A Delegate, a Street Scuffle, and a Party at War With Itself

T. J. Rose, of Walla Walla, a delegate to the Democratic state convention, was in the city yesterday, and, appearing on Second Street, was taken in hand by statesmen Gallagher and Considine. Mr. Rose had just returned from a visit to the Telegraph office, where he told the editor of the state of matters in Eastern Washington, and this Mr. Gallagher did not like, so he pitched into Mr. Rose in quite a rough and discourteous manner. Mr. Considine also tried to pour Lewis music into the ear of Mr. Rose, but the latter was obdurate, and this is what he said to a reporter of the Post-Intelligencer: "Thirteen votes will go for Blalock, and we have many other counties pledged to our man. What we want is a man who can pull Republican votes in Eastern Washington, or we are gone up the spout. Lewis may be a good man here, but we don't know him in our part of the state. We don't propose to pass any resolution in favor of the Lake Washington canal especially, and if we can get the King county men squabbling over this thing we will slip our man in." It is needless to say that neither Statesman Considine nor Gallagher love this delegate from Walla Walla.

It cannot be said that dove-like harmony prevailed at the caucus which was held on Sunday afternoon by the Democratic delegates to the state convention. John Collins, Junius Rochester and Mayor J. T. Ronald each had ambitions pointing to the chairmanship. Mr. Ronald drew out and Mr. Rochester was elected. Mr. Ronald, who held a proxy, made a few remarks which, under the most favorable construction, could hardly be regarded as complimentary to Mr. Rochester, on account of his recent action in Tacoma, and Mr. Ronald also stated that he thought that J. H. Lewis was making a big and perhaps fatal mistake in not coming squarely out and stating how he would act at the convention on the Lake Washington canal proposition. Mr. Rochester, who was out while this talk had been going on, came in just as Mayor Ronald finished his speech. He turned the laugh on Mr. Ronald by saying that he had gone out of the room to answer a telephone message inquiring if Mr. Ronald was going to Olympia to work for Lewis, and Mr. Rochester stated the man said that if Mr. Ronald was for Lewis the latter would surely be beaten. The original delegation has been greatly changed. D. O. Finch yesterday gave his proxy to Mr. Lewis and told the latter to do as he pleased with it. Mr. Finch would say very little about the matter, except that he did not seek the honor and did not care to go, but people said on the street yesterday who were at the meeting that Mr. Finch did not approve of the gag law attempted in the unit rule and that he did not like the company. One thing is certain, Mr. Finch, who is as brainy a man as any in the delegation, objected strongly to the Rochester domination.