The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-06-18
TAR HEELS ARB THERE.
The Colored Delegates
Are Out in Force.
One OF Grants Old Third Term
GUARDS.
Dolliver Came Along
With Own Boom.
Interesting Gossip Of the Great
Republican Convention.
rsrEeIAL 40 THE fREss.l


cannot be said that there Is much stir
or excitement about the prelimlnaries
One who arrived in Philadelphia with
the head Of the main column on Saturday
would not have perceived signs of things
very unusual in the Quaker city. The
whole area affected with the convention
symptoms was about 200 yards Of Broad
street, near enough to the great city hall
to lie almost at the feet of the great
bronze statue of William Penn on the tall
and graceful tower. This is the region of
the hotets and ut the hotels are the dele
cations of this various states and the
theatre of the wire pulling. The ten
story hotel Walton was and is the center
of the greatest interest. In the large
assembly room on its tenth floor the
Republican national committee has been
sitting determining the rights of those
delegates from states where fractional
fights In the party have resulted in con-
tested delegations. An express elevator
shooting up the whole ten stories without
stopping at intermediate landings, car
ried up and down those who awaited the
deliberations of the committee. Stepping
into the elevator one soon realized that
most of his fellow passengers were colored
brethren from the South. II Is princi-
pally from the South that these contests
came. In most of those states the
Republican party puts up no fight at the
elections, but the leaders intend to be
around at the national conventions so as
to establish their right to share In the
offices when the Republican voters of the
North have carried the party TO victory.
The contest for seats in the convention
are the great political battles and as they
win or loss they may hope or dispair
when the piurus of victory sso diss- ~
uted. With these southern leaders who
lead for Office and not for..vi' tory area few
men who are real leaders and win vic
tories at the polls. Thus in the crowd
who awaited while the national commit
tee decided contests were two Republican
congressman, Aldrich of Alabama, and
Hawley of Texas. They are both white
Republicans and the work hard for the
party. George II. White OF North Caro-
lima is another man who works for votes,
and has won his seat in Congress, lie
is colored man, but was not In the
number of colored men who, at the
Hotel Walton, proclaimed that they We're
"Tar Heels"
There were also some oil d stagers
among these walters at the doors of the
committee, back as we'll as white. One
of them was Il. T. Allan of Illinois, who
proudly took from his pocket huge. bronze
medal, on one side of which was medal
lion of Gen. Grant, while on the other
was legend showing t hat the possessor
was one of the immortal 300 delegates of
the old guard who stood by Gen. Grant
to the end in the effort to nomin ate him
for third term. After the convention
Conklin, Logan and Don Cameron had
these medals cast and distributed to the
faithful as mementoes. Conklin and
|. ogan are now dead and Don Cameron
retired from politics is devoting his
wealth and leisure to the perfection of a
typewriter which shall write upon the
pages of book.
The work of the national COMMITTEES
was most engrossing, and one having
business with any of them was not only
told that he could not see them but alsC
that no cards would be taken in to them
Occasionally Mark Hanna would eom'
outside the door and talk to some promi
nent man who would urge upon him a
| favorite idea.
The Dolliver boom was earliest in thu
field of the vice presidential race. Oh
the oppo site side of the street from th'
Walton and little nearer City hall i
the Stratford hotel. There the Iowans
had headquarters, and there was Dolli
yer in person 1t was rather risk
thing for vice presidential candidate t
come along with his own boom, but Mr.
Dolliver is both handsome and persuasive
and thought he could do himself good
With him came Gov. Shaw of Iowa ant
many politicians of the state.
The Massachusetts, headquarters wer
in a hotel near the Walton, ON the sam
side of Broad street. The friends of Mr.
Long did not get to work so early as die
the western men, but they were soon IL
full activity, and making good headwa,
for their eminent candidate.
But the real crowds were at the Walto
at first and have been there since. o.
the main floor opening from the otfic
area by large double doors, is grea
room with ante rooms. A huge sigi
over the door and the excelsior coat {
arms indicated that this was the Ne'
York headquarters. Senator Pratt was i
town at the head of the New York del
, egation, with Depew. Roosevelt, odel
and others in his train. But the grea
New York boss was not seen much a
these headquarters. In the seclusion