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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 10, 1908)
r'SF.J,J"---i r"S-w5jJ5Fn M July io, iDOtf The Commoner. Wo Insist upon a policy of administration of our forest reserves which, shall relievo it of the abuses which have arisen thereunder and which shall, as far as practicable, conform to tho police regulations of the several states where they are located, which shall give homesteaders tho right to occupy and acquire title to all por tions thereof, which are especially adapted to agriculture and which shall furnish a system of timber sales available as well to the private citi zen as to the large manufacturer and consumer. PANAMA CANAL We believe the Panama canal will prove of great value to our country and we favor its speedy completion. TRUSTS A private; monopoly is indefensible and in tolerable; we therefore favor the vigorous en-, forcement of the criminal law against all guilty trust magnates .and. officials and. demand the en actment of such additional legislation as may be necessary to make it impossible for a private monopoly to exist in the United States. Among the national remedies, we hereby specify three: First, a. law preventing a duplication of direc tors among competing corporations; second a license system which will, without abridging the right of each state to create corporations, or its right to regulate as it will foreign corporations doing business within its limits, make it neces sary for a manufacturing or trading corporation engaged in interstate commerce to take out a federal license before it shall be permitted to control as much as twenty per cent of the pro-, duct in which it deals, the license to protect the public from watered stock and to prohibit tho control by such corporation of more than fifty per cent of the total amount of any product con sumed in the United States and, third, a law compelling such licensed corporations to sell to all purchasers in all parts of the country on the same terms, after making due allowance for cost of transportation. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL Tho democratic party favors tho extension of agricultural, mechanical, and. educational in dustry. Wo therefore favor the establishment of agricultural oxperiment stations, the secoh'd ar; Agtietilturar and mechanical college in x tho special states. CONCLUSION The democratic party stands for democracy; thv. repub.ican party has drawn to itself all that' Is aristocratic and plutocratic. The. democratic party is the champion of equal rights and opportunities to all and the re publican party is the party of privilege and pri vate monopoly. The democratic party listens to the voice of the whole people and guages progress by the prosperity and advancement of the average man; the republican party is sub servient to the comparatively few who are the beneficiaries of governmental favoritism. We Invite the co-operation of all, regardless of pre vious political affiliation or past differences, who 'desire to preserve a government of the people, by the people and for the people and who favor Buch an administration of government, as will insure as well as human wisdom can, that each citizen shall draw from society a reward com mensurate with his contribution to the welfare of society. THIRD DAY'S PROCEEDINGS The democratic national convention met at til o'clock a. m. Thursday. Congressman Henry D. Clayton of Alabama jwas chosen permanent chairman and delivered his address. At 1:52 p. m. the convention took a re jpess until 7 p. m. Chairman Clayton called the convention to rder at 7:55 p. m. The Pennsylvania delegation submitted the name of James Kerr to be national committee man in place of Mr. Guffey. This was ratified by the convention. Ollle James of Kentucky, speaking for tho resolutions committee, reported that the com mittee would not be ready to report before mid night. On Mr. James' motion the rules were euspended and pending the submission of the platform nominating speeches begun. It was the understanding that there shall be no ballot until the platform is adopted. I. J. Dunn of Omaha nominated Mr. Bryan IThis nomination was seconded by Governor Glenn of North Carolina and Augustus Thomas Of New York Their speeches and that of Mr. Dunn will be found on other pages of this issue. Ollie James of Kentucky, James T. Hetflin of Alabama, Ex-Seriator Gearln seconded Mr.' Bryan's nomination. Minnesota presented tho name of Governor Johnsbn, and Delaware presented tho name of Judge George Gray. At midnight tho resolutions committee en tered the hall. The platform was read and adopted, being greeted with great applause. Governor Swanson of Virginia, John H. At wood of Kansas, 0. W. Powers of Utah, and J. B. Sullivan of Iowa seconded Mr. Bryan's nomin ation. On call of the roll the vote stood: Gover nor Johnson, 4G; Judge Gray 59&; Mr. Bryan, 892 . Mr. Bryan's nomination was then made unanimous. The convention took a recess. ' W. A. WHITE ON THE DEMONSTRATION William Allen White, writing of the dem onstration in tho Denver convention Wednes day afternoon, said that in hfs address Senator Gore of Oklahoma made this statement: "The war chief came to Oklahoma and asked us to do what no Anglo-Saxon commu nity ever has dono, reject a chance to obtain self government. Then the greatest living ex ponent of human freedom came to us and told us to adopt our constitution, and by a majority of 100,000 votes" here Gore wavedJiis hands dramatically "we rejected the advice of Taft and took the advice of Bryan." Mr. White adds: That was all. 