Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-08
Troubles Of the Republicans in
Illinois,
TIE FAENER-CULLOM FIGHT
United States Senatorship involved
in Nomination for Governor.
CONVENTION POSTPONED
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

CHICAGO. May 8. 1900.
Illinois republicans are in a bad snarl. The
trouble is all their own fault. The only
question Of concern outside the state is how
far the family row may endanger the pros
pect Of the national ticket and on governor
| and the legislature. which is to choose the
successor to Senator CuIlom. The factions.
though bitter. are no further apart than is
| usual in a struggle of this kind, and none
of them can afford to take a puliback stand
in the campaign. The future Of several po-
Htical leaders Is at stake.
Nominally, the contest Is between Gov.
John r. Tanners state administration and
the followers of Senator Cullom. However.
there are many side Issues that this line
| cannot be clearly drawn. For instance sew
eral of the representatives in Congress who
are hostile to Tanner and want his ma
| chine broken, are Indifferent and even quiet
ly antagonistc to Cullom. They want a
chance to go to the Senate themselves.
They destroy their chance if they throw
their influence for the senator against the
governor. Their opportunity would come If
the two rivals went down together. Hence.
Messrs. Cannon. Hopkins, Hit, and one or
two other members who look upon them
selves as dark horses are holding to their
| attitude Of benevolent neutrality and giving
close attention 10 their congressional dis
tricts. They may have a little sympathy
for Senator Cullom when they meet him In
Washington, but 1T goes no further.
The State Convention.
The republican state convention will meet
at Peoria on May and 0. 1t will name
| the candidates for governor and other state
offices. and the delegates-at-large to the
national convention. If Senator Cullom can
| muster strength enough 1t will also indorse
| him for reelection to the Senate. II the
votes are lacking no mention will be made
or this subject and the nators friends
will seek to steer their course SO that his
chances before the legislature will not be
hurt.
The convention will be composed of 1 ,5s7
delegates. and will be as nearly a mass con-
Vention OF the republicans of Illinois as can
be gathered together.
The issue which was to be fought out be-
| tween Cullom and Tanner may be shifted
a little. Months back, when it was thought
the governor might have full control of the
convention, the purpose was to make an
end of Cullom The Tanner-Cullom feud
was likely to become a vendetta. 1t was,
| like all feuds between old friends and allies,
excessively bitter. Tanner. when mining his
way as a political leader in southern Hi
nois. originally had belonged to the anti
Cullom faction. but after time he became
| the senator's chief lieutenant. Then he
branched out and by a combination with the
chicago politicians got the nomination for
governor without Cullom's aid
After his election It was charged that
Governor Tanner was working to succeed
Cullom in the Senate, and this is not i'm
proba BILE. The senator was warned that IL
Tanner became governor a second time he
would use the place a stepping stone
for the senatorship. No one could appreciate
the temptation to utilize the governors office
to further senatorial ambition more than
Senator Cullom. The people of Illinois saw
the temptation, and when they framed their
present state constitution they put In a
clause which aimed to make the governor
Of the state ineligible for the United States
Senate during his term of office. But the
United States Senate would not be bound
by state constitutions in judging the quail
| fcations of its members and when Gov
ernor Cullom became Senator Culom its
doors were swung wide open for him.
That was sixteen or seventeen years ago,
but the senator had not forgotten his own
yielding to temptation when the talk Of
Governor Tanners senatorial ambition be-
gan to be bruited abroad. Nevertheless. the
senator and his supporters always have de-
clared that they never sought to put a
hindrance in the way of the governors re-
nomination. and that they were willing to
take the chances Of the senator's reelection
Their program was simply Cul1om for Sem
ator again and Tanner for governor again.
They said that the senator could not be
asked to come out openly and support any
candidate for governor though a mutual
understanding might be reached which
would be advan tageous to both without in
terfering with the other Illinois republicans
who wanted to get before the people as
future.