Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/257

 POLITICAL PARTIES IN OREGON 249 Stout, a young Portland attorney who had recently come from California, was nominated by the Lane-Smith faction. Grover, a member of the Clique, was supported by the old organization for renomination. Stout was nominated by a vote of 40 to 33. As to the methods by which this result was achieved, charges and recriminations were many and bitter. Bush charged that Linn county promised to vote for Grover if Marion county would pledge itself to vote for the re-election of Delazon Smith as United States Senator. This was refused, whereupon the opposition to the Clique joined forces in a secret caucus where successful plans for the defeat of Grover were matured. Bush declared that the latter was sacrificed because he had chosen to devote his time and influence at Washington to the interests of his constituents and country rather than to the perpetuation of Gen. Lane in office. 1 The attitude of the old organization leaders on seeing their factional enemies step in and at once secure control of the party organization may be easily imagined. Bush was furious and made it plain in the Statesman that little help might be expected from him in the campaign. Other members of the Clique were equally irreconcilable. 2 On the other hand, the Nationals were correspondingly jubilant. The expression of the Oregon Weekly Union of Corvallis, edited by Jas. H. Slater, a National, may be regarded as typical of the attitude of the "softs". In reviewing the proceedings of the conven- tion^ Slater announced that in the repudiation of the old fifth and sixth resolutions, the principles contended for by the Na- tional Democrats were thus triumphant even in the old organi- zation. Believing that a return to correct principles had been effected; that caucus sovereignty had been abandoned and re- pudiated; that censorship of the Democratic press was not to be continued; that effect was to be given to the voice of the i Editorials in Statesman, April 26, on "Democratic State Convention" and "The Personal Party." 2"You have doubtless heard of the damnable outrage perpetrated by Lane and ^ Smith's friends in our mis-called Democratic Convention." (Details given.) "This is a remarkable triumph of caucus sovereignty! I boldly denounced the 'dirty bargain' in the Convention laid the thing open to public gaze exposed Stout's Know Nothingism in California." Nesmith to Deady, April 25. 3Oregon Weekly Union, April 23.