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Show J Tolitical Questions of Rational Interest Agitating the Metropolis. (Special Correspondence.) Of course, the races are the chief concern of New York in the summer time, but aside from that serious, pursuit politics will cut the largest figure in conversation during the dog days. There are a lot of things to be settled and everybody will be busy settling them in the places where men gather to tide over the hot spell. Here are a few of the questions thac aro being asked by the politically inclined: Will Dick Croker come oack from his English country place to claim the leadership of Tammany Hall once more? Will there be another close fusion of all the anti-Tammany elements and will Seth Low again be chosen as the candidate? Will Governor Odell come out in open warfare against Senator Piatt and endeavor to control the primaries in New York City? Will the boom of Grover Cleveland gain such headway that he will be the Democratic candl date for the presidency next year? Such things cannot be fettled in a day and so there will be plenty of room for conversation all during the summer. & & & There are good reasons for believing that Croker will not return that he realizes that his days of bossism in Tammany Hall are past. When the Tammany ticket was buried under the fusion landslide two years ago, big men in the Wigwam pointed their lingers at Croker and said, "You did it?" and he went away to England with the announcement that he would never return. This statement, however, was not taken seriously. seri-ously. He did the same thing once before and John C. Sheehan thought that he had become the real big chief in the wigwam. He was surprised to learn, however, that during the whole time he had reigned the boss had Deen directing matters from the other side of the Atlantic and when the boss came back he was turned out of the tent. There has been sufficient evidence that Croker has been playing the same cards this time, but there is a new man at the head of the organization organiza-tion one Charles F. Murphy who has qualities that are of sterner fibre than those of Sheehan and he has been turning the Croker men out of power at a rate that has caused the "Old Guard" to tremble violently. If Croker should come it is very doubtful whether Croker could defeat this man and so the betting is that he will remain in retirement and that Tammany will be pure for a little while. & -3 With Croker out of consideration there will be little chance for success of a fusion movement. Mayor Low has alienated, many ot the independent independ-ent Democrats because nis administration has been almost wholly Republican in its tendencies and Murphy has been drawing back into the wig warn many of the influential men such as Bourke Cockran and John D. Crimmlns whom Croker drove out while he was in power. Moreover, More-over, politicians who are independent for revenue only have been doing a lot ot thinking over the majority of 121,000 that was rolled up for the Democratic ticket in New ork City last fall and are seeking shelter in the big tent. & It is hard to see how an open fight between the Republican factions is to be avoided. The Roosevelt men nro doing everything possible to patch up differences until after the campaign oV next year, but it is to be feared that the feud has become too bitter for peaceful measures. It broke out in the legislature in the last days of the t&ession when Piatt held the Assembly as a club over the Governor and Odell held the Senate as p club over the Assembly. The fight raged around a railway commts-sionership commts-sionership which would defclde the control of the board. Piatt had two members and Odell ono and the Odell men longed to take control. The term of one of the Piatt men expired early in the session and the Senator used every resource of his perfected political art to force a renomina-tion renomina-tion from the governor. Bills that Odell had set his heart upon were held up m the Assembly for weeks. It was only when the session was drawing to a close that the Governor appaiently weakened. Then one day the name of the Piatt man was sent to the Senate. There was immediately aa era of good feeling. Piatt's adherents in the Assembly declared that the "Old Man" hai shown his power and made haste to pass several of. the bills that the Governor wanted, just to show how they appreciated his obedience to their master. Then a funny thlr "ippenoa. Governor Odell got his pet mearur o his hands and went to Buffalo to revie. a rcwiment of the National Guard. Before he went he had a conference with three Republican senators who had been acting vm "independents" during the session. Just after he boarded a train and was safely away these three Republicans, acting with the Democrats, called lip the railroad commissionership and before the day was done they had laid away the Piatt man on a cold shelf. Right on top-ot that the governor's gov-ernor's secretary handed to the Senate the nomination nom-ination of an anti-Platt man to succeed the Piatt superintendent of elections in New York City. Now Piatt has decreed that the three bolting senators shall be laid where his railroad commissioner commis-sioner was put. And, of course, Odell will have to do all in his power to protect them. That means that he will have to fight the Piatt men In eveiy election district in the state. And cold shivers are going up and down the spines of the Roose- velt men whenever they think of the conditions fl that will follow such a rupture. It was just sucn M a fight that elected Grover Cleveland president fl in H That brings me to Cleveland. Will he really jH be the Democratic candidate next year, when his M party has another chance to take advantage ot M Republican dissension in the Empire state. M There is plenty of evidence that he is being H groomed for the nomination. He began to put his jH name before the public about two years ago after M his long retirement at Princeton during the Bryan H wave. He wrote letters on the tariff and followed H with speeches in which he declared that the issue H for next year was the old one on which he wa3 H elected for the second time Then he put himse'i, H directly in lino for popularity in the south by his H address on the negro question In wnicn ne prac- jH tically defended the policy of disfranchisement. H The result was seen at St. Louis last week. H "Four more years for Grover," the old rallying H cry, was heard again there, as it has been heard H at various Southern r banquets recently. All the H correspondents of the New York newspapers H agree that Cleveland practically shared honors H with President Roosevelt at the dedication cere- H monies. H Since there has been evidence of an under- H standing that his appearance on this occasion H was to be the signal for setting his boom afloat.- H In many of the mugwump papers in the Bant H there have already been editorials discussing the H possibility of his nomination and deciding thai H he is distinctly eligible and would make an ideal H candidate. Their very guardedness indicates that the public Is being prepared tor the launching of H a vigorous campaign in his Dehalf on the part of M those who were his supporters In days gone by. There is no question of p. strong sentiment M among Democrats In New iork In favor of a third term for the ex-President. It hinges on the M feeling that no other strong candidate is offered. There has been a lot of talk about Chief Justice M Parker of the Court of Appeals ot this State, but M this boom receding because tne agents of M David B. Hill are taking precautions to prevent M anyone from New York from looming up besides M the ex-Senator. Olney has been talked about, M but he is ineligible because he comes from Mas- M sachusetts. Gorman Is also discussed, but Gor- man has been discuBBed for almost twenty years M and nothing has come of it. M So keep an eye on the sage of -Princeton. Dem- r ocrats may find themselves compelled to vote for ' him. e. J. Y. H |