The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-04
FIGHT FOR DECENCY IN NEW YORK STATE Campaign in Which Party Lines
 Are Being Smashed HUGHES AGAINST HEARST Many Democrats to Support the Re- publican andldate-Nominatio
 of Hearst Murphys Revenge
 On Mcclellan.
HUGHES AGAINST HEARST
BY sEwELL HAeeARD.

l
 New York, October S.--(Special)-Nev | York is in the first lap of political cam paign without precedent in this state. Il | is not fight of the republican party against the democratic party. Party lines have been smashed and stripped of al political issues, it is a battle for the SUI premacy of decency.
 The campaign follows what may hf called an elimination race-for lack of a better term-which was also most re- markable The elimination race was end ed when last week the republicans nomi- mated for governor Charles E. Hughes well known throughout the country as chief counsel of the legislative committee that uncovered the noisome methods of the life insurance companies, and when the democrats nominated William Ran dolph Hearst, yellow journal editor, sem sationalist and chronic office-seeker.
 Had both parties devoted months of search in the effort to find two men more dissimilar they could not have succeeded better. And had they planned purposely to arrive at their nominations by meth ods totally different they could not have been more successful.
 But the story should be told from the beginning. month ago there were sew eral candidates seeking the republican nomination for governor, among them Frank Mayland Higgins, the present gov- ernor, and the conqueror of Senator Platt; B. B. Odell, Jr., and Samuel E. Quigg, the trio of republican bosses. The name of Hughes had been mentioned, but his boom having been brought forward by Odell and Quigg, aroused little enthu- siasm.
 At that time 1t seemed that the repub- licans would renominate Higgins or his man Bruse, who is at present lieutenant governor, neither of whom was looked upon as a strong enough man for the crisis that faced the party.
 While the republicans were in this po- sition the conservative. democrats were foundering around trying to find a man to defeat Hearst. who had kept himself alive politically by crying fraud after the mayoralty election in which he gave Mayor Mcclellan a very close shave Hearst had organized a party of his own, the Independence league, but at the same time had gone about getting votes in the democratic state convention in the most | ties of this state, which Is to buy them.
 Jerome Picked to Beat Him.
 Hearst was making such good progress 1 that the better element of the party, be- 1 coming alarmed, called on William Trav- i CTS Jerome. the district attorney of New ] York county, to become a candidate for l governor. He consented, and with him as l their candidate the party leaders thought 1 that they had made impossible the nomi- 1 nation of Hearst. If Hearst should, in | some unforeseen way, be successful they l thought that Jerome would have already aroused enough enthusiasm tq make hin 1 a formidable independent candidate-for ] midable enough to so split the vote that 1 Hearst would have no chance of election ! They were absolutely certain that one or the other of their plans would go l through.
 But there was one element in the cam. l paign that they had not taken into con- l sidera tion-the thirst of Charles F. Mur- phy, the boss of Tammany Hall. for ven. geance In fact, there Is only one man ir i the world for whom Murphy holds more bitter hatred. That man Is Mayor George | B. Mcclellan, and Hearst owes his nomi- l nation to the feud between the Mayor an6 l the Tammany boss.
 l Tammany Hall made Mcclellan wha he Is politically, and Charlie Murphy 1 though he Is called and is dressed-uI l ruffian, had more to do with the making than any other one man. For years Me Clellan had been sent to Congress iron Tammany district. He accomplished nothing brilliant, but kept himself soit with the organization by obeying it' orders. The best that can be said of hi! record in Congress is that 1t was inof fensive.
 It was man with just such a recort that Murphy knew should be the Tam many candidate for mayor four years ago Murphy found his man in Mcclellan anC he was nominated and elected. The mayo and his master got on well together dur ing his first administration
 After Mcclellan had been nominated second time he saw that he could no win without throwing off the yoke o bossism He declared on the stump tha if elected mayor he would be no man man and he has since proved that h. was sincere Even before the beginnin, of his second term 1t was known tha Boss Murphy's recommendation was tn worst recommendation an office seeke could obtain.
 Then came the open breach McClel Ian began removing the Murphy mel that already held office and joined witt the Sullivans-Big Tim and Little Tim to dethrone the Tammany chief.
 Murphy's Chance for Revenge.
 For a time, to use Senator Platti phrase, Murphy chewed the cud of re flection, In Murphy's eye Mcclellan wa a traitor. He had thrown down the or ganization that elected him and had spa upon the man that made his nomination possible He wanted revenge, but h did not act hastily. He bided his time
 The time came when Hearst entered tn race for governor. The two men mad a deal Hearst's reward was to be tn democratic nomination for governor an, Murphy's revenge on Mcclellan, wh was for Jerome and, of course, agains Hearst, first last and all the time. Ther was no sentiment mixed in their barter ing one had what the other wante and they traded on that basis. It doubtful if they ever had word wit each other in regard to the matter Tn negotiations were conducted by their rep l resentatives.
 The only outward sign that an agree ment had been made was that the Hears newspapers suddenly ceased their re morseless attacks on the Tammany boss After the mayoralty election the America and the Journal had pictured Murphy i convict stripes almost every day and re peatedly announced that they would neve give up the fight on him until he wa behind the bars. Bourke Cockrar Murphy's chief orator, they called 9Th Hon. Bought Cochran" and McClella they always designated as the Frau Mayor
 Since Hearst's gubernatorial campaig was started the editorial columns of hi
 parars have not contained the nam of Murphy and Cochran. In the pfimarie when Mcclellan and the Sullivans wei | trvinr to c.-e~tLrow the Tammany hea