The Republicans Who Tried to Fuse With the Democrats

Meeting of men varying in years from thirty-seven to sixty held at Grand Army Hall yesterday under the name of an independent Republican convention for the purpose of arranging a combination with the Democrats on a county ticket, and it ended with the appointment of a committee to perfect the deal and report at another meeting at 3 o'clock on Thursday afternoon.

The meeting was made up of a mixed crowd of more or less well-known Republicans, many of whom on being questioned claimed to be spectators, and about ten Democrats. The leaders were C. J. Clark, George Kinnear, George W. Hall, Malcolm McDougall, Amos Brown, A. L. Parker, W. A. Snyder, R. R. Smith, Dr. C. A. Gay, L. R. Butterworth, James Wallace, John Alexander and J. S. Haines.

Considerable difficulty was found in inducing any man to accept the position of chairman; five different men were proposed before C. J. Clark was finally induced to accept. Mr. Clark, on taking the chair, stated the object of the meeting to be to put an Independent Republican ticket in the field and stated the reasons for doing so. They objected to the method of conducting the primaries, claiming that in the First ward men were voting who had been imported from as far away as Stuckley. He also claimed that the Martin's creek delegation was far larger than the voting population allowed. The Democrats had requested that a committee of seven be appointed to meet them for the purpose of naming candidates, partly independent Republicans and partly Democrats, to run in opposition to the regular Republican ticket.

At the opening of the meeting, Melvin G. Winstock, the city attorney, asked if this was a public meeting to discuss public affairs or whether its mind was made up in advance to put an independent Republican ticket in the field; in the former case he would remain, but in the latter case he would retire. He was informed by the chair that the meeting was called for the purpose of nominating an independent Republican ticket, and thereupon he and W. H. Morris and E. W. Mudgett left the hall.

It was resolved that the chair appoint a committee of seven, four from the city and three from the country, with the chair himself as chairman, to hold conference with the Democrats. The chair named George Kinnear, Alonso Hull, R. R. Smith and A. L. Parker to select the committee. After a recess the conference committee was reported and adopted: C. J. Clark, George Kinnear, J. S. Haines, George W. Hall, Malcolm McDougall, Amos Brown, A. L. Parker and W. A. Snyder. The meeting adjourned until 3 o'clock on Thursday afternoon, when the conference committee will report.

A meeting of the Democratic Central Committee of King county was to have been held last evening in the municipal court room to discuss the fusion proposition, but it could not be discovered either there or anywhere else. It was understood, however, that a committee of Democratic leaders met with the independent committee, and that the fusion deal was likely to be closed either today or tomorrow.