The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-25
WHAT'S UPY SGRAHOGA'S CRY,
DELEGATES DEWILDERED, FOR
40 BOSS rs AROUND.

party Judge con on the shelf and q nlsty
pudding Being stirred Former Boss
ana AIDE. Are on the Fence 10 watch
the Procession, but There 10 None.
SARATOGA. Sept. 2i.-"what's doing2"
Incurred the first delegate to Alight from
. train at the Saratoga station on Sunday.
What's doing?" was the first query OF
the delegates who got here yesterday.
What's doing?" was Intercepted by
The later arrivals this morning, and to this
universal inquiry there was no satisfactory
rssponse. All hands, from Herbert Par
sons down, were waiting for a single word
from Higgins and Higgins had one home
70 ask his wife. The entire day was spent
nv - out Of every 100 delegates waiting
Tor hat one word. All the one hundredth
persoAs, and a few more taken into their
confidence, knew not long after the TOT
oI noon that Gov. Higgins had returned
70 Albany from Olean with a feminine veto
70 his standing again for the G~ubernatorial
once. and also that the Governor for various
reasons had decided not to override that
veto,
The insiders, such as Mr.. Parsons, Super
indendent Of Public Works Franchot,
superintendent Of Banking Milburn, ex-
superintendent Of Insurance Hendricks,
and Senator William Tully had becn almost
certain tina Higgins would decline the
nomination, but even 80 they would not
admit that they were able to see the next
step ahead after this d~eclination should
be announced.
The corridors and parlors Of the United
States Hotel bore a certain resemblance to
n beehive when the queen bee has incau-
tiouslv stayed out over night. There were
consultations in corners, furtive put excited
uhisperings close to ears, stealthy scurry-
ings to and fro, protracted talks over long
distance telephones. Mr.. Parsons himself
had one telephone talk and the news soon
went around that the man at the other end
OF the wire was speaking from Oyster Bay.
The few wise ones were not long in hearing
that the Presidential foot had been put
down hard on the suggestion Of Timothy
l.. Woodruf's name and that the mention
Of Lieut. Gov. VI. Linn Bruoe's name was
not greeted with more enthusiasm. Soon
the Hughes boom had a recrudescence Of
windy suspiration that was not long in being
traced TO Mr.. P~arsons's telephone talk.
oDELL WATCHES THE CONFUSION.
All this turmoil and hubbub was watched
calmly, almost stolidly, by a burly man,
with grizzled hair and a stubby mustache.
from an easy chair in the corner of the big
hotel writing room. Occasionally some
man wandered over to his corner to speak a
word or two, quite casually. For the most
part the burly man sat there in solitude
smoking a long, black cigar and studying
the antics of the queenless bees in the hotel
lobbies. Occasionally he smiled a grim,
phiIosophic smile and lighted another cigar.
His name was Benjamin b. Odell, Jr., and
be was engaged in passing his last few
hours as chairman of the Republican State
committed.
Over in another corner OF the hotel, open
ing upon the courtyard promenade. was a
big room. 1t contained a few bare desks
and several placards reading: -Headquar-
teys n. Y. County Republican Committee.
Otherwise it was empty. IL was the head
quarters Of the Republican county COM
mittee in name only.
LUDGEoN ON SHELF.
Had Odell and Quigg beaten Parsons at
last Tuesdays primaries it would AVE been
the real thing instead Of the hollow mockery
its own placards and its emptiness stamped
it. Only a few doors Town the promenade
was to be found the genuine headquarters
Of the county committee, and the cottage
Of Herbert Parsons was not far on. Yes,
there was no doubt about it, no doubt
whatever. The ~bludgeon had been laid on
the shelf. 1t was alteady gathering mould
and with every passing moment getting to
look more and mole like the stuffed club Of
vaudeville.
1t was a brutal weapon remarked one
political philosopher who had noted all
these things, and I'm glad il is on the shelf
] hope il will never come dow again, but
IN its place we nave about seven candy
canes welded by seven individuals, all Of
whom are more or less inept and uncon-
vincing.-
Still another political sharp put it more
tersely when asked how the situation looked
70 him.
1t amt a situation, y said he; it's a hssty
pudding"
The blud Reou was on the shelf, but its
relegation TO retirement was not followed
by all that demonstration OF a free and
untrammelled electorate, confident OF its
powers and intent on us ing them TO the
full, that many optimists had hoped to see.
There we're no arriving trainloads OF dele
gates from all over that State, each group
with it's own particular ~favorite son whom
1t had resolved to push for his sterling
qualities of mind and OF heart and for
whom it would stand in convention to the
last gasp. There were no c~aucusing Of the
clans. no enthusiastic rush in any direction
whatever, no admiring groups gathered
about hopeful candidates.
BRACKET THE u CANDIDATE AROUND,
There was, indeed, only one man who
openly avowed himself a candidate. The
single exception was Senator Edgar Truman
Bracket OF Saratoga, and he described
himself as being merely in a receptive con-
dition as regards the nomination. He
was making ne canvass for It. II it came
he would take it-that was all. At the
sam time he was losing no reasonable
opportunity to make " clear that he would
not decline to be Governor IL he had the
chance.