The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-03-04
"DEMS" ARE IN DUMPS
None of the Men Mentioned as Candi-
dates Arouse Enthusiasm.
Tammany Is Not Heart and Soul
for Grover Cleveland.
Rank and File will Not Get Together
Upon The Issues.
Leaders Are Quite Discouraged and
Outlook Is Dark.

Chicago, Feb. 27.-Walter Wellman, il
la Washington special to The Record
Herald, says:
Tammany is not at heart for ex-Presi
dent Cleveland for the Democratic nomi
nation, but is using Mr.. Cleveland's
name as mask for its real intentions,
so says a Democratic senator who re
Gently spent several days in New York
This senator added: "Tammany is
| more likely to be for Justice Parker
than for any one else, in the end. But
up to this time Leader Murphy has not
been able to reach an understanding
with Justice Parker as to the future
and without such an understanding
the willy leader will not commit himself
"Tammany people do not intend to
have such an experience as came to
them when they nominated and elected
Mr.. Cleveland and afterward were left
out in the cold in the distribution of
federal patronage. Tammany's great
fear of Parker is that he is too much
under the influence of David B. Hill. I
found that most of the leaders of Tam
many hall regard Justice Parker as the
logical candidate, but they do not in
tend to buy a pig in poke" and before
they come out for him there must be a
distinct and definite understanding. In
my opinion this opinion will be express
ed in good time, though you can never
tell about these New York politicians"
Democrats Are Divided.
Among Democratic senator's there is
good deal of talk about the absence of
all concentration of sentiment within
their party as to the presidential nomi-
nation. The national convention is only
a little more than four months distant,
and yet there are no signs that the
Democratic masses are uniting or begin
ming to unite upon any candidate. The
worst of it is, senators say, the Demo
cratic hosts do not appear to be taking
much interest. While there is a wildly
prevalent notion that Mr.. Cleveland
would accept if nominated, and also
very general belief that he would be the
strongest candidate that could be put up,
there is no enthusiasm for him; no de-
mand for his nomination.
German is pretty nearly out of it.
Olney does not appear to grow. The
Parker boom, which was so much talked
of few months ago, is halting and foil
ed to make Roadway. 1t is so with all
the so-called candidates. There is no
responsiveness among the rank and file.
Democratic leaders here wonder what
has come over the spirit of the dreams
of the old party. They say the prevail
ing apathy, which looks almost like
hopelessness, is something beyond their
comprehension. The only aspirant for
the Democratic nomination who seems
to have vitality and push is Willie
Hearst
Leaders Are Discouraged.
Nor is this the worst of it, in the
opinion of the Democratic leaders. They
are themselves discouraged. This is not
due altogether to the failure of party
opinion to concentrate upon candidates.
It is in large part due to the failure of
the leaders themselves to get together
on an issue. The party has found him
not. 1t has been seeking the issue
and has not discovered it. Mr.. German
and some of his followers thought they
could find the issue in the Panama bust
ness, and that if they could not actually
defeat the treaty they might at least
emphasize their charge that President
Roosevelt has acted with so much rash
ness in that affair as to prove their
contention that he is an unsafe" man.
But this hope was dashed to pieces
when the Democrats of the senate di-
vided into two equal parts on the treaty.
Then Mr. German started his campaign
enlargement of the navy, and in the house
today Democratic members openly re-
pudiated that policy and declared in
favor of large appropriations for naval
enlargement. John Sharp Williams, the
leader of the minority of the house, has
declared more than once in favor of
making the Democratic issue tariff re-
form and nothing but tariff reform; this
has aroused no enthusiasm among the
faithful. Amid all these discouraging
questions the Democratic leaders here
refuse to be absolutely cast down. If
nothing else occurs to help them out
they say they have an abiding faith that
before election day President Roosevelt
will make sonnet blunder which will turn
the tide against the Republican party.