Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-01
APPEALS TO CATHOLICS
Impossible to Predict What the Eff.
feet Will Be.
CAMPAIGN AT A TENSE PITCH
Elements In the Situation That Puz-
zle the Oldest Politicians in
Predicting the Outcome.
Special From a STAFF Correspondent.

NEW YORK. November 1.-The specter
Of appeal to religious prejudice which has
lurked in the background of this political
campaign from the start has stalked into
the open I'm these closing hours Of the
fight. What its influence will be no one
can tell, since such efforts are often re-
dictionary in effect
Judge Gaynor is the object Of attack
through the attempt to array the Roman
Catholic vote against him. Catholic
priest. speaking from his pulpit yester-
day, denounced Judge Gaynor as being
offensive to the Catholic Church and ad-
vised his parishioners to vote against
him.
simultaneously thousands of Catholics
throughout the city received copies Of
Catholic paper published in st. Louis. de-
nouncing Judge Gaynor and charging him
with being recreant. to the church. 1t
was evidently sent out by a campaign
committee that is we'll supplied with
funds.
1t Is openly charged that this distribu-
tion Is the work OF the group Of traction
interests which are fighting Gaynor, a
despairing effort to deal him a crushing
blow on the eve of election day. That
immense sums Of money are being spent
by the Barnard and Hearst forces In this
campaign is undeniable, and many be-
lieve that the money has been largely
contributed by the traction interests, who
are making the fight for control of the
board OF estimate and the government
Old Politicians Puzzled.
The campaign comes to a close with
the town at a tense pitch Of interest and
anxiety in the outcome. There are ele-
ments of doubt in the situation which
puzzle some of the oldest and wisest
politicians in the town. causing them to
withhold predictions. The doubt as to
the size of the Hearst vote is the great
est puzzle Of them all. The political
wfseacres are afraid Of IL. and say IL they
could only get a line on it, they would
venture more boldly into predictions.
Hearst's meeting at Madison Square
Garden last night was the most spec
tacular feature of the entire campaign.
and the ovation given him has set his
managers wild with delight. About 1900
persons cheered him for thirty-two min
utes. The scene was similar to the re-
ception given to William J. Bryan in his
first campaign.
Hearst was also the object Of attack on
religious grounds yesterday. Copies of a
San Francisco paper were handed to wor-
shippers as they came out of Catholic
churches. This paper quoted Archbishop
Rfordan OF San Francisco. denouncng
the Hearst newspapers as inimical to
Catholics and holding an anti-Catholic
policy.
Denial by Murphy.
Boss Murphy found il necessary to
come out in a statement denying that
Archbishop Farley had requested him to
prevent Gaynor's nomination. A state
ment to that effect was made by a
Catholic priest from the pulpit yesterday
Murphy contends that the archbishop
never made any such suggestion. Poll
ticians say it Is incredible that Murphy
would have suffered the nomination OF
Gsynor IL he had received the least in
tImatlOn that the Catholic Churcn was
against him.
The flood OF denunciations and charges
continues, and even Barnard Is involved
now. He has been compelled to deny al
legations connecting him with some trust
dealings which, If true, would discredit
him with the plain L'eople. Gaynor has
to call somebody a liar about every haif
hour; Hearsts papers pitch into Barnard
and Gaynor and all take fall out of
Hearst at every opportunity.
Managers Seem Desperate.
Desperation seems to mark the policy
of all the managers. Perhaps II Is the
stupendous size of the stake that Is re-
sponsible for the feeling that any means
are justifiable to bring victory. For II is
a gigantic stake; indeed, 1t is probably
larger than the public can realize.
The financial interests that are at one
another's throats, back of the candidates
in this campaign, know what they are