The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-06-26
THE CHICAGO CONVENTION
Gossip About the Wigwam, the Assem-
blage, Tammany and the Hoosiers.
Warning-The Hill "Nachine'-lndianians
Sore Over the Way They We're Treated.
Special correspondence of the sunday Journal

Special Correspondence of the Sunday Journal
CHICAGO, June 25.-The Democratic con-
vention which came to q close here on
Thursday was in many respects the most
remarkable gathering IN the history of
American national politics. To begin with.
the building in which it was held was
positiv ely the most rnmshackle, ill-lighted,
poorly arranged and thoroughly worthless
architecture. abortion imaginable. Every
one has heard of the violently profane
farmer. the tail gate of whose wagon. laden
with potatoes, fell out just az bis team
reached the top of q high hill and let the
tubers go rolling peIl NELL to the bottom,
while he stood speechlessly contemplating
the disaster because he felt be couldn't DO
the subject justica.' That Is the case with
the more than 10000 people whose backs
were stiffened. their legs cramped. their ears
strained and their bodies saturated with
the water, permested with tar aud resin,
which poured through the sieve-like roof
as they sat vainlY c~ndeavorinR to hear and
see what was going on within the walls
With every raIn-and it rained every few
minutes, with q profuslon that was de-
p~ressing-the water poured through in
Vulnerable holes, saturating delegates and
delugIng the spectators. The seating ac-
commodstions were bad, the acoustics
worse and the general accommodations
wretched. Hugh posts INSTRUCTED the VS.
ion in every direction and shattered tho
sound waves so that even had the audience
been reasonably quiet only the clearest and
the delegates floor. 1t Is safe to predict
that the experiment of holding a great de-
Lucrative meeting In n temporary struct-
ure of iii character will not be soon re-
peated.
A DIsoRDERLY A~sSEMBLAGE.
For turbulence and disorder the conven-
ton must stand without a parallel. Only
at rare intervals was my semblance of or
der maintained, and by fsr the greater part
of the time the uproar was tremendous.
Nearly every speaker was interrupted at
frequent intervals with yells. boots. Kisses
and cat-calis, according as the sentiment
expressed impressed the individual whose
vocal organs gave them utterance. i have
never witnessed such scenes, not even In q
Marion county Democratic zion. or
in q South SIC saloon primary of that gro
tesque party. Chairman Wilson was ut
terly inefficient, but even had be the en-.
tire police force of ChicaRo-aye, the stand
ing army of the government-he could not
have preserved q decent degree of quiet.
for the audience would have
the army, and too many of them were New
York plug-uglles and Chicago tougbs
to have respected even this martial
array. They were there to howl. and
howl they did. Time and again were the
nominating speeches-being made by men
OF national prominence. and whose sub-
iects at least entitled TO q respectful hear
lng-drowned by yells of time. time"
Speeches In the interest Of other candI-
dates were cut short by shrieks for Gro
ver' and Grover and the baby" and no
amount of entreaty OF. ex~postulation bad
any apparent effect
BoURKK CocKRAN's
There was one man who. while his sub
ject was ont of harmony with the views of
q vast majority Of his auditors. and whose
expressions did violence to their feelings,
was listened to in silence, except for the
occasional applause hat his ~forcsful elo-
quence and evident sincerity commanded.
That man was Bourke Cochran, of Now
York. Never have i listened To q political
address that carried with 1t the conviction
that did Mr.. Cockrans. The audacity OF
1t was astonishing. Here was q man who
loves his party, has never been so much as
suspected OF even q remote degree of dis
loyalty. and who with the full knowledGs
that the die had been cast, and the decis-
Ion Of the convention already practically
reached. had the nerve and courage to face
q hostile crowd and warn it's members that
they were about to conslgn the party to
certain defeat. To read the speech in type
conveys but an inadequate Impression of
Its force, OF the elOquence of the man. He
was superb. magnificent. Not one among
the twenty thousand people who listened
TO his words while the rain battered on the
roof and the hands of the clock marked the
hour of three In the morning, but felt that
be was sincere in what be said. Had that
speech been delivered three days
earlier Grover Cleveland would not
have been the conyeutfon' nominal
but 1t came too late to accomplish
the intended purpose, as Mr.. Cochran
knew before he gave IL utterance. The
combinations had been arranged and the
mouth-piece of his associates. wanted to
go on record as predicting the disaster
which the action of the convention was 70
make certain. His manne was argument
alive. quiet, but impressive. There was an
absence OF bombast or effort to attract APP
plause. and of this there was but little, hrs
auditors being unwilling to lose a word.
If Bourke Cochran had never made a
speech before and should never make an
other. this one would suffice to make him
famous
THE NEW YORK "sNAppERs.n
The convention furnishes the first and
single instance of o candidate being nomi.
mated for the presidency nos only without
the votes of his W State, but over Its
positive protest. The prevailing impression
that the seventy-two New York delegates
were all Tsmmany men is incorrect, for such
is not the case. True. they were made In
most instances with the assistance of Tam
many. but not all of them were members
of that organization, OF even sympathlzers
with it. Several OF them boosted of their
freedom from Tammany domination. but
protested with as much vigor as Boss
Croker himself against Mr.. Clevelnnd's
nomination. One thing which was true of
the New York delegation could be said of
no other large delegation present. aud that
was tina the vote would have been the
same as 10 was a~nnounced-72 anti-Cleve-
lsnd-had not the unit rule obtained. In
diana, Illin0is-in every State whore solid
Cleveland blocks were announced the re-
suit would have been widely different had
not the gag Law teen applied in the shape
OF the unit rule. but this was not the case
IN New York. Her seventy-two votes would
man who would have been most
likely to defeat Cleveland without invok-
ing the aid OF this decidedly undemocratio
measure. They stood like q stone wall,
nothing could disrupt their organization,
and had the leaders at any time counselcd
their boitIng the convention, they would
have done so TO o man.
TIE TAMMANY II
The organization of Tammany is most ex-
traordinary. Or Its inside workings but
little can be learned, for the members are
as uncommunicative of its secrets as are
the Masons of their hsiling signs. or the
knights of Pythias of their semi-annual
pass ord. They obey instructions In the