The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1902-05-21
THE P. o. CONTEST.
Apparently Narrowed Down to a
Fine Point Between Blanchard
and Culberson.

from that volcano, the San An
gelo post office contest, and the
prospects seem to indicate that
there will be a regular Mt. Pc
lee eruption ere long, which will
blow the cap off and bury some
body's aspirations deep, deep in
a bed of political lava and ashes.
The present incumbent's COM
mission expireson the oath, inst,
next Saturday, and, as far as
"the powers that be" are con-
cerned, the aspect is certainly
bright IN his favor. But politics
is "freaky." The old jade cuts
some queer capers sometimes and
plays some most ludicrous pranks,
vide the recent Tom Green coun-
ty Democratic primary, and some
of those engaged in it, after the
ball is over and the smoke of bat
tie has cleared off, can, with diff
Guilty tell "where they're at"
The present incumbent may be
said to stand on his official record,
"a strong card at headquarters,
officially. The other aspirant
may be said to be safe in the
arms Of" the endorsement of
the county organization, rein
forced by that of the chairman of
the senatorial district.
But, there is q third party, a
middleman, to be considered, and
he is host to be reckoned with
by both parties. This third par
| ty is no less a parsonage than the
Hon. Mr.. r. B. Hawley, ex-con-
gresham from the Galveston dis
trict, and by virtue of his demon
strated prowess, through the ex-
ercise of which he has repeatedly
encircled his noble brow with a
halo of glory on the political field
of the cloth of gold,
grand marshal of the pudding
brigade and chief dispenser of
the pie. In spite of all this, how
ever, kind of "sword of Damo-
Giles" hangs over his caput, sus-
pended by an invisible thread,
attached to nowhere, and he
stands between two fires, ina box,
as it were, and not an ice box at
that. His chief, the excellent
and honorable "Teddy," who
"has teeth" by the way, and some-
times shows them, favors the
present inc umbent. 1t is but
natural, then, that Mr.. Hawley
should follow suit in the likes and
dislikes Of his superior in pie mat
tiers, and hence it is understood
that he, too, favors Mr.. Blanch-
ard. But, it seems that Mr.. Haw-
ley, too, is amenable to the stat
ute of "you tickle me and I'll
tickle you," and is up against
the proposition that kissing goes
by favors." Unless he commands
influence with the faithful and
the organization, the jig's up with
him and he can't do business for
Mr.. Roosevelt in his coming bout
with that bright stellar formation
in the political armament, now
nearing perihelion, and known
by the astrologers, prophets and
sooth sayers as Marcus Aurelius
Hanna-a meteor now flashing
through republican skies with
promise of hitting the next re-
publican National Conven-
ton amidships with a dull
thud and awful crash, that
will cause wide spread and
great disaster-perhaps, in the
words of the martyred Rathbone,
of Cuban postal fame, "pull
down the columns of the temple. !"
Mr.. Hawley seems to appreciate
his position and has been, it is
understood, chuckling the local
organization under the chin and
endeavoring to lead them from the
error of their way by an effort to
persuade them to ''renig" on their
endorsement of Culberson-like-
wise the same, the senatorial chair
man. But they are said to be i'm
movable. What they did was in
the interest of party harmony,