The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-11
THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE.


J. Bryan, of Nebraska. as the party's
presidential candidate is surprise for
many reasons. 1t is a surprise because
he is very young man and comes
from a new state, not only west of the
Mississippi but west of the Missouri;
a state that IS Republican, though his
nomination viii probably carry it for
the Democratic party this year. Mr.
Bryan's nomination. is surprise be-
cause he went into the convention
scarcely as dark horse. and until
Thursday he was not believed to have
any particular strength, when his
speech aroused an enthusiasm that
made it plain that he of all the candi-
dates was the one who might be able
to stampede the convention, which he
did yesterday. The paramount issue,
the absorbing thought of the conven-
ton was the silver question. Mr..
Bryans brilliant advocacy of free coin
age the past TWO years and his re-
markable and matchless speech in the
convention Thursday. he standing there
before the assembled thousands with
the fire of youth in his veins and the
fire of eioquence in his words. carried
the convention. He stood before the
convention the most brilliant advocate
of the idea that dominated it, and it
was won to him. His nomination is
surprising when it is remembered that
Richard P. Bland was candidate for
the nomination, and that Mr.. Bland
has been the great champion of
silver in the Democratic party
for the past twenty years. It
shows how tradition was departed
from in the matter of section Before
Mr.. Bryan's speech of Thursday every
one would have said that the nomina-
ton of presidential candidate from
any state west of the Missouri was an
impossibllity. 1t is a greater innova-
ton than was the nomination of Mr.
Cleveland four years ago against the
protest of the solid delegation from
New York. And it is well, for it shows
that American national politics are be-
ing less and less dominated by the sec
tion-of-country idea.
What effect will Mr.. Bryan's nom
ination have upon his party? He will
be as acceptable to the gold wing of
the party as any silver candidate
could be; more acceptable than would
have been either Mr.. Bland or MI
Boies, his only real competitors. He
will rally to him the young men of his
party, while the old men, no matter
what their financial views, will accept
him as the party candidate, for old
partisans are generally very loyal.
Democrats who now are inclined to
sulk will come out and vote for him,
for his candidacy will provoke strong
enthusiasm, and it will increase as the
campaign goes on.
It was recognized by all that the
nomination of a candidate by the Chi
cago convention would have a very
material influence upon those advo-
Gates of free silver who are not Demo-
Gratis. 1t was seen that the nomination
at Chicago would either rally them all
to the Democratic standard or result
in the nomination of an independent
silver candidate. We believe that Mr.
Bryan's nomination will rally them
all to him and that there will be no indie
pendent silver candidate. He meets all
the demands in the case and is
an exponent Of the free silver idea as
eminent as Senator Teller himself,
though for not SO great length of time.
We believe that Senator Teller and
those who bolted the st. Louis conven-
ton with him will give their hearty
support to him. If they should not,
then the sincerity of their action at st.
Louis will be very seriously impugned
by their refusal to support him.
While Democrat, Mr.. Bryan's prom
inence has come from his connection
with the agitation for free silver. He
has never been prominently identified
with those Democratic measures that
distinguish the party and which would
tend to drive away those who do not
belong to the party but who are in ia
vor of silver yet do not care to accept
a candidate who has been known as
strong partisan.
Having made the free coinage of sill
yer the leading plank in its platform,
the selection of Mr.. Bryan as the party
candidate is probably the very best
that could have been made. He will
be least Objectionable to the gold men
in the party and the most acceptable
to the silver men both in and out of the
party. On the only real issue of the
he cannot fail to prove a
strong candidate.
THE CONVENTION.