New-York tribune., 1908-08-27
NO TEST AS TO HUGHES
PRIMARIES MEAN LITTLE.
Issue of denomination Not Droson,
Eacept IN Fec Districts.

Friends of Governor Hughes declared yester-
cay that 1t absurd for those who oppose
the denomination of the Governor to attempt to
show that the upstate primaries on Tuesday
were indication of sentiment against the
Governor They pointed out that if a careful
canvass of the results in all the districts showed
anythir-. it showed the strength of the Hughes
sentiment.
AS matter of fact, there were no Hughes or
antiHughes tickets at the primaries except IN
a few districts The single ticket in most Of the
districts organization ticket, which rep
resented neither Hughes nor anti-Hushes sentl-
ment. t is in the conventions for the election
of delegates to the state convention that the
test Will undoubtedly come. The friends of the
Governor pointed last night to the Erie County
convention. held yesterday, where resolutions
indorsing the Governor passed, and de-
clared it was only an indication of what would
happen in other counties.
1t is conceded by the leaders that the dele
gates from Albany County will be controlled by
William Barnes. jr.. who seems to be an inn
plaza bic enemy of the Governor. and that the
delegation from Onondaga County Will be
pledged to the candidacy of Senator Horace
White. But the fact remains that leaders OF
prominence in the organization have determined
that the denomination of Governor Hughes is es
sentia to the best interests of the party. and it
Is not believed that this decision VIII be over
ruled in the last analysis.
Chairman Hitchcock. of the national commit
tee would not permit himself to be drawn into
any discussion of the results of the primaries
the state situation in any form. He repeated
what Representative Sherman said his re-
turn from the conference with the President
last week that the consensus of opinion was
that the Governor should be renominated. but
no determination Of the question had been made
President Parsons of the county committee
simply smiled when asked what the upstate
primaries seemed to Indicate He is said TO
have told friend that it was far fetched to try
to draw any conclusions to Hughes sentiment
from the primaries where only one ticket was in
the field.
Darwin r. James, president of the Brooklyn
Young Republican Club, which has been making
an active campaign to secure the denomination
the Governor. said:
There is no question that the organization
can control in almost any district in any county.
and the result of the primaries is about what
might have been expected. AT the primaries
the men who vote the organization men, al
most entirely very few independents coming
out. Hence il is natural that with the leaders
opposed to the denomination of the Governor 1t
might be said by that the primaries
showed tendency adverse To him. The unim-
portance OF yesterdays figures Will be better
appreciated If you stop TO think that it is rare
that more than ) to Ia per cent Of the enrolled
voters at the primaries We fnd-that is.
the club-that wherever we sound sentiment
from 81 to 30 per cent of the voters favor the
denomination Of the Governor. | am ready TO
assert that / go into any section of the
state and make canvass OF the enrolled Re
pubIican voters and that nowhere Will the re-
suit be lower than 50 per cent in favor OF the
denomination of the Governor"