24:0 



DELAWARE. 



member, providing for minority representation on 

 the board of election officers "at the election for 

 delegates to the State convention, was rejected by 

 the committee. The convention was held at Dover, 

 May 12. The Addicks men were in the majority in 

 the proportion of 97 to 52. as shown by the vote on 

 a motion for the chair to appoint the Committee on 

 Credentials, the Higgins men seeking to have^ the 

 committee named by the district caucuses. When 

 the Committee on Credentials reported in favor of 

 unseating several Higgins delegates from Wilming- 

 ton, the Higgins men, after vainly protesting, left 

 the convention. The delegates to the national con- 

 vention were left uninstructed. The platform de- 

 clared loyalty to the principles of the Republican 

 party, opposed free silver, "except after interna- 

 tional agreement," and on State matters said : " We 

 again denounce the conspiracy which, under the 

 name of the Democratic party, continues to mis- 

 govern the State ; which confines to odious officials 

 the power to deny our citizens the equal opportunity 

 to qualify to vote, and has. by an act of unparalleled 

 centralization, given to the Governor the power to 

 appoint everywhere his partisans as registrars. 



" We call the attention of the people of the State 

 to the fact that this prolonged and hitherto success- 

 ful undertaking to control our State government by 

 the disfranchisement of its citizens has brought its 

 legitimate fruit in a crop of defalcations of officials, 

 and to an extent hitherto happily without precedent 

 in our history; and that the only remedy is to let 

 all public officials know that they hold their offices 

 under a responsibility to the people, untrammeled 

 and free by their vote's to pass judgment upon their 

 public servants." 



A resolution offered by Mr. Addicks increasing 

 the representation in the State conventions from 

 160 to 200 delegates was passed. The increase is all 

 in Kent and Sussex counties, giving each 20 addi- 

 tional delegates. Mr. Addicks's strength is in those 

 counties. A new State committee was appointed. 



The bolters held a separate convention, elected a 

 set of delegates to the national convention, and 

 adopted a platform. The declarations on national 

 politics were substantially the same as those of the 

 other convention, except that the delegates were in- 

 structed to vote for McKinley. The following in 

 reference to State matters were adopted : " That 

 the Republicans of Delaware express faith in the 

 election of Henry A. Du Pont as a Senator of the 

 United States, and insist that he be given a seat in 

 that body." " That this is a Republican convention 

 for the naming of six delegates to nominate Repub- 

 lican candidates for President and Vice-President 

 of the United States ; that only men of true and 

 tried party fidelity can fitly represent this body ; 

 that J. Edward Addicks is not a Republican ; that 

 he betrayed the party of this State by conspiring 

 with the Democrats to defeat the election of a Re- 

 publican to the Senate of the United States, and 

 that he is, therefore, not a fit person, either polit- 

 ically or morally, to represent the Republicans of 

 Delaware in any capacity." 



At the national convention the Committee on 

 Credentials reported in favor of seating the delega- 

 tion from Delaware headed by Senator Higgins. 



The Addicks men met in convention at Dover, 

 July 14, to nominate State officers and presidential 

 electors. A resolution was adopted declaring the 

 organization to be the Republican party of Dela- 

 ware, and designating as its emblem an eagle with 

 outstretched wings, which should be placed on the 

 election tickets. John Henry Hoffecker was se- 

 lected as the candidate for Governor, and Jonathan 

 S. Willis was renominated for member of Congress. 

 J. (>. Shaw. 1). M.Wilson, and D. J. Fooks were 

 named for presidential electors. Resolutions con- 



demning the action of the national convention in 

 seating the Higgins delegates were adopted. 



The Higgins, or Regular Republicans, hel.d a 

 convention at Georgetown July 17, and made the 

 following nominations : For Governor, John ( '. 

 Higgins; representative in Congress, Robert G. 

 Houston; presidential electors, W. C. 'Spruance, 

 Manlove Hayes, and D. J. Fooks. A resolution 

 was adopted declaring : " The title of this party 

 shall be the Republican party, and the device on 

 the ballots by which the candidates shall be desig- 

 nated will be an eagle with outstretched wings." 



On State matters the platform read as follows : 



" We favor such legislation as will permanently 

 improve the public roads of this State. 



" We insist that the coming Constitutional Con- 

 vention shall, in the framing of a new constitution, 

 deal with old conditions in a spirit of the broad- 

 est and most liberal reform. The people demand 

 the abolition of life tenure of office, the limitation 

 within narrow limits of the power of appointment 

 to office, and the extension of their right to elect to 

 office. They also demand the widest application of 

 the principle of local self-government, and espe- 

 cially that of district representation in the General 

 Assembly. They further demand such an adjust- 

 ment of representation in both houses of the Gen- 

 eral Assembly as shall approximate to representa- 

 tion according to population. We urge upon the 

 convention the necessity of vital reforms in the 

 judiciary and collecting of taxes. The payment of 

 a poll tax as a prerequisite to voting, which has 

 proved a prolific source of fraud and corruption at 

 election, should be abolished." 



The question as to which faction was entitled to 

 the name Republican party of Delaware and the 

 device of the eagle with outspread wings on the 

 official ballot was settled in favor of the Iliggins 

 faction by the clerks of the peace at Dover, July 23. 



The contest between the factions was considered 

 by the National Republican Committee, Sept. 2, 

 with a view to securing harmony on the electoral 

 ticket, and on Sept. 30 the State committee of the 

 regular or anti- Addicks Republicans accepted the 

 resignation of Messrs. Spruance and Hayes, thus 

 leaving but one electoral ticket, as the third candi- 

 date. Mr. Fooks, was also on the Addicks or Union 

 Republican ticket. 



The advocates of the single-tax theory began a 

 vigorous campaign in the State in the spring, or- 

 ganizing clubs and distributing literature. For 

 addressing public meetings in the streets of Dover 

 some of the speakers were arrested and fined. Not 

 paving the fine, they were committed to the county 

 jail. Habeas corpus proceedings were instituted, 

 and on Aug. 10 the Chancellor released one of the 

 prisoners, on the ground that the judgment entered 

 against him was defective, but decided against the 

 others, affirming the right of the town to suppress 

 public speaking in the streets. The Kent County 

 Levy Court advertised to put the prisoners up at 

 auction and sell their labor to the highest bidder. 

 The cases of 2 of the 12 prisoners were brought up 

 as a test in the United States court before Judge 

 Wales, who decided against them. 



At the State single-tax convention, Sept. 5, Lewis 

 X. Slaughter was nominated for Governor. 



The official count of the election returns gave the 

 following figures : For McKinley, 20,452 ; for Bryan, 

 16,615; for Palmer, 956; for Levering. 602. Tin- 

 vote for Governor stood : Ebe W. Tunncll, Demo- 

 crat, 16,219; John C. Higgins. Regular Republican, 

 7.432; John H. Hoffecker, Union Republican, 12.- 

 235 ; Daniel Green, Prohibition, 546 ; Lewis N. 

 Slaughter, Single-tax, 914. L. Irving Handy, sil- 

 ver Democrat, was declared elected to Congress by 

 a plurality of 3,820. 



