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; VOL. 20,NO. 7
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Mr. Btyaii Sap Franciscb Letters
(Following aro special reports . of tho pomp-,
cratic National convention tft, JSWn Frahclscc;,
Which Woro furnished to nowop.aiJbra' thfodghbut
tho country by Mr. Bryan) .J, ' .
SENTIMENT PBV13LOPIN& ON LEADING
PLATFORM PLA<S v V ',,.
San Francisco, June 2G.-r-The' fog. has 'fcot
rison, fciio delegates are coming in, headquai'tora
are, being, established and tho delegates are ex
changing, wlla. - .
Enough can bo learned to .mako It 'quite ovl
dent. that the wets have boon whistling to keen
up their, courage. The foam on tho Edwatds.
boom if; gono and the men who were confident
ly predicting a wot panic aro.uow talking about
a compromise which will omit all reference to '
tho subject. They know that tltoy cannot so
curo any thing like a majority of tho Committee
on Resolutions It Is doubtful Jf-thoy could so-curo,one-thlrd.
They know, too that on roll call
they .could not secure a third of the convention.
Thoftonjocrats from tho dry states- Would not
dUrq,togo on."rocord in favor of anypiank look
ing to-a .reopening of tho liquor quostlon. And
an advfiVSQ vote in tho convention would be a
great -burden to carry in congressional- districts
whers tihoy (hope to mako a fight, for a wet con
gress. Another diiileulty that confronts them
is that they cannot agree on the alcoholic Con-,
tont;' A declaration in favor of light wine and
bGor Vithoift fixing any alcoholic content would,'
of cooVsu; "lay them open to tho charge of at
tomptm'g1 torviolato' tho amendment by statute
and t'honpjremo Court has sufllclently indicated '
Its doteririiliation to protect the Eighteenth'
amendment1.' If they attempt to flx a per cent
they JirV lit onco confronted by tho difforont do
gree'6'f'l(Virist registered, among the wets. Some
want's, lar'gjtfr norfiontago of alcohol tha.n others,
and 'tho' :waht a higher preebntago in the after
noon- tjiu.ii in tho morning. They talk -"About
tho dotting of an 1 ori- the crosslnfetofa t, are
beginning to .realise that the, delegates 'are in-
formed as to ntlbllcJ sentiment. The primary
vote has not been extensive enough to givo any
candidate much encouragement,
vote polled is. not without Its warning .The
Democratic vote Is not coming, out this year sand
': its falluro to appear at the polls cannot be- cpn-
siruod as an endorsement of the League of Na
tions without- reservations. The Republican
cohventionhafl alienated a large group of voters
whovigorottsfr protest againstMhe failure of the
Republican party to endorse the votc.,cajt by
' more than two-thirds of tho Republican senators
in favor of ratification with reservations. These
Voters can be drawn to the Democratic party
' by a platform declaration that will give, 'hope of
immediate action, but they will be driven to the
support of tho Republican position, unsatisfac
tory as It is, If tho Democrats show as much
partisanship .as. tld Republican headers did.
Everybody kpowH that neither . par.ty can s'e
euro two-thirds of tho Senate at this election
and tho making of the treaty a party issue in
vites, therefore, a' sham battle with no decision
possible. A large ' majority of the,; AHmef.icah
people want peace and world disarmament. The
' Republican party denies this to them' and this
denial offers tho Democratic 'party an op
! portunity seldom presented In politics.'
There seems little d6ubt of the party's dlffJ
position to write a labor plank satisfactory ' to
the wago earners and a plank favorable to- agri-
, culture. The two questions over which there
mn.v;hri rTMTfiivmnrifl nf nnfnfnn- urn. first:, "will fhn
nartv offer itaolf ; as a defender of the . heme:u.26
sJcrilnRt flirt aannnf -T .fanl anrn If will. jffoflnn ;. tu6
0-..,jV wmv .-,....... . m. .ww j , .. fVMn,,
;,implacbl0 fpjs,of the dram, shop, to full citizen-
Bhlp; and, jsuff rage. T.wP of ,hio thrqe compa
tfjotS' on that, occasion ere an Indiana brewer
,ahd A governor of Texas Who has since been im
peached. . But the "Lights are out in the Capi
tol" so-to peak; the advocates of. wine and beer
have pome up against a stone wall. They
counted noses, regardless of, color, arid they f md
but the emiaU'MV-SntMrt,EJ
.j ..wv . v.t f -.. . w. nuj VW" 1'iHUft, no
matter oow-amoiguous ,na.:terms . might be.
Nothing having the odor of the vat can hope to
receive the approval of this convention.
