The Commoner.
JULY 15,104. :,r.: "
port of the democratic south, the dem
ocratic party oC the east. As to the
money question, that was for the timo
settled and ho urged that that matter
be not injected into the coming cam
paign as a disturbing element.
Mr. Shively ot Indiana followed
much the same Hue. If this money
question was brought into the cam
paign, he said, it would raise a serious
division in the democratic party, espe
cially in Indiana. Several congres
sional districts would be endangered.
Mr. Fleming of Wisconsin was op
posed to the gold plank and favored
the declaration of the "Williams plat
form. If this committee were so much
divided, how was it possible to pre
vent a division, among the seven mil
lion democratic voters.
Shortly before 4 o'clock Senator
Daniels created a sensation in the
committee hy an attack upon Mr. Bry
an, which soon evoked cries for order
from several members.
Senator Daniels, who, some time be
fore, called Senator Tillman to the
cnair, began by saying he questioned
the propriety of a man whom the dem
ocrats had twice honored with the
presidential nomination, and under
whose leadership the party had twice
been defeated, attempting to force his
leadership upon the party again.
Growing more impassioned, Senator
Daniels said, regarding Mr. Bryan:
"The silver question was a question
in Virginia ten years before the gen
tleman from Nebraska discovered it.
But conditions have changed in the
last few years and heroic diseases de
mand heroic remedies. We must con
sider New England, New York and
that section of the country."
Again facing Mr. Bryan, Senator
Daniels said:
"He has reviled every man whom
any state has recommended for the
presidency, and so far as I have been
able to learn, has as yet presented no
candidate of his own'
At this point Senator Daniels was
interrupted with cries of "order." Sen
ator Tillman, who was acting chair
man, demanded order, and said:
"Well, let us have order before this
meeting degenerates into a conversa
tional row."
Mr. Bryan asked that Senator Dan
iels be allowed to proceed and the lat
ter resumed his speech by saying that
he had not intended to enter into per
sonalities. Continuing, the senator said:
"I am convinced that the country is
on the verge of a great catastrophe
and calamity."
He said further that it was urgent
that the democratic party recover the
reins ot government. "This is not
the trn.e, he said, "for selfish interest,
for r.all conceptions of consistency,
f'-v ptiboral likes and dislikes. It is
uct puapuit for me to give up my own
opinion. But there are questions of
expediency to be considered."
Senator Daniels favored the gold
plank.
Mr. Poe of Maryland made a brief
but vigorous appeal for the gold
plank, declaring that if the party in
its platform refused to recognize an
existing fact which could neither be
denied nor effaced, by omitting the
gold plank, he feared that Maryland
would be lost to the democrats in the
fall elections. He pointed out that the I
gold plank recommended by the sub
committee was one which the silver
and gold elements in the party could
easily stand upon. He said that this
plank did not call on, the free silver
advocates to retract or repudiate their
former beliefs.
"It is simply," he said, "a. recogni
tion of an existing fact." Mr, Poo
closed by saying that the democratic
ticket would have a forlorn hope if
Me piank were omitted.
After several other members had
been heard briefly tlje question was
demanded. The gold plank was
stricken out by- a- vote-of 3tf to 15.
Earlier in tho night Mr. Bryan had
withdrawn temporarily his incoino
tax resolution. At this juncturo an
attempt was made to secure a recess,
but it was unsuccessful. Senator Till
man remarked that "it was sun up and
wo might as well go ahead."
After tho vote, however, many
members loft tho committee room with
heavy eyelids and refreshed them
selves with coffee at a nearby restau
rant. The committee, after a lengthy de
bate on the plank, relating to separ
ate statehood for the territories adopt
ed a substitute offered by Delegate W.
F. Timmons of Arizona with respect
to Arizona and New Mexico as fol
lows: "We favor tho Immediate admission
of the territories of Arizona and New
Mexico as separate states."
In dealing with the subject of
statehood for Oklahoma and Indian
territory the committee was less em
phatic m its declaration, confining tho
plank to a general recommendation of
statehood for these two territories, as
follows: "We favor tho admission of
tl'.e territories of Oklahoma and New
Mico."
Tbe currency plank offered by Mr.
