New-York tribune., 1908-07-20
FIGHT ON OVER GUFFEY
PENN. DEMOCRATS SPLIT.
ReUoH against fiction at Denrer
Convention Likely To Be Vigorous.
tBy Telegraph to The Tribune. ]


Pfttsburg. July 19.-Open revolt against the
action of the Denver Democratic National
Convention in removing Colonel James NJ
Guffey from the national committee after he
had been elected to that place by the Democrats
of the state is on the books for Harrisburg next
Wednesday. when the Democratic State Com
mittee meets to reorganize to elect new Of
fcials- According to Information flashed from
one end Of the state to the other tonight. the
majority of Pennsylvania Democratic county
leaders have decided to refuse to accept James
Kerr as their national committeeman. but WILL
instead, insist continuing at the masthead
the name of Colonel GufYey- Friends OF the de-
posed national committeeman. who are clearly
In the majority, announce that they will elect
officers who favor Colonel Guffey. who has been
the state leader for so many years. and to
whom they still cling. though he was thrown
out of his place the national COMMITTEES
at Denver on orders OF Mr. Bryan
Intimation that such reached
the Kerr people about n1idweek. and caused
much CONSERVATION. National Committeeman
Kerr. it would appear. is not nearly strong
enough to control the Democracy OF Pennsyl-
vanis, and should the Guffey people prove
strong enough to again control the state COM
mittee Mr. Kerr will be placed in the unenvi-
able position of being the national committee
in Pennsylvania. but not the state leader.
Many national delegates since returning from
Denver have announced openly that they will
insist on placing the name OF Guney at the head
of the Pennsylvania Democracy, ignoring Kerr
altogether. taking the ground that when forty
five of the sixty-eight bona hde delegates from
the state in caucus at Denver voted to eject
Guffey as their national committeeman the na-
tional convention had no right to go behind the
returns that this was the only regular
one held and that Guffey Is still the real leader
Already Mr.. Kerr is having grave troubles In
his new position national committeeman from
Pennsylvania Having been beaten for the po-
sition of county chairman in his own county by
a Guffey man. just ten days before the Denver
convention. appears to be against him in West
ern Pennsylvania. and his efforts to gather
$4,000 for the Democratic National COMMITTEES
in the state bids fair to be quite task 1t
comes out here that after Kerr was defeated IN
his home county. some one representing the
Bryan forces came TO him and asked what he
could do in the way of campaign expenses from
this state. in of his elevation TO the posi-
ton of national committeeman
81 can get two hundred men in Pennsylvania
to contribute 81 600 each. il you get Guffey out
of my way" is said to have been the reply OF
Kerr. The Bryan people at Denver removed
Guffey for Kerr. and it Is added that the Job OF
getting that 100000 is now 1t is limited
are angry at the strong arm methods employed
by the Denver convention. have refused to con-
tribute at Kerr's call
A little unwritten history Of the Denver con-
vention has just come to hight here. II seems
that the Bryan forces. having set the machinery
in motion to GUST Guffey from the national
committee, became alarmed at the strength Guf-
fey showing among the delegates, and
sought to stop poll of the convention on the
majority and minority report on the Peunsy1-
vania situation Not that they feared the ulti-
mate result, but il not desired that ths
strength of Bryan oposition be shown. as It had
been claimed Bryan had the entire convention
i'm his hand Numerous offers of compromises
were made to the Guffey people previous to this
vote. but Colonel Guffey insisted on poll. and
the result was 615 to 3S7 in favor of Bryan's
steam roller. instead of almost a clean sweep, aS
had been claimed by the Bryan leaders