St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-07
SELF-PRESERVAT IN MIS-
SOURI,.


the so-called Democratic state con-
vention in Missouri is a, purely per-
sonal movement, engineered for pri-
waite benefit by those who are ter
rified lest they may be obliged to
retire permanently from public life.
The free coinage of silver was a mere
catchword on which to hang their
appeal for a new lease of public
favor. The infallibility of the pope
or the germ theory of disease would
have served their purpose just as
well. In reality, nobody in this con-
vention cared in the least about sill
yer. 1t was called simply to make
who had blundered on the silver is
sue should not lose their grip on the
party machinery. They saw that, if
they waited until 1896, they were
likely to be swept out of sight by the
tide of returning prosperity and the
supreme Indifference of the people
to the silver issue. Therefore they
called this convention, year in adj
vance of the time when there was
any legitimate issue for it to con-
sider solely to put the state commit
tee in the hands Of those who could
be trusted to manipulate it in the
interest of Bland and Cockren and
Vest This is all the meaning pos
sessed by the Missouri convention.
T..at it should have been enabled
to carry it's point so easily by default
is not creditable to Missouri Demo-
Gratis.
The case was just this. Mr.. Bland
had been beaten by the people of
his district. The senators from the
state felt themselves in like danger.
They believed, and probably rightly,
that if they left the matter over
for another year, the people would
have. none of them. They consulted
together and decided that the only
way to save themselves would be
60 get together this convention at a
| time when the Democrats of the
| lying on this, they set their agents
| actively at work, controlled without
difficulty the convention in which the
voters Of the party took no active
| interest, and selected a state COM
mittee that would be submissive to
the will of the politicians whose lives
were in question. That was the sum
and substance of the convention
movement. It's declaration for the
free coinage of silver by the United
States alone at the ratio of 16 to
was a perfunctory bit of business, for
which nobody cared anything. Mr..
Bland, who was made chairman of
the convention, resigned long ago his
party allegiance. He has no title to
! the name of Democrat He has been
out in Colorado, hobnobbing with
Teller and other Republicans, and is
ready to strike hands with anybody,
Republican, Democrat, Populist, who
will fight for his pet theory There
was not a man at the Pertle Springs
convention, following the lead OF
Bland, who is, fairly speaking, a
Democrat; for all of them put the
free silver movement before Demo
cratic success, and their personal in.
terest and advancement before eli.
ther All there is of this meeting
is move of the politicians to en-.
trench themselves behind a state
committee selected to their liking
They will probably see, when an
other year comes around, how little
such precautions avail; they vii
probably be convinced that no eff
fort to save themselves at the ex
pense of the party, by involving i
with them in a common ruin, cal
hope to succeed.