Evening journal., 1913-01-20

IRVING HANDY s boon, for himself for United
As states Senator. like his speakership boom for
r. O. Cooper, has collapsed Mr. Handy
has withdrawn absolutely from the Senatorial race and
released his followers from all pledges to him. Just
what following he had the time OF his withdrawal
on Saturday night is problematcal. There was time
within the last month when he could count TO his own
satisfaction at least, majority or the democratic
members OF the Senate and House. His best friends
felt then that he being deceived. or that he was
deceiving himself Several Of them warned him Of the
instability Of his claims and told him frankly that he
was depending votes in all three counties that ne
never would receive. He refused to be dsilusioned,
however and after the Legislature had assem-
bled insisted that he would win the Senatorshp. In
fact Just before the Legislature met he was
so confident of his strength that he started move
ment to use Representative Cooper of this city as
candidate for Speaker for the purpose Of defeating
Representative Holcomb, the Salisbury candidate for
that position His friends advised him that he was
building his house on sand. and that Representative
Cooper far from being friend OF his Salisbury
partisan of pronounced type who merely was suffering
from momentary pique Mr. Handy blind to
such counsels he to those which had been Of
fered to him relative TO his Senatorial calculations.
He permitted his confidence in Representative Cooper
lend him into the Democratic slaughterhouse where
his Cooper boom done to death by the Salisbury
Janizaries.
Even that reverse did not destroy his hope that he
would be elected a United States Senator. lie called it
defeat in a preliminary skirmish and insisted that
the Senatorial caucus would make him its nom
inee The detection OF Representative Reynolds, Of
Smyrna Mr. Handy's home town. blow to him
but It did shater his confidence in his chances.
It until last Friday that he to a partial
realization of what had been apparent to both his
friends and his enemies for weeks he had great
" overesmaed his strength and could not possibly
win. BY his own admission he suggested Friday
TO Messrs Kenney, Hughes and Rdgey that they join
in letter the Kent county legislators releasing
them from all their pledges and urging them to unite
upon a Kent county man of their own selection. Mr..
Handy failed to bring about such an agreement II
then dawned upon him that he in a losing fight
and that it would be better for him to escape addi-
tonal humiliation by Withdrawing altogether. He an
nounced his withdrawal Saturday night in the fol-
lowing words:
81 desire to make public announcements that release
all my political friends in the General Assembly from
all promises and obligations to vote for me in the
caucus next Monday for United States Senator In this
connection express the hope that the choice for Sem
may prove wise aud generally acceptable to the
people of Delaware"
II would be interesting to know the full extent of
the dupcity that had been pracuced upon Mr.. Handy
by legislators and others prior the framing of that
dignfod withdrawal from a contest which so far as
he Affected has been regarded a hopeless for
weeks. There is Democrat in Delaware who has
more good friends than Mr. Handy and there is keen
regret in many quarters that he has been driven out
of political fight which he entered with such
confidence.