Seattle Daily Post Intelligencer

FROM TACOMA.

The People Agitated Over the Political Aspect,

The Feeling, Shown by Interviews with X. X. Ah Gophel

Development of Penh Can

Wsio- Kontios c Drm6:

Gato Last Xlchi.

The "impending crisis" is what has swallowed up even the interest in the boom. Everybody is talking about it, and the shades of opinion are as varied as the tints of an autumn landscape. Many speak in the language of W. W. Fletcher, Treasurer of the Republican County Committee, who said in conversation yesterday: "I think we have started right. We want to make a sure thing of it this time and defeat the followers of the red flag. I would much rather we did it as the straight Republican party, and possibly we might have done so, but it is not sure with the Democrats joining the people's party. Therefore I believe we have done well to attempt coalition. We can be assured of good business men being placed in office. Who are they? W. J. Thompson, Jim Steel and M. M. Harvey have been spoken of. Any of them would make a good Mayor, and this thing of city government is more of a business proposition than it is of politics."

Mayor Mann, on the other hand, in talking of coalition said: "When I was East last fall I met an official of the P. D. & E. R. R. who was ALL WROUGHT UP by the political situation at that time. He said, 'It has just come to this: the two great parties of today will have to combine against the people.' 'The people,' said I, 'combine against the people? Of what are the two great parties composed?' 'They are composed of the great corporations, sir. That is of what they are composed exactly, and they will have to combine against the people.' 'Oh, ho!' said I. 'They will, eh? Now I think the word "people" was a slip of the tongue,' continued the Mayor. 'He meant to say "the labor element," but he said "the people." That is just what is going on here, and I have seen it for a month past. They have been putting up this job right along. Mr. Tyler hasn't passed me at any time within that length of time without some sort of a little sneer. He wants to be Mayor, and he seems to think that the proper thing for him to do is to snub me. Well, that's all right if he thinks so. I asked him the night they had this meeting wherein he agitated a citizens' movement so strongly, why, if he wanted a citizens' ticket, they had not advertised it and allowed everybody the opportunity to attend it as such? He replied: 'Oh, we don't propose to give them that chance.' "But," I said, "you can't HERD THE PEOPLE the way you once did." 'Oh, we can't, can't we?' he said. He denies this morning having said so, but that's all right, too. If you write about that talk with the railroad man don't mention the road," said the Mayor in conclusion, "for I may see him next summer and he'll give me the devil - but then, all right! I don't care."

"They say that I swore at the meeting the other night," said D. O. Stam of the First ward, "but it was not a real case of swearing - it was merely to be impressive, it was this way," and the gentleman rose and with his Prince Albert buttoned up to his throat, laid the white bone handle of his cane across the palm of his left hand with some emphasis, cleared his throat and said: "Now mark you, that is my idea exactly. There is one man who lives over there in the First ward, whom Mr. Nixon was speaking to me about, who might be elected on the straight Republican ticket, but aside from that I don't believe it can go. I know more about things over there than anybody. But, hark you, for God's sake, gentlemen, unless the Democrats and Republicans go in together it will be all up with us."

"Yes, but Stam has been at these private office meetings of the past few weeks," said the Mayor when that gentleman had passed on.

T. L. Nixon has not been won over to THE COALITION IDEA. "That was the cry in the last campaign," he says, "The Republicans, it was then said, would have to combine with the Democrats to beat the people's party. The Democratic vote was but one-quarter of that cast in the town, while the Republicans lacked but 176 of being equal to all. Times are much more favorable to straight Republicanism now than then," he said. Everybody knew that if a coalition was attempted the Democrats would pick off the better places. As for me, he said, I would rather be a beaten Republican than an elected Democrat. We can elect a straight Republican ticket if we will. The People's party is not strong. Their leaders have all returned to the Republican party. The best men, women, children and dogs are in the Republican party.

W. J. Thompson said that the meeting of the other night was made up of business men rather than politicians. "We want the best men for the city offices and to join hands to secure them will make us none the less Republicans." He believed that none were more sincere than Mr. Nixon, who was a Republican from Kansas, where trying times had made them grow radical. But he (Mr. Thompson) was sincere in the belief that it was better for all, as Tacomans, to coalesce. Let there be a conference of business men without regard to the Republican party. He thinks that the Chicago election is an apt illustration of what should be done here.

Democrats were not very talkative in advance of their meeting. All who were spoken to expressed great satisfaction at the action taken at the Republican meeting and thought that nothing would be done save the endorsement of or repetition of the sentiment expressed and the appointment of a COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE.

M. H. O'Connor has been quoted as being the head center of the proposed Union Labor movement. He was met yesterday and questioned as to the situation from his standpoint. "You can just put down once for all," he said, "that the people will rule here. I cannot tell you anything now - I'm as close as this floor, but everything is arranged and you can say that we will win. Who are the candidates? Well, Mayor Mann is our choice, but I am not sure he will accept. I am bringing all the influence to bear on him that I can. If he refuses, then we have another candidate that will surprise the people." "And who is that?" "Well, we are waiting to see if Mayor Mann refuses, and if he does - well, we have been keeping it awful quiet, but I don't mind saying that it is nobody else than J. M. Buckley." "Assistant General Manager Buckley of the Northern Pacific?" "The same. Mr. Buckley has always been A FRIEND TO THE WORKING MEN. We don't care anything about the position he holds any more than we hold the editor of a newspaper personally responsible for the political views expressed in that paper when it is owned by other parties. I have known Buckley to do many a good deed for the workingman, and if he becomes the candidate of our party I am in for him. This will be a surprise to a good many people, but if he is nominated he can be elected easily."

One who took an active part in the last campaign as a straight Republican said yesterday, but insisted on not being quoted: "I would just as leave see the whole dynamite crowd elected as to see that mugwump movement successful, so disgusted am I at the manner in which we were caught in ambush. It reminds me of how the People's party "CAUGHT US" in the last campaign. You remember it was called an anti-Chinese party. There was an attempt to organize what in effect, had it been successful, would have been to split up the People's party; but the People's party was entirely too much alive to this effect, and they pulled down the blinds for the brief interim between the issuance of the call for the anti-Chinese primaries and the primaries themselves, and communed mightily among themselves all that time. But when the shadows gathered upon the evening of the primaries, lo! the People's party swarmed at the polls and all of their delegates were elected. At the Convention which followed, under the name of the Anti-Chinese party, there was a love feast of People's party men - their purposes and their candidates were endorsed with glad acclamations. It was very funny - the sauce with which the comedian flavors a too sober play. But it seemed odd that the People's party - a fledgling in politics - should set the fashion by which the big, strong, healthful, well educated Republican party should be beaten in its own camp and made the laughing stock of the tyros of the street.

The meeting of Democrats was called to order by John R. Judson. H. Parker was made Chairman and M. M. Taylor, Secretary. There were about fifty present. The Chairman was directed by the meeting to appoint a committee of ten to confer with the Republican committee. No special work was done, and in ten minutes the meeting adjourned.