it expresses Mr.. Jones' senti-
ments."
Among politicians the manifesto was
regarded as fixing the stamp of irreg-
ularity on the Altgeld organization. 1t
places Governor Altgeld's party in po-
| sition to be recognized as the regular
Democratic organization by the next
Democratic National Convention, and
! Democrats who want to get into the
convention from Illinois will have to be
with the Ex-Governor.