The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-01
NO PLEDGE COMES FROM CIRCUIT
CUTTING ASKS FOR ONE, BUT
PROBABLY WON'T GET 1T.
Republicans still Seek q Legal Way to
Vacsic the Nomination Of GrOut and
FOrnes-They May Have 10 vOto
Under the Citizens Union Emblem.

thC SNALVHS
r. Fulton Cutting sent letter to Comp
troller Grout yesterday telling him that
| the attitude of fusion candidates must DO
| aggressively anti-Tammany and that Y
| MIR. Grout entertained an idea that he could
| ignore the anti-Tammany issue of the
present campaign he could not consistently
| remain the fusion candidate for Comptroller.
| This letter was a result of the conference
at the Mayors house the night before when
| 1t was agreed that MIR. Grout and Fornes
must fight Tammany or get of the ticket.
MIR. Grout was asked TO send a reply
| yesterday. He intended to do so up to
dinner time last night. The letter was
written and copies were made for the press,
but after dinner Mr.. Circuit decided to sleep
on it and send it to Mr. Cutting to-day.
A conference of Republican and Citizens
Union leaders had been arranged for last
night so that if Mr.. Circuit wrote that no
would not withdraw plans might be made
to get rid of him. Mr.. Grout telephoned
to one of the leaders that he would not
make his answer until to-day, and the con-
ference was put off until this afternoon.
The Republican party has taken legal
! advice on the question Of reconvening
the convention, Withdrawing the nomina-
| tons and making new ones. As to the
legality of this procedure the lawyers were
divided.
Edward Lauterbach was asked to render
an opinion to Timothy L. Woodruff, the
permanent chairman of tho convention.
but Mr.. Woodruff had not received it when
he went to bed last night.
Ii, :,..;. L,-N
friends shat he would decline to make any
| furt her pledges. The letter as framed
yesterday afternoon CURLY told Mr.. Cutting
that he did not propose to resign any nomi-
nation which he had accepted.
When it was not given out last night Mr.
CIRCUITS friends said he was then considering
whether it would not be manlier to tell Mr.
Cutting that he construed Mr.. Cuttings
| letter as an intimation that he ought to
resign the fusion nomination, and that he
would do so Mr.. Cutting letter ran ss
! follows:
Hon. Edrord VI. Grom, Comptroller. $50
| Rroudmnp, City:
My DEAR SIR: have Just been informed
| by some of my friends that you have given
! them the impression that in the coming cam
| pagn you would not refer to msgovern-
ment Of Tnmmany Hall. nor to the disaster
| this city must inevitably suffer by the possi-
bic election of Murphys candidate for the
Mayoralty,
Surely they must have misunderstood you.
hut the subject is Of so grave n nature that
must beg you to do me the favor to write mo,
correcting or corroborating the information
I have received on this point. and giving me.
personally. a-precise statement Ok your
actual attitude. 'A-'~
The Citizens Union Is an organization wit,
positive principles and definite programme.
| II cooperates with the Republican and other
| parties that accept its fundam mental princi-
pie that the business affairs of municipal
corporations should be managed upon their
own merits, irrespective of State and national
issues" The Union opposes Tammany Hall
incidentally, but no less emphatically, be-
cause it contests our principles. and. under its
| present mana cement. maintains unchanged
tho persistent policy of the past-the ex-
ploitaton of government for personal ends.
When we offered you the nomination for
the COMPREHENSIVE this year, we did it. as
we believed, to our candidate of 1901, a man
who had not hesitated to denounce Tammany
Hall from the platform in fearless and scath-
ing terms. Had we needed to be treasured
in our belief that your attitude remained the
| same your manly letter to me accepting tho
proposition of u nomination from the anti
Tammany fusion conference would seem to
have supplied IT, -
that if Tammany Hall. with ts eyes wide
open, chose to offer you It's nomination, you
1oGep to " % and the fuson
cause would have received nothing but
| benefit.
| you intend to ignore the anti-Iammany
issue of the present campaign, an issue en-
hatieay IN the C1ens ro Union hon
| Ginning to end, you would entertain an
opinion of your obligation to our movement
so radically different, from our own that
| remain our candidate
While have been gratided to learn that
It proposes to let part Of our ticket be elected
nomination by one Of our candidates Is in
conceivable if. in any way. It involves re,
| manning silent upon what the public and
| the fusion allies regard as the foremost Issue,
the defeat OF the existing management OF
In fine, the attitude Of our candidates
must be not only Pro good government. but
aggressively antl-Inimma ny ,,,nor+,, =,
prdmptness at this juncture, and / hope to
have yopr today Yours yeerytr1ly.
1t was delivered to Mr.. Grout while he
was at lunch at the Hardware Club with
Mr. Fornes. Tho messenger had copy
| of the letter addressed to Mr.. Fornes. Mr..
| Cutting had not taken the trouble to write
] q second one TO Mr.. ForneS and this seemed
to disturb the philosophic president Of the
| Board Of Aldermen. When he was asked
| what reply he intended to send he rejoined:
| 4Why should | send reply to another
! mans letter? | got only copy"
Mr.. Grout and Mr.. Fornes spent two
| hours together coming the letter. Then
| they went to work to draw up the answer,
| that il, Mr.. CIRCUITS answer at least
| Mr.. Fornes thought that he could satisfy
| himself and every one else by writing
| statement that he would accept the Tam
| many nomination but that he thought
| Mayor Low ought to be reelected. He
understood that Mr.. Murphy was anxious
, enough to nominate him not to mind II he
| rave expression TO his personal opinion to
this extent.
| The Mayor went to Chicago AZ Pas o'clock
| TO speak at the anniversary celebration
there to-day SO Mr.. Fornes was left AS 40
Mr. Woodruff said last night that he had
! not received Mr.. Iauterhac his opinion
| but in his own mind he felt sure that the
, Republican convention could be called to-
| gether again and the nominations vacated.
| mo certificate OF nomination has Oeen
fled" said Mr.. Woodruff. land. therefore,
| the work Of the convention is not over.
The situation il this: One of the leaders Of
the fusion movement has accepted an In
dorsement from Tammany. which repre-
sents everything TO which we are opposed.
4The Republicans cannot have On their
ticket a candidate who takes an tndorse-
ment from Tanmany. Mr. CIRCUITS action
| H. ono - "a. ayhibit ions Of DOit iCal