ThcJy are now digging a second line of
trenches from which they hope to defend thein
splvca against the attach of .the drys who are
. already crossing uNo Man's Land." There are
some? in tho convention there always are some
,' in a political convention who dodge whenever
any issita arises. They would amend the ten
Commandments U- by so doing they could sup
press a roll call, for be it remembered that it
is impossible to bring a thousand men together
AVithojitj-including a few who "love darkness
rather than light," for the old reason so clearly
set forth in tio.ly Writ.' " Light is as wholesome
' jn politics as. it is anitary. For this reason all
legislative bodies provide, for a, rplL call and n"
one who has ever been.: a. member o,a 'legislative
rbody needs to be toll&.,that the vote onvroll call
.' often differs materially from the viva, voce vote,
i have known a vote, to adjourn to : be carried
overwhelmingly by the voice and defeated over
whelmingly on roll call. The drys .rely upon the
moral strength of their cause and the, spiritual
: urge of those vho sent these fdelg;ate8 to the
, .converitldn. The country is drj rcye when the
men alone yotq. It. is parched and brown when
,yvouiii votu auu ii uBema.pitft.oBriain inat aooui.
,uyu,yu ol women, vrui sjt, m juument upon
b cariclidUtes presented b'v tho various narties
lay .ukj dojuuu , .x i.i-tii ou.au ju i iyn .iJS-'Viiyi,Ji ', xti r lp' .- ." ' .-.'
will it ive expression to Ltbe peace sontimeut. ,iam ???$;. jAWm i.t-nese women an
of the country? ..'.I hope so.: .:,;,,..,,. . rpad-rnote the large percentage of girls in high
..' ' : ' "if ..
wine rind bebr but what they want, is alcohol. You ! garl-
Cftn chiiHL ovwrvthlnc- nlsh' V Mih Alh'o "iff V,ii S
. ."; .::".. .r . ": t--- --r-. :r.. r-. .j" . r uiuu
neeroxcopi: tno aiconoi ana tnoy win not kuqav
tho dlffdrendo, but they kick If you lake tho kick
out,
Tho dryS' will offer no compromise.' With
throcjirtiis 6f the Democratic ' senators .. an'd
two-t:hiVdsu,bf the Democratic members of tho
Ilouer yotihg for submission and every Demo
cratic si,ato ratifying and with tho "Supremo
uourt overtnrowlng every contention of the
WET ANJD 1)R ISSUJ3 PARAMOUNT
IN PISQUSSION
' r- .'ischools-thewrjtihg, of. platforms bec.qnies an
, " Jmporknt matter A 'convention itl made, up for
, . w4ue mosT.par; pteopje wnojiaveuPQiiucai amoi-
'in. popu-
wots, yhy should tho Democratic parfy be -afraid
to pttfn;l yfth pride to the. party's ,-pari in. the
sues which will for a couple o days bversba'dow "
booing for candidates, The issue talked about
most Is tho ono Involving the .prohibition amend
ment and its enforcementby Federal statute.
The changes of attitude by the representatives
of the Knights of Thirst have --been kaleidos
copic in number and variets if not in speed. At
first wq.had tho cocksure" opponents of prohibi
tion led by Governor Edwards and heartily sec-
It may be stated without fear of successful
contradiction that, the delegates ,to this conven
tion vuXrhaye an oppjortunity tq' vote for or
.ragainst a dry plank.- Tbis will, give every state
a chance to go on record, And, as. every dele
gate, has a right to demand a poll of his delega
tion, there is no reason jyhy any delegate should
;lack an opportunity to maice his voto known to
, .' iin'iv .j) . r ' ! . . - . -., j v
auopuon ot tno aniehdmont or hesitate to
pledge tii ;party fa au enforcement of the, Vol
stead ct Vithoitt aliy-woakoning of its pro
vision1" ,",, . ' 'r-v ,
Th,o, jSiufition horo compels .positive andviin- out iuto a candidate foi,; President and. the brewr
Tlld 'nnotlfll"snf CJ nr ol1rtr n nnflrsnrrttn in eivn-ml in
onded by Qovernor Smith Governor Edwards nn.deK.the-rewery tent without identification.
wanted to make his home state "wet as" the At-. T fw rvta Loa L r-;' n ntnt.
lantic ;Oceanl and when Dame Fortune landed i J.:., .. ' , ,.: :.. ",-x. .,
him in the Executive chair he attempted to
moisten all adjacent i territory. Ho was so em
boldened by his lucky strike that he blossomed
form openly arrived utv will be accomodated and
those who want ta hide will act-wjtVf :ull knowl
edge that their sin will find them oM.
