The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1895-05-20
JUDGE MCCONNELL.
n SKETCH OF THE PRESIDENT OF
THE CHICAGO IROOUOIS CLUE.
The Goidbug Papers Mt First Insisted That
He should Get Out, but Their
Tone Quickly Changed.

the lfoquos Club, of this city, made his
famous and unmistakable declaration in
favor of the free and unlimited coinage of
silver at the ratio of 16 to ]. the gold
standard press and gold standard poll
ticians of both parties seemed to be hor-
riied into a state of unutterable amaze
ment. Following the publication of his
speech. which was an able one in every
respect, and reflected tersely and inte,li-
gently the sentiment OF the PARTY with
which he determined to ally himself at any
! risk, there We're loud calls in the Iroquois
camp for his resignation. These calls had
scarcely been made before his resignation
was sent in. His action was as sudden
and determined in this regard as in the
| statement of his political faith. The news
papers of the following day (and all the
newspapers of Chicago with one exception
| may be called ultra goldite) insisted that
| his resignation would be accepted at once
| 1t was really amusing to follow the head
! lines which appeared in the different dailies
| in relation to the Mr.. Mcconnell The
second morning after his bom5shell had
| exploded n display in The Times Herald
| read: He Has Got 10 Co" The third
| morning the head line in the same paper
read: Mcconnell Must Get Out" The
| third morning the leading head Inc rather
| hedged on the situation and read: want
| Him to Stay" BY the sixth morning it
was plain that the very few and very rash
| members of the Iroquois Club who had de-
| manded the resignation of the president
| of purely social organization because he
| had given utterance to his honest conv!c-
| tions in relation to a financial question
| were on their knees begging him to stay.
! The result of all the hubbub was that
| Judge Mcconnell not only was induced to
! withdraw his resignation, but that the
! frantically fanatic oddities of the Iroquois
| Club were ready to apologize to him for
even having suggested that he had taken
an improper position in political affairs.
Doubtless all the facts in relation to the
struggle IN the Iroquos Club have long
| since become familiar to the readers of
The Atlanta Constitution. As q result of
Judge McConnelPs plain and unvarnished
statement of his adherence to the prn-
ciple that a few gold houses conducted by
Europeans and their agents should not be
permitted to practically dictate the finan-
cial policy of this country, what was called
by long stretch of Imagination and a
very considerable allowance of courtesy
THE Honest Money League" was organ
lied within the Iroquois Club. In the first
place there was no necessity of an or
ganizatiOn of the kind within Il demo-
cratic organization. II was encouraged by
republicans on the outside and mugwumpS
on the inside and had no mission to per-
form that any one has ever been able to
see. except the disruption of the demo
cratic party of the state of Illinois. Mr..
Washington Hesing who is largely given
TO Whiskers and to political principles,
which this town has never been able to
keep posted on, was one of the leaders
Of this little coterie. He has never been a
democrat, is not democrat, and probably
never viii be a democrat. Associated with
him We're others Of views as sickly and as
tainted as his in regard to every vital
question on which the two great parties of
the country differ There were a few
otheTs-Martin j. Russell, Sigmund Zeiser,
a. II. Seeberger and a. T. Ewing, whose
democracy could not and cannot De doubt
ed but who were simply led into the so
called honest money movement in an
hour of excitement and under the in
nucnce OF the merry speakers VINO are in the
Iroquois Club for the purpose of keeping
it balanced, if possible. on the money ques-
! ton.
Through all this rather acrimonious and
| entirely unnecessary agitation Judge Me
! Cornell remained perfectly passive. IT had
| been limited to him that his resignation
| would be welcome because he had declared
himself in favor of free silver. When
| asked if he would moderate his opinions in
! order that his resignation might not be
ceptcd by the executive committee ne
| positively refused to change them in the
! least. Then the executive committee beg
! ged him to remain, and for the good OF
/ the club in which he takes a great in
! terest, he decided to continue in the
presidency, but with the understanding eX-
! pressed IN language tndJ could not De ms
understood and which has not been mis-
understood that he reserved the right to
! hold whatever opinions he might deem
/ proper i'm relation to the monetary or any
other question likely to arise as a side
1 issue or as a main issue within the ranks
! of his party.
! lie practically said to the gentlemen of
! the executive committee: Il VIII return
/ to the presidency and viii gladly perfsm
it's duties, but you must accept me with
/ out one plea. / am in favor OF the free
i and unlimited coinage of silver at ,ne
ratio of 16 to l, and 1 will continue to
! hold that opinion regardless of the opinion
! of the Iroquois Club or of the opinion of
any of it's members"
The executive committee retired to its
! executive room and decided to eat humble
| pie.
For a few days it was BADLY announced
! in the democratic and republican papers
! that the Iroquos Club favored gold by a
! very large majority. If this statement was
/ ever truthful one it could not be con-
/ sidered so at the time Of Judge McConnell's
/ restoration to the presidency. IL. is plain
now that upon a test vote the club would
/ largely follow in the lead of its popular
! president.
! Judge Mcconnell is a young man. com
/ paratvely speakng-a young man fun of
! energy, vgor ana in the very height of
his intellectual strength. Strange to say
! he was born in Sangamon county, near
! Springfield, that section of Illinois which
has given the country many of it's noted
men. In 1919, when he first saw the light,
/ Lincoln was a struggling young lawyer
! in what was then one of the greatest coun-
ties of the state. and in the vicinity later
! on appeared Stephen a. Douglas. General
! James \. Shields and many others whose
1 names are interviewer with the history Of
/ the nation. His father was John McCon-
! nell who served IN the federal army and
/ who assisted in making the visit of the
/ confederate. General Price to Missouri and
! Arkansas very interesting for a time. He
| is of Irish descent on his fathers side
! and his mother is of old New England
! stock Young Mcconnell was educated at
! Galesburg, H., at the Lombard university,
! graduating in 1871 and in 1872 came 10
! Chicago. He had in the meantime read
! law with Stuart, Edwards & Boon, men of
! recognized rank and dignity in the pro-
! fession In 1889 when just forty years of
| age Judge Mcconnell was elected to the
! circuit bench of Cook county.
/ His career has not had any OF the
! pyrotechnic display which should probably
! belong to one who has risen IN popular
! estimation with SO much rapidity of late.
| He is a man of fine personal appearance.