Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-30
THE OHIO CAMPAIGN
A United States Senatorship the
Background.
JOHN R. M'LEAN'S AMBITION
Why He Now Becomes a Candi-
date for Governor.
M'LEAN'S AMBITION
FORA Err AND HANNA

| From Staff Correspondent
| CLEVELAND. Ohio. August -. 1929
| One might think that a senator was to
| be chosen in Ohio this fall instead of
| governor There is almost much said
! about the nominations for the legislature
| as concerning the candidates for state Of
fcers. Members of the legislature are to
| be chosen but their terms will be up be
| fore Senator Forak5r's successor is named.
The custom however, in both parties is to
| renominatc these members. so that those
| who are elected this year are pretty Ger
tain to be in the legislature of IDOL and
| to have the chance of voting for United
| States senator. Two years does not seem
| u long time to wait for that office. There
| have been distinguished Ohioans who have
| waited for twenty years patiently, and
| then have been disappointed.
A Senatorship the Background.
That the background of this falls cam
| paign for state offices is the senatorshp is
| shown from the details given regarding
| local conventions everywhere. At the
| democratic conventions there Is generally
a contest between the Mclean and the
| anti-McLean factions to name the cand;-
date for the legislature, while the republic
! can conventions are described a victory
| for the Foraker or the Hanna factions, as
|
be misleading The republican campaign
| managers in Columbus who We're selected
| by Senator Hanna, have given out that
| there can be no factional disagreements
among the republicans over legislative
| nominations. because when the time comes
no one will be against Senator Foraker.
| The emotional senator from Cincinnati ac-
| ctptS these assurances. He will throw
himself into the state campaign heartily
| under the direction of the executive cont
| mittee which Is not made up of his
| friends In the meantime. his followers
| keep on fighting for their own legislative
| candidates, sometimes with success and
| sometimes with failure, though generally
| they seem to be successful. The Bushnell
| Kurtz state administration faction is at
| times heard FROM and is classed with For
| aher, but that is only because of antagon-
ism to the influences which controlled the
| republican nomination for governor. 1t
| would be unwise for Senator Foraker TO
| trust his fortunes to these old allies, who
| sCured on him because of his failure to
fight the national administration. If Bush
| nell and KurtZ should retain the shadow
of power In the legislature of 1901 their
| members would just likely not be
| against Foraker. This is in spite of the
latter's action in giving publicity to his de-
mand that Senator Hanna present Kurt
| with clean bill of health, politically and
| morally.
In Eanna's Home.
Here in Senator Hanna's home there is
little doubt that a Foraker legislative
| ticket will be nominated and probably elect
ed, though it will not bear the Foraker
| label The fusion of the faction led by for
| mer Mayor Mckisson with the faction led
| by Senator Hanna's former lieutenant a
politician named Holcomb, leaves the true
blue Hannaites outside the breastworks
| The Holcomb delegates were admitted to
! the state convention. They gained recog-
| milton the regulars. By fusing with the
| Mckissonites they get control of all the To-
cal party machinery, and the republicans
| who oppose them become boilers. Senator
| Hanna has loyal county central commit
tee which has not given. up the struggle
| 1t holds primaries and makes known that
! if the Mckisson- H lcomb combine does not
name good men. it will have candidates of
| its own in the field. The combine is like
| all institutions of that sort. 1t will name
| some good men. but its candidates will be
| machine politicians who will do its bidding
| When they are nominated the Hanna coun-
| ty central committee which claims to rep
| resent higher politics may threaten an indie
| pendent ticket, but the threat cannot be
carried out at the polls without endanger-
| ing the state ticket. the election of which
is of infinitely more concern to Senator
| Hanna and the national administration
IMAM the control OF dozen members of the
legislature. So Senator Foraker is likely to
| fare quite well in the home of Senator
| Hanna.
| The Democratic Situation
The senatorial background is brought out
more clearly from an understanding of
| the democratic situation. The figure of
John R. Mclean is thrown on it promi-
| nently. The senatorship explains the mys-
| terry of Mr.. Mclean seeking the nomina-
| ton for governor In the scramble for
| delegates to the state convention his man
| ayers never overlook the trffiing county
| nominations which include candidates for
| representative in the state legislature. To
| fill the seat once occupied by Allen G.
| thurman and George H. Pendleton is Mr.
| McLean's ambition. To realize that am
| bition he is ready to enter upon a state
| campaign which will make heavy draughts
Oh his bank account, will cause his politi-
| cal record for a period of twenty years to
be raked over, give enemies who have been
| waiting that long Ito get even their
| chance, subject him to personal attacks
| under which he is to vince and all
| with the certainty that he cannot be
| elected governor, though some other demo-
| crat might win. But with the senatorshfp
| in the distance he is willing to travel this
rocky road.
Some months ago the notion was current
| that the first step toward insuring demo-
| cratic successor to Senator Foraker was
| for the democrats to capture Ohio this fall
| That was the idea when the movement
| started for the nomination of Colonel Kill
| bourne the Columbus merchant and manu-
| facturer. 1t was thought that he could
| make a quiet, non-aggressive campaign,
| which would keep the republicans off their
| guard and possibly enable the democrats
| to burrow their way into the state house
| at Columbus. This was what the republic
| cans most feared. But if the kilbourne
! movement succeeded it would establish
| new controlling power in the democratic
| party and would build up a machine which
| might enable them to name the senator
| With Allen Thurman and others of his
| enemies directing the Kilbourne forces it
was certain that John r. Mclean would
| be neither beneficiary nor Iegatee. There
| upon Mr.. Mclean became a candidate for
| governor. The struggle for control of the |
| democratic machinery begun which will |
| reach it's elimination at the GAINESVILLE con-
! vention. The theory of the Mclean move |
| is that it Is better to be defeated with the |
I party machinery in your own hands than |
| to win with the party machinery in the |
! hands of your enemies. Neither the theory
| nor it's application is new in Ohio, nor is |
| it limited to the democrats. Ohio republi- |
| cans have sometimes given illustrations Of |
it..