The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-07-05
In
PARKER COLUMN
Guffey Refuses Bryan Bait and
State Swells Tide to New
Yorker.
rom a STAFF Correspondent.

st. Louis, July 5.-When Penn
1 sylvania, by a vote of 6S to 8, |
at it's caucus Monday night, |
( decided to vote for Parker, the anti
Parker forces received a body blow,
and one which may put them down
and out. Colonel Guffey, the leader
of the Pennsylvania delegation, while
confessing to strong liking for Par
! ker, had been coquetting with the
anti-Parker leaders for weeks, and
. finally the situation suggested the
possibility Of his throwing the Penn
sylvania vote to Cleveland or German.
The crisis was reached yesterday
afternoon when Bryan sent word to
4 Guffey, saying that If Pennsylvania
would vote for Pattison for three bal
/. lots, he (Bryan) would throw to Pat
\ tison as many votes as he could con-
troll. The bait was rather tempting,
but Guffey did not bite.
I This was part of a general scheme
which had in view the throwing Of
]. the votes of Maryland, West Virginia,
the District of Columbia, and, pos
z sibly, Of Idaho and Utah. to German.
1t was part Of a deep-laid plot to pre-
vent Parker from securing his maxi
I mum strength on the opening ballots.
& But the plot failed.
& First German refused to come
! to st. Louis to lead the anti
! Parker forces. Next Senator Du-
/ of such movement in the mountain
: states, and finally, Pennsylvania COM.
|. pleted the upsetting of the plan by de-
| claring for Parker, under the unit
Z vote.
Settled by Pennsylvania.
J Pennsyivania's action, in the opin-
/ ton Of many of the astute
Es1eadars, settles the presidential
/ nomination and means that Parker will
( win almost on the first ballot. This may
4, indeed be true. am far from say
ing Ii Is not. So far as last night
T showed any change in the situation,
/ 1t was a change favorable to Parker,
whose nomination is now regarded by
b many careful thinkers as being inev-
= table. Had Pennsylvania failed to
| decide in Parker's favor, the result
+ might have been disastrous for that
gentleman. To say the least, it would
have encouraged the anti-Parker
| forces and strengthened them at every
I point .-- ..,-. ..-. -..-.
The Tammany hosts, who have in
| yaded st. Louis this week, attempted
! to create a reactionary movement
! against Parker all day yesterday by
! going from hotel to hotel saying that
/ il nominated he could not carry New
York. But that was an old story.
y Murphy told 1t first during the weeks
which preceded the Albany conven-
ton, when he was endeavoring to pre-
/, vent instructions, and he has told it
many times since, to leading demo-
!. Gratis from all parts Of the country. 1t
was the last thing that was shouted in
the ears of the Pennsylvania delegates
as they were starting for their head
! quarters for last nights caucus:
Correspondents Hard Worked.
There are several hundred special
correspondents in st. Louis, represent
1ai1 w M
try, east, west, north and south, and
the most difficult part Of their work is
to write new story every day about
an old situation. All that can be said
with certainty Is that 1t looks as II
Parker would be nominated, but any
proper statement of the situation car
ries with 1t qualifying words and
phrases. ID.
This is precisely the situation Of
two and three months ago. The coun-
try is closer to it now than 1t was then.
and there is much in the way Of detail
standing out in bold relief which could
not be seen at the distance of ninety
days, but there are the same general
outlines and the detail fits into them
very tremendously.
It is a hair-trigger situation While
Parker'S nomination seems almost GER
tain, nobody Is willing to stake his
reputation on a prophecy to that eff
feet. The unexpected may easily hap
pen. +. ...
There Is no question that there are
enough unpledged and opposing votes
in the convention to accomplish Par
ker's. defeat. His closest friends
hardly deny this The task Of uniting
these votes on the common enemy OF
Parker, however, Is SO difficult as tc
suggest defeat almost before the work
Is begun.
Bryan and Hearst, aided by Senator
Stone of Missouri and some of the
other hackers of "favorite sons" have
been at work along their line for days
but what they have accomplished is
SO insignificant as to be invisible tc
the naked eye.
Gamut of Discord.
The trouble with the Parker oppo
sition is that it is made up of too many
heterogeneous and irreconcible 'ele
democratic discord. At one end o
1t stand Bryan and Hearst, with al
that they represent, and at the othe
stand such conservatives as German
Cleveland and individual members o
the delegations from New Jersey ant
Pennsylvania, while between these ex
trefnes are to be found all the vari
GUS shades of democratic belief rep
resented by the ''favorite son" states
The man who can bring these ele
mentS into accord is a genius. H
hasn't yet been found
In this situation is to be found tn
real strength Of the Parker candidac,
and IL he should finally win, as seem
likely, it will be due to the inabilit
of the men who oppose him to get to
gether.
It was believed for time that Cor
man would come to st. Louis and len