Telegrams are pouring in f roin temperance or-
wii vuihuoib I UOILIVU iLIlU. llll- ' " ; - - - w.fi v.uv w.irf "VT17. ' .,.i, . . . . . . '..
equivocal action. We have a gnnVof deleKates' r. .ors. began to beat their torn toma .thrdughout,, saniz.ans ana cnurcn ooaies.tnese; are m
who are .so busy nursing their throats, that they i a11 lbQ swampy sections of the country; . J"mih uwnucr-i jonset tne jnuuence qi tuoso
can't g,i,Y(entno attention that they ought to to tho
partyfo welfare. Instead of planning human
itarian., Tytdrfc and aiding tho party to voice, the
conscleqc pt the "nation on groat problems they
put tho restoration of alcoholic beverages above
all other questions. If the wots could .win a
victory., In, the convention this yoarthey wouldl
defeat tyib" party. Prohibition was won boforo
many, women were given tho ballot. It anyone
thinks that the verdict will bo'rovesod with'the
womqn voting ho knows very llttlo of" wonian's.
attitude on ,thls question. . (
. One of the straiige fallacies advanced. by the
wets 4s that a wine and beer plank would sbe
popular The fact is that tho vofforts.to win on
a wiho and beer platform have been less, sucr
cessfni than the fights for the old fashioned
saloon, A year ago last April Michigan
turned down a wine and beer proposition by over
sqOjQOO, whUo prohibition of all jntoxicants had
won .by, only about G5,Q'00. In, the. recent Alar
bama primary exrQoyernpr O'Nefll, who ran on
a wlhe . anil beef platform polled only bne
fpurth of the voter ,aud remember that
Alabama was thev only dry state . in thei
south whpr.e tho, wots had strength enough
to make a fight Qgainst ratification. They lost
Then Governor Smith of New, York in a burst
.jf enthusiasnv..denouncod prohibUloh as worde
than Prussianism av.d a Democratic- state con
vention held in New York declared unalter
able, if not . unutterable, opposition to the
national amendment and pledged the party
rto nullify by state statute any Federal
. law enforcing it during the (as they hoped)
short period that might - elapse between
tho .date of the convention and the nation's re
.turn to. the saloons. The men who felt that the
right to poison .others with alcohol was the only
inalienable right guaranteed by. the constitution
i and the right to. drink intox(cants the only kind
of liberty represented by Columbia, proceeded'
to tell the Democratic party where to he&d
in on the liquor question, the wet propaganda
received copious encouragement from a number
of wet organizations in different parts of the:
,;Conntry. Even the Supreme -Court declsiou did
not discourage them. Theydescended On the
Convention like an army with banners,' foamina
like a glass o? beer and raging like strong drink
While thore is some rivalry among those who ;
aspire to lead this motley hpst, the Honorable
uumuo iiituv fi ixew Jersey wm probably bo
whose business it has been Jor at: least twenty
"-centuries to offer the earth to those -who will
fail ,lb wn and wo.rsltip the evil-one. It is, of
toursev impossible to forecast the exact language
of the dry plank as it will emerge from the Com
mittee on Resolutions, but I shall submit to tho
committee tor the consideration of its members
the following
"We heartily congratulate theT" Democratic
party on its Splendid leadership in the submis
sion' and ratification .of the Prohibition amend
ment to the federal constitution and we'pledgo
the party to the effective enforcement of the
Volstead laWf honestly andin good faith, with
out any increasejn the.alcobjoliccontbnt of per
mitted beverages , and .Without &y weakening of
any other of its' provisions." r"
w ,
civen tho distinction of hbinfr fin- k uil ..
thoii'' fight, but they were not fjq badly beaUm.nesa tor the place having been attested ww.
In that fight as Governor O'Neill was. The. closonoss to the'New JarRov ivSw- -!5" J? 5!!
pocket flask of whiskyrhas had many friqmls but., , fact that, lie was one of. the four BamnLnli
'uommittee in the St,
admitting women, the
or a wine bottlo? -4k -. w vauis cbnyeiKUon. 'of 19
, T)xe advocates.. . of ; tr&JjlgiWon, without minority ropOx!?" against
,XWts- '' v1... : N.lJBfflKHK. - J..,.Ji ' ,i "
OXJTJjtNES PLAN TO OBTAIN; ATIFiOATION
r '.'.'- r'AND 33NDV4Itr''.:-
San Francisco, June 2 8C The division' among
the delegates on the treaty plank is not funda
mental; it is merely a. difference of opinion as to
the best means of reaching an end which all de-
r sire, - No Democrat in the convention would rise
Jn his plafco, ahd admit opposition. to world peace,
universal and everlasting. But how can world
peace be secured?. The 'President brought back
from, Paris a . league ot Nations plan with a
covenant tKat embodied-the best that ho could
.secure? aMwjien we "consider the newness of
v-tho plan, ,the "number of nations agreeing to it
.. and .the diversified interests at. the'conforenc
' 4" ' ; v'' ?" '
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