The San Francisco call., 1896-07-08
The National Committees Act
Rightly Treated as a
Courtesy.
AFTER ALL THE MAJORITY MUST
ALWAYS RULE.
Boilers at Liberty to Pursue Any
Course That Their Conscience
May Dictate.
The CALLS HEADQUARTERS,
GREAT NORTHERN HOTEL

[
CHICAGO, H., July ~
AS was expected there was battle royal
between the gold and silver forces in the
Democratic National Convention to-day.
There was nothing particularly noisy
about it, but the feeling on both sides was
intense and permeated the audience as
well as the delegates.
The yellow jackets, "as Amos Cum
mings calls them, who are in the majority
in the National Committee, miscalculat ed
the temper and spirit of the convention
when they determined, on the plea of pre-
cedent, to force the great silver majority
to accept a GOLD bug as presiding officer.
The committees authority to name the
presiding officer of the convention was
rightly treated as a mere courtesy, to be
respected only so long as the committee
sought to respect the will of majority of
the convention. In this case it had auda-
ciously sought to override the will of the
majority of the convention, for the benefit
of special interests with which a majority
of its members were in sympathy.
The committee was promptly and Sc
verely rebuked by the convention, as it
deserved to be. The fearful pleas made on
behalf OF Senator Hill that Democratic
Convention should not put the brand of
its want of confidence upon him were ILL
timed ana irrelevant Nobody thought of
putting a stigma on Senator Hill. The
fight was impersonal. Senator Daniel
represented one principle and Hill another
di metrically opposed to it.
The supporters of one principle voted
for Daniel and the supporters of the other
voted for Hill Indeed, the best personal
friends that Hill had in the convention
voted for Daniel, while the anti-snappers
of four years ago were Hills loudest
champions. They who had sought to
trample him to earth in 1892 begged US in
1896 not to put the stamp of disapproba-
tion upon this glorious Democratic leader.
The silver men are we'll satisfied of the
result of to-days work, and while some of
the gold men, sore and bitter, are talking
OF bolting the convention, the silver men,
without taunt or exultatiop, are quietly,
but with the utmost determination, pur-
suing the course which they have mapped
ont and which they will pursue to the
end, regardless of intrigues and threats
The platform will emphatically declare
for the free and unlimi ted coinage of sill
yer at the ratio of 16 to 1, regardless of
what any other nation may do, and the
candidate will be as strong as the plat
form. / am quite sure the platform will
contain a plank in opposition to the re-
funding of the Pacific railroad debts. I'M
med1ately upon the assembling of the
committee on platform and resolutions I
submitted to it through Senator White,
who is member of the committee, the
following res olution on that subject:
mo discrimination should be made by
the Government of the United States be-
tween its poor and its rich debtors. All
should be dealt with on terms of equal
ity, in accordance, with our general laws
We therefore commend the course of the
Democratic Fifty-third Congress in de-
feating the Pacific Railroad Funding blll |,
and we condemn the similar measure now
pending before the Fifty-fourth Congress
as an undemocratic discrimination in
favor of rich and fraudulent debtors of
the Government, and as a gross injustice
to the monopoly-ridden people of the Pa
cific Coast"
Senator White made a strong ar
gument before the subcommittee TO
which it was referred, and Just in
formed me that the committee has practi-
cally agreed to recommend the adoption of
the following very satisfactory substitute
mo discrimination should be INDUCED
by the Government of the United States
in favor of any of its debtors We ap-
prove of the refusal of the Fifty-third
Congress to pass the Pacific Railroad fund
ing bill, and denounce the efforts of the
present Republican Congress to enact a
similar measure"
This plank, if adopted by the conven-
ton, will fully accomplish our purpose
and will secure to US the solid support of
the Democrats in the Senate and House of
Representatives in opposition to the re-
funding scheme. Too much credit cannot
be given to Mr.. Caminetti for his untiring
and effective efforts in this matter.
The delegation was agreeably surprised
to learn this evening that Senator White
had been selected for permanent chair
man of the convention. No one on his be-
half had sought or solicited the place Tor
him, and the honor therefore comes in the
best possible form.
The committee on rules, of which l am
member, held a protracted and acri-
monious meeting tonight. Some of the
gold men seemed to be constantly seeking
for cause of quarrel. They repeatedly
intimated that we might do somethin e
that would GAUGE bolt in the convention.
and also suggesting that they would force
US to take immediate action upon the
question of repeating the two-thirds rule.
They were at last politely but firmly
informed that the majority of the
convention would deal properly with the
two-thirds rule whenever it may become
necessary to consider it, and as to the mat
ter OF a bolt, our action as delegates would
be in no way influenced by the fear of it,
and that the boilers would be left per-
fectly free TO pursue any course that their
principles and consciences might suggest.
Thus the matter stands tonight, and to-