San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-04-16
SILVER CONVENTION.
SENATOR PALMER ROASTS THE
CALLERS OF IT.
1t Was an Act Of Treachery to the
Democratic Party.

CHICAGO, Ill, April l6.-ln re
gard to the silver convention
United States Senator John NJ
Palmer had the following to say
last night:
"The minority OF the State Dem
ocratic committee assembled in
this city April /, but did not dis
cuss the object of the meeting in
advance. The Legislature was in
session, but none OF the Democratic
members were called into consulta.
ton, nor can | learn that any
Democrat, leading or otherwise,
was notified of the time or place OF
the meeting, or invited to confer
with the committee. | do not I'M
derstand that the time, place or
object Of the meeting was made
public. On all former occasions
within my recollection the meet
! ing Of the state committee was an
nounced, and Democrats were ad-
mitted, if not invited to confer
with the committee upon all ques-
tions involving the interests OF the
Democratic party. This was in
effect a secret meeting OF the mi
nority OF the committee and but
thirteen members were present;
nine were absent with proxies and
nine absent without being repre-
sented. After the committee as
sembled it found eighteen Of the
thirty.one members were absent.
Mr.. Hunrichten, the chairman,
in spite Of the opposition of
some of the members of
the committee who wanted de-
lay, demanded immediate action
and produced a call for a state
Democratic convention which was
addressed to the Democracy Of the
state and commences with the
startling declaration that "The on
ly national question now before
the public is the national cur
ency."
The call then invites the Democ-
racy Of the state to attend what
we may call debating society. In
my extensive correspondence |
find that some Democrats believe
that the minority Of the commit
tee acted in good faith in calling
the state convention, and their
sole object was to serve the inter
ests Of the Democratic party.
Others say they believe, and |
share the opinion, that the calling
Of the state convention by the
committee was an act Of deliberate
treachery and disloyalty to the
Democratic party and Democratic
principals. If it should be
stated in the call Of the COM
mittee that its object was to
consider the property OF calling
state convention Of the Demo
cratic party to define the position
of the party upon the question of
the free coinage Of silver upon
the ratio OF II to |, it is probable
that more than thirteen mem bers
Of the committee would have been
| in personal attendance and if the
call had been full on that point
and made public through the news
DtlS llldh l'ClIlOCl 6IlGl ldlll-
ing different views on that subject
would have attended the meeting.
All the circumstance Of the meet
ing Of minority OF the committee
and the call for a convention a
year before any effective political
action is possible, demonstrates be-
yOnd contradiction that the call
for convention was dictated by
no consideration Of duty to the
Democratic party Of Illinois, but
that its object was, and is, to trans
fer the Democratic organization to
a party devoted to single object,
the free coinage Of silver on a ra-
ito OF 16 to /, and to separate the
Democrats OF Illinois from the
national administration and the
Democrats Of Illinois from the ma,
tional administration and the
Democracy Of the other states.