St. Paul daily globe., 1888-05-05
some CONVENTION ECHOES
Some Of the Bright Lights That Shont
at Watertown.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
Orator Williams--Quinn's Modesty--.
Col. Thompson and Gen.
Pierce.

One thing was especially noticeable
about the Watertown convention, and
that was the very high character of the
representation both in the Church and
Day factions. The men who were there
would have reflected credit on any state
in the Union. Indeed it is doubtful if
there are half a dozen states which
could produce orators more eloquent or
more finished than some of those who
spoke in WatertOwn. Such a polished
orator as c. q. Williams, of Watertown,
himself bore testimony to this fact. Mr..
Williams, who was formerly Republi-
can congressman from Wisconsin. is one
OF the few orators OF the old time CO.
lumblan school: one of those men
whose productions may vet
be read in the old-style school readers.
1t was his opinion that he had never
seen a more representative or more in
telllgent body of men assembled in a
state convention. But while several
orators were developed whose talents
had hitherto been hidden under
buShel. there was nothing of the Oratory
that would have been heard had the
two factions met in the same hall, for
nearly every man on the ground was
primed for that occasion. Asit was the
OPpc4tulIlty was eAtIe4nely limited.
After the Church convention adj
journed some of its members fell to dis
cusslng what would have happened had
Mr.. Day come into the convention. 1t
was their general opinion that he missed
the one opportunity of solidifying the
territory and making himself tremen-
dously popular by not doing so. They
reason in this way: IF Mr. Day had
come into the convention with his
friends, fight would have occurred
of course. Then if he had been
defeated he could have said: Gentle
to be The right. and l am whipped. am
Democrat, however, above everything
else. and, bowling to the will of ma
!ority OF my party, shall be found Ia
boring as hard as any of you to har-
moniZe the party and defeat our
common enemy" Had he done this.
the Church men said, the convention
would have hailed him as royal good
fellow, and would have led him around
exalted to place of honor, with the
brass band spreading itself in one burst
of harmony. They did not say, how
ever. how it would have been had Mr..
Day come out ON top.
-
l WIS HaIIef OF general regret
among the younger members of the
Church convention, and among a good
many OF the older ones, too, that James
NJ. Quinn declined the nomination ten
dered him by Col. Thompson as an
alternate delegate to st. Louis. Quinn,
who IS secretary of the railroad COM
mission, is a newspaper man. the
well-knOwn humorist of the Bismarck
Tribune: He is one of the best-liked
men in the territory, and, though only
twenty-seven years old, is also one of
the very brightest. His fitness as a del
egate is beyond question, and the young
men IN the convention were especially
enthusiastic in his support. Quinn,
however, though he could have been
elected easily, as an officeholder
thought it best not to accept. and his re-
firing in favor of Mr.. Lally, on the
ground that Central Dakota deserved
recognition, was recognized as one of
the most graceful acts of the conYen-
ton.
1t was quite a curious coincidence
that Col. Thompson, the eldest man in
the convention, he is seyenty-eight,
should have nominated Quinn, the
paid very neat tribute to the value of
youthful brains and energy. Col.
Thompson was one of the characters
of the convention. He is a
retired army officer, drawing
captains pay, and lives
all alone. He is a Democrat of the most
stalwart kind. Though of extremely
patriarchal appearance, with flowing
white beard, it is his delight to STOW
that he possesses the vIgor of youth un-
impaired and there were many in the
convention of half his years who would
hesitate to try fall with him. His
counterpart, so far as years and stalwart
Democracy are concerned, was to be
seen in member of the Day conven-
ton. Gen. Pierce, of Watertown, who,
despite his seventy odd years, took as
active an interest in the somewhat over
heated situation as any youngster of
forty in the crowd.
-
But after all Denny Hannafin, of Bis
marck, was the feature of the gather
ing. Everybody knows Hannafn, and
Of course everybody likes him. Though