Bryan was referred to a sub-commitT
toy consisting of Williams, Bryan and
Hiil, with authority td draft a flnan
cinl plank for submission to the full
committee. The opinion was expressed
that these men might agree upon
something and, if they should, it
would probably eliminate any fight on
tho lioor of the convention. One of
tho western members said that he did
not expect Mr. Bryan to make a mi
nority report, in view of tho many
changes he had been able to produce in
the platform. The committee decided
to continue work on the platform, and
voted down all motions for a recess.
There was a suggestion that it might
be necessary for the convention,
which is to meet at 10 o'clock, to take
a recess until 2 o'clock in order to
givo the committee timo to formulaltf
its report.
'I he Panama canal plank brought out
a severe criticism from Senator Petti-
grew, lie saw mat tne canal couia
not be built in ten years, and when
completed it would bo valueless, for
sailing vessels would never go through
it, steam vessels could not utilize it,
because of tho great consumption of
coal. The plank was modified so as
to promise to do what could be done
when the democrats gain control of the
senate." The committee then took up
the trust plank. This was the subject
of considerable discussion, Senator
Bailey being among the more import
ant speakers In defense of tho sub
committee's report.
Mr. Bryan offered an amendment
to this plank declaring in specific
terms for the prosecution of tho trusts
ntiil rnnlHne- tho manner in which it
I should be done. This was voted in
by 23 to 20.
Tho majority of the votes came from
Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Ne
braska, Wyoming, the territories,
Porto Rico and Hawaii, while the neg
ative votes were from the east and
south. Severe comments were made
by a number of representatives from
these states to the effect that radical
amendments were being put into the
platform by men from republican
states and territories which could not
contribute a single electoral vote to
tho democratic candidate.
Mr. Pettigrew offered an amend
ment providing lor the government
ownership of railroads and telegraphs.
"Oh, that's silly," remarked Mr.
Hill. "I don't mean that to be offen
sive," he added.
"Oh, I'll not take offense at anything
the gentleman says," retorted Petti
grew, "and especially if it were a mat-
Pettlgrew's amendment was voted
down, and he remarked:
"The gentleman from New York
called tho amendment 'silly but ho
put a plank In tho Now York platform
two years ago not only for tho gov
ernment ownership of tho coal carry
ing railroads, but of tho coal mines as
well. And tho ticket got jx largor ma
jority in Now York city than was ovor
before given a m democratic candidate.
Reciprocity and the Monroe doctrine
as handled by tho sub-coramlttoo mot
tho approbation of tho full committee.
Senator Tillman said this nlank
would gain no votes, and thero was
no necessity, in his opinion, of men
tioning tho navy.
Tho first part of the navy plank was
stricken out. The plank proposed by
ex-Governor Thomas of Colorado, re
garding labor, was adopted by tho
committee
Mr. Bryan said that If his desired
amendment to the trust plank should
be adopted ho would not press tho
plank favoring tho imposition of an
income tax.
Sonator Tillman, upon noting a
smilo upon the faces of both Mr. Bry
an and Mr. Hill, remarked to Mr. Bry
an: "Since you and Mr. Hill soom to
havo become so chummy. I think wo
had better look further into the trust
plank.
Discussion of It thereupon was re
sumed and Mr. Frank Cannon of Utah
took tho floor.
"I followed Mr. Bryan in 189G and
1900," he said, "on tho paramount is
sues of those campaigns, but now that
he has abandoned those Issues I will
vote against this proposition he seems
to want most."
Mr. Cannon, In concluding, con
tended that the paramount lssuo in
this campaign was "victory," and that
tho issue should bo "Roosevoltism "
Mr. Bryan defended his position on
tho trust question by saying that "vie-"
tory" alorio should not essentially bo
the paramount Issue, and that unless
a question was settled right It was
never settled at ail.
Senator Daniels called Mr. Shively
to the chair and made a speech sup
porting tho principles of anti-trust
legislation. He took tho position, how
over, that if enforced the existing in
terstate commerce law and anti-trust
statutes are efficient, and he believed
that a democratic administration could
be depended upon to enforce them.
Hence he considered it safe to Giit
the proposed plank.
