The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-26

scholarly, of fine physique and de-
voted to athletics-he played on the
johns Hopkins football team while TAX
ing his postgraduate course at that
unfversity-and he is much interested
in humanity, current events, affairs"
and politics, as he is in 1.-The humani-
ties" and the love of books. He has
Travelled extensively and knows pref
ty nearly everybody that is worth
knowing. DR.. Finley is now professor
OF politics at Princeton, and is the only
man who has filled a similar chair.
The recent proceedings at Albany
have awakened new interest in the
Hon. John Raines, leader of the Repub-
lican side of the State Senate. For
Mr.. Raines is generally understood to
be the personal representation of Unit
ed States Senator Plat, the avowed
leader of his party in the state, some
of whose plans have been disorganized
by the recently revolving state sena-
tors.
The Hon. John Raines is now the
most prominent member of the Raines
family, which at one time was very
strong in New York state politics.
There were originally five Raines
, brothers-Thomas, John, George, Will
liam and Eugene. Eugene died when
quite young, and was never in public
life; all the others have played rather
prominent parts on the state political
stage though none of them has ever
succeeded in cutting much of a figure
in national politics.
Thus the eldest of the brothers,
Thomas, was a high state official
treasurer, 1 believe-twenty-five years
ago. At the same time William, the
fourth brother. went into banking as
well as politics.
Thomas and John and William were
and are Republicans, but George, the
third brother, chose the Democratic
side, He and Thomas and William
settled in Rochester, and finally adopt
ed the law as their profession, while
John be%eme an insurance man and
dwelt in Canandaigua.
At Rochester, where he divided the
Democratic leadership with William
Purcell, editor of the Union and Ad-
vertiser, George easily dominated and
was sent repeatedly to the State Sen
ate, though the city and its vicinity
were normally Republican. For years
his course was constantly onward and
all the signs were that he would be-
! come national figure.
Then came the rise of Grover
Cleveland. He first became Mayor of
Buffalo, then Governor of the state
and then was talked of as candidate
for the presidency. For some reason
Purcell was against Cleveland, while
George Raines favored him. 1t SEEM
ed necessary to Cleveland's success
that the Rochester delegation should
be for him and George Raines under
! took to deliver the goods"
This was no easy task for the anti
Cleveland men had at least as strong
a hold on the Democratic party as had
Raines. The outcome was a double
convention held in the City Hail. At
| one end George Raines acted as chair
man, with his followers facing him. At
the other end a man named Rowley,
the local county Judge, acted as chair
man with the Cleveland men fac
ing him. Pandemonium reigned. The
confusion was indescribable. No one
/ could hear anything but a conglomerate
/ volume of inarticulate noise.
After a while the half deafened re-
! porters were handed slips of paper by
| the rival chaiTmen, bearing the names
| of the men selected delegates by each
| faction to the state convention. Ulti-
/ n1ately II was found that Cleveiand's
nomination would go through without
the help Of the Raines Rochester DEL
egation, and II was thrown out.
So was George Raines, and though
he has been locally prominent in the
law ever since. he cuts little figure in
politics in these latter days. When