Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1901-06-21
G. r. RICHARDSON.
What is Being Done
AMONG THE
Politicians Of the State.
Special to the Leader.

Special to the Leader.
Columbus. o., June 20.-It is quite
within the possibilities that Walter L.
Ritchie, of Lima, the ablest of the poll
tical lieutenants of the late Senator
Calvin S. Brice, will be brought out as
a dark horse for Governor at the Dem
ocratic State Convention.
Ritchie is not the only dark horse
mentioned. Judge Abe Patrick, who
would be most active candidate today
were it not for his feeling that he had
reached too great an age to undertake
an arduous campaign, urged Congress
man James A. Norton to enter the
race Dr. Norton emphatically de-
clined but that he was approached on
the subject at all is a bit of evidence
showing the feeling against Colonel
Kilbourne the leading candidate, is
growing, and that a hunt for a new
candidate is in progress.
ZIMMERMAN'S TALK HAZY.
John L. Zimmerman, the Springfield
candidate, came here today to witness
the dedication of the new home of the
Columbus Elks and talked of his can
didacy in a hazy and indefinite way
to which newspaper readers of his in
terviews have become accustomed
Those opponents of Kiibourne who
are not in alliance with Tom Johnson,
and whose work is still going on in
secret, still doubt the probability of the
opposition uniting on Zimmerman
Nor do these men regard KilbOurne's
organization as too strong to be beaten
in spite of his immense lead in the
number OF instructed delegates. They
say this organization looks very pretty
on paper but it is not ironclad or even
coherent. These men ought TO know,
for some of them are nominally enlist
intimately acquainted with Colonel
Kilbourne, yet they believe that he is
not the man to make a winning cam
paign. They recognize the existence
of a strong sentiment for him through
out the State, but assert that this SEN
timent is without substantial basis.
They doubt his ability to do himself
good in a speaking campaign, and his
labor record, they say, is anything but
impeccable
OPPOSITION IS UNCERTAIN.
This opposition may or may not ma
terialize in the convention. 1t is not
disposed to play with Tom Johnson or
it will be against Kilbourne, unless the
eve of the convention finds the Colum-
bus candidate too strong to be tackled.
If the Kilbourne lines are not drawn
taut, ana if the arithmetic OF Colonel
William A. Taylor, the Kilbourne pro-
phet, is found to be in error, Walter
Ritchie may be sprung. He is wonder
fully strong in the old Brice strong
hold, the Northwest. He secretly
but effectively worked for McLean's
nomination two years ago, and Mclean
could not afford to affect to have for
gotten this service.
The only stumbling block is that he
was lukewarm in the 1896 campaign.
But so was Zimmerman, and the only
defense of Kilbourne's party record
that year was an opportune sore
throat
The secret opposition to Kilbourne
is keeping all its eyes fixed on the
struggle between Kilbourne and Lentz
to organize the Franklin County Cen
trail Committee on Saturday. Should
is be heralded throughout the State
that Kilbourne had been unable to con-
troll his own county organization, this
opposition will feel safe in coming out
into the open, and attacks on the Kill
bourne forces will be made all along
the line.