The discussion continued at length
and until Mr. Hill presented a sub
stitute for the trust plank, which was
unanimously adopted.
The compromise anti-trust plank
offered by Mr. Hill and adopted pro
vides that whenever a trust or com
bination effects a monopoly in the
production or distribution of any ar
ticles of trade outside the state of its
origin it may be restricted by appro
priate legislation from continuing to
do business In such stato.
Tho question of race was taken up
and after a brief discussion a plank
deploring the injection of this issue
into the campaign by tho Chicago con
vention was adopted. It was intro
duced by Senator Daniel.
The committee resumed considera
tion of tho financial question on the
basis of the following plank intro
duced by Mr. Carmack:
"Tho secretary of tho treasury shall
not melt tho silver dollars that are
now legal tondor and convert them
Into subsidiary coin, thus reducing the
volumo of curroncy so fortunatoly In
creased by tho recent remarkable in
crease of tho gold production."
Tho Carmack suggestion for a finan
cial plank was votod down and tho
platform was adopted without a finan
cial plank. Tho roport, it said, will bo
unanimous, and thero will bo no mi
nority roport. Tho Carmack proposi
tion was voted down without division
and Mr. Carmack then offered tho fol-
lowing, which tho committee also
failed to accopt:
"Wo rccognlzo that tho great and
unlooked for Increase In the produc
tion of gold, amounting in the last flvo
years to ?4, 000,000,000, has been re
lieving the stringency caused by tho
scarcity of motallic monoy, and that
becauso of that fact tho monoy ques
tion as It was presented In the two
last presidential campaigns, is not
now acute or pressing for legislative
relief; but it has at tho same timo
vindicated the demands of tho demo
cratic party in tho past for an in
creased volumo of motallic money,
that demand not being for silver as
silver, or for gold as gold, but for a
sufficient quantity of standard monoy
to maintain tho level of prices nnd
transact tho business of tho country.
Mr. Bryan presented a suggestion
declaring it to bo tho sense of tho
democratic party that the volumo of
currency should not bo diminished, but
Mr. Hill complained that in view of
tho action of tho committee last night
in voting down the gold plank, the In
sertion of tho nronosed resolution
would be a species of bad faith. Tho
committee accepted this vlow and
voted down tho resolution. No fur
ther financial planks were suggested,
and tho platform, being considered
complete, was then adopted by a ris
ing voto ana in the midst of general
applause.
Just before tho committee conclud
ed its consideration of the platform
the committee of tho convention, con
sisting of Representatives James of
Kentucky, Clayton of Alabama and
Ball of Texas, appeared to secure in
formation for tho guidance of tho con
vention as to when tho committeo
would be able to report.
The reply of Senator Daniel, on be
half of the committee, was to the ef
fect that tho various planks of tho
platform had all been agreed upon, but
that there had been such a number of
changes made 'in tho different docu
ments as presented by tho sub-com
mittees as to render it impossible to
make a satisfactory report to the con
vention before tonight.
The visiting committee withdrew,
and the general committee took a re
cess until C o'clock, Instructing tho
sub-commltteo to proceed with its
work of putting tbe platform In shape,
with tho understanding that It bo
ready to report tho complete document
to the full committee at G o'clock this
afternoon.
At 8 o'clock Friday evening the res
olutions committee met Tho plat
form was read and was subsequently
reported to the convention.
The Nediofied Convention
Several days before the formal open
ing of the democratic national con
vention, delegates and politicians gen
erally begaii to flock to St. Louis. It
was announced by representatives of
tho advance guard that tho nominees
would be chosen and 'the platform pre
pared wlth entire disregard to the
wishes of those who havo been faith
ful to the party in 1896 and 1900.
Correspondents for republican news
papers very plainly showed that they
bad been Instructed to put the best
face on the situation in favor of the
reorganlzers and, sad to relate, reports
of the Associated press, which Is pre
sumed to state the news fairly, read
very much like the partisan reports
made by a republican correspondent
for a republican organ.
No national convention In recent
years attracted more widespread at
tention than did tho democratic con
vention for 1904 which met at St.
Louis, and it is the simple truth that
no more false and misleading reports
have ever been sent out concerning a
. - (Continued ou 'Page 1L).
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