Birmingham state herald., 1896-07-24
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Delegates Shed Coats, Vests and Collars for
 the Coming Fray.


 The convention reassembled during the hottest of a hot day Most of the dele gates set aside all idea of personal digni- ty or of the proprieties of the occasion and divested themselves of coats, vests and shirt collars. The committee on creden- of the band had again to be called into requisiton to fill up the tedious time of waiting.
 Partial Report on Credentials.
 It was 3:30 o'clock when Senator Butler called the convention to order and stated that the committee on credentials was prepared to make partial report. The chairman of the committee came to the stand and submitted a majority report recommending that the delegations be recognized in all the unconteSted cases; that in the case of the First and Second Illinois Congressional districts both con- testants and contestees be seated with the right to cast half votes, and that in the case of Colorado the delegates known as the Patterson delegates be seated and cast the full vote of the state.
 Minority reports, the chairman said, would be submitted in these cases.
 That part of the report for the. admis- sion of the delegates whose seats were uncontested was agreed to. MT. Patter- son of Colorado said the reason why 1t was desired to take up the Colorado case first was because this was the only case where a whole state delegation was con- tested and Colorado had forty-fiye good populists who desired to be heard.
 The Colorado case was then taken up, but was laid aside for an hour, or until the minority report should be ready.
 The Illinois Case
 was then taken up. The report of the majority declares that the Taylor dele gates from Cook county are not entitled to the seats and that the contestants are. The minority report is in favor of the Taylor delegates.
 Debate was limited to fifteen minutes on each side.
 The vote was first taken on the minor ity report on the Cook county case, that the Taylor delegates are entitled to the seats, the roll of states being called on the question
 The vote was taken in the most ex- traordinary manner. Instead of voting yea or nay on the question before them the adoption of the minority report most of the delegations voted upon both reports at the same time.
 In this haphazard way the sense of the convention was reached, and it was found that there were cast for the mi nority report seating the Taylor dele gates from Cook county, SAP votes, and for the majority report seating both del- egations with half vote, 665 votes.
 This result was announced by the chair amid scene of great confusion. It was stated Dy the cndlr III icply tO q qutSLiou that the Illinois deIega tions had voted on their own case, though no one had heard Illinois called. It was incidentally dis- closed during the roll call that the vote of Louisiana had been increased by the committee on credentials from fifteen to thirty-two without any report being ma de in regard thereto.
 The roll call also gave public informa- tion tor the first time of votes assigned each state under the elastic rules of the convention. The voting strength of each state was as follows:
 The Voting Strength of States.
 Alabama 54, Arkansas 25, California 39, Colorado 45 Connecticut I, Delaware 3, Florida g, Georgia 81, Idaho 2. Illinois 54, Indiana 30, Iowa %, Kansas 92. Ken lucky 26. Louisiana 32 Maine 9, Mary land 9, Massachusetts 21, Michigan 30. Minnesota 37. Mississippi IS, Missouri 3S, Montana Il, Nebraska 57, Nevada not represented, New Hampshire 4. New Jersey 12, New York A. North Carolina 95. North Dakota 12 Ohio 49, Oregon IA. Pennsylvania 3S, Rhode Island 4, South Carolina not represented, South Dakota IT, Tennessee 77, Texas 103, Utah 5, Wy omlng 2. Alaska and Arizona not repra-