'He started again, lifted his hands for silence, but the cheer swept over the crowd. Again he tried to speak, but the blaze of applause was crackling in tho furthermost corners of tho room in an instant. While the blind eyes of Gore were wandering aimlessly over the audience tho crackling blazo of applause broke into a roar, and the reporters looked at the clock, tore up their spacee-fllllng notes. Gore had uncorked the company fizz be fore the banquet was ready. The great crowd roared with joy, and as It unbuckled its lungs in its madness at the end of perhaps five min utes of cheering, some one in Pennsylvania grabbed the guidon of that state and started to march toward Nebraska. Indiana and Illinois followed and soon half a dozen states wero marching, with the big moon-faced Bryan ban ner of Nebraska and in three minutes two dozen states Wero in tho bear dance, with jumping guidons. Tho band played "Hot Time" and tho crowd screamed with delight. Two dozen and then three dozen state banners were rlmpling over tho hall. The crowd stopped at Maryland and then with a shout Maryland fell in. Then forty states wero in the procession. It went into the front of tho hall as ten thousand men howled in delirium and surround ed New York, but New York remained un moved. The madmen capered to Minnesota, but seven strong men and true gripped the Minne sota banner and held fast. Some Kansas fel lows were going to steal it, and the word came" to Minnesota and she got ready to fight. There was a fight for the New Jersey banner and a struggle got Delaware to move. Connecticut was also unshaken. The crowd in the galleries saw the milling of the human ants on the floor" and bawled itself hoarse at tho crazy sight. The roar of the crowd was growing steadier and the march of the delighted men on tho floor was growing more and more grotesque. It was as spontaneous as bedlam. It was more than spontaneous; it was acci dental, and as the crowd went wild tho reporters thought of poor General Clayton, who has been working for two weeks on his speech as per manent chairman to arouse the demonstration that Gore called forth. There were eagles on perches dancing above the crazy crowd, cow girls-marching through the throng yelling, bands tooting in the breathing spells, favorite daugh ters of the various delegations on the platform waving the banners of the states. There were banners, marching clubs, mottoed banners like that of Michigan bedizzened on gold, with the motto of 'tho Omaha platform "Equal rights to all special privileges to none;" there were old men and young men gyrating in the din and the noise, never faltering, and . the clock went round and half way round again aj this pande monium raged. And slowly tho roar died down and tho convention went back into sanity. But it was a great demonstration, the greatest ever made in America, and eighty minutes' cheering to Roosevelt was a good-bye to a party leader. It will bo interesting to watch and wait for another four years to roll around and to note whether the demonstration of good-bye to the leader -whom this convention honored will be as sincere and hearty as that with wwhich . he is greeted today. WHEN am. RRYAN WAS NOMINATED , Tho Associated Press gives this descrip tion of tho demonstration following Mr. Dunn'a speech: It was not long then before the bcoiios of yesterday's .prolonged demonstration wero re newed. 'The delegates poured from tho conven tion floor onto tho already over-crowded stage. The state standards were grouped about tho platform. Galleries and dolegatos wore on thelf feet waving tho thousands of flags and cheer ing themselves hoarso. Many of the Now York delegates stood and cheered with tho others, but' f tho majority romalned seated. Only six bunnors wero missing in" the parade through tho aisles1 after tho grouping at the stage had broken into a procession. Thoy wero Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Georgia, New Jersey and Dolaware. " Many Bryan banners which had boon-.-brought into the hall wore quickly caught up.',, by tho inarching delegates and carried through tho aisles. , " The band In the balcony lont its sharo to tho celebration of tho Bryan followers and- tho blare of horns, the beat of drums and crash, of clm bals could bo heard above tho din' of tho shout ing hundreds on the floor and tho thousands in tho galleries. The start of tho demonstration sot a, dosjbn . photographers to work and tho booni of tholr flashlight explosions at times fairly shook tho great building, such an Immense amount, of , powder was used. The explosions also sorved' to fill the upper portion of tho hall with choking white smoke, adding vastly to the discomfort of those already forced to breathe the heavy, atmosphere of the upper strata. ' ' ' " One of the banners that aroused much en thusiasm was labelled: "Missouri; nomlnato Bryan and wo will show you." The mombers of tho Missouri delegation went up to tho plat form with a white banner bearing tho words: "Missouri will give Bryan fifty thousand ma jority." In a few seconds, tho red, White and blue standard of Nebraska bearing tho portrait of Mr. Bryan was beside it and then came tho various standards, which wore grouped on the rostrum in the same way a; yes irday. The crowd of shouters, apparently frenzied wero car ried away by their feelings and literally stormed the press seats along the aisle leading to tho speakers' stand. They broke down chairs-, and well nigh overturned tho strong writing tables by sheer physical weight. A number of news paper men and telegraph operators wore com- pelled to hastily leave their seats in order tor avoid serious injury, so quick and so fierce wasi the rush of frantic shouters. Tho dovo that flew through the hall while Mr. Dunn was speak ing was but tho first of a flock that was now turned loose. Thoy flow about the hall wild with terror, seeking some escape frori tho mad dening tumult and uproar that raged on tho convention floor. Tho crowd in tho parade was not nearly so numerous as that of yesterday and many delegates mindful of torn clothing, trampled toes and sore throats remained upon their chairs, watching the demonstrators. Many of the delegates in the midst of tho struggling, crushing turmoil of tho floor, lost their hatg, their coats and finally stripped themselves of collars and ties. A feature of the demonstra tion, never before a part of a national conven tion, was that the greater part of the cheering and uproar was distinctly heard by the candidate at his home 500 miles away, a telephone to which was attached an immense megaphone having been placed in the hall and Mr. Bryan at tho other end of tho wire at Fairvlew, where ho was able to hear the cheering in his honor that filled the convention hall. About an hour after the name of Bryan had been mentioned Chairman Clayton who had several times tried to stay tho tumult but In vain, bodily dragged the men from his desk. With uplifted hands he stood trying to restore order and there were increasing signs now that tho outburst had about run Its course. Hun dreds of delegates, tired and hot had resumed their seats. Another measure calculated to cause a ces sation of tho shouting was the turning out of many lights in the clusters in the ceiling. This had a marked effect and a storm of hisses that was directed at tho shouters from all parts of the hall helped the work amazingly. At 10:20 p. m.- tho last cry had died away and Chairman Clayton, directed them to make the call of tho roll of states. . vm : 'A 1 "is trittmtm Ji:.4'IiWji4iMi WW'WW WiW