The Portland daily press., 1896-07-23
CALLED 10 ORDER,
POpuIiSt Convention Holds It's First
Session.
BUTLER MAKES The
OPENING ADDRESS.
fgnatius DOnne1ly Also Makes an Address
and Urges Unity-Evening Session
Called to Order But Adjourned Be-
cause Electric Lights Went Out.

anu Urges Onity-EVenlhs SossAon
Called to Order But Adjourned Be-
cause Electric Lights Went Out.
ST. Louis, July 22.-No matter how
heated the proceedings of the Peoples
party convention may be, and there is
every prospect of hot fight from the
| word ''go'' the weather will keep pace
/ with the disputants. 1t is typical st.
Louis summer day, scorohing and grow
ing more SO overy minute.
The middle of the road delegates held
meeting this morning and reconsidered
the action taken late last night. The
decision to run Judge Q. D. Jones ef Mis-
souri, against Senator Butler for tenn
porary chairman, was resoinded and it
was agreed to make no opposition TO the
election of Senator Butler for the tenn
porarys presiding officer.
| The Same uncertainty and confusion
prevailed about the hour of the meeting
Of the convention as about the various
other matters connected with 1t. Ten
o'clock, II. and noon had been publicly
given out as the hour, with more or less
apparent authority.
| At the earliest of these points of time,
there were not 30 delegates in the con-
vention hall.
The hall was practically In the same
condition as to arrangements and deco.
rations that it was ic when the Repu bill
can convention assembledsin 1t five weeks
! ago, except that the pictures of Washing
ton, Grant, Sherman and others had been
taken away.
| At half past eleven the first motion
was made in the line of providing ac-
| com modntions for the chairman and off,
GERS Soon after this some work men
hung over the railing of one of the gal
leries q fair sized picture of Abraham
Lincoln, draped In the American flag,
and this sight of it drew out the first
manifestation of applause or interest
that the convention had yet given.
There were only three colored delegates
| present.. These were from Colorado,
| Georgia and. Kansas
| Nearly score Of women delegates from
Western states were in their seats Colo
rado had five women in its delegation.
| AT II O'clock there was still no sign of
an organization of the convention. The
portion of the ball reserved for the dele
| gates was then about two-fhirds full
I
| in tho gallery. Probably one-third OF
the delegates were in their shirt sleeves
with vests off and badges pinned to their
sus penders.
| The convention was finally called to
order at 1887. Prayer was offered by
Rev. DR.. W. l.. r. Smith of the Third
| Baptist church.
| Gov. Stone delivered the address of well
come. Hon. Ignatius Donnelly respond
| ed.
Mr.. Donnelly1 closed his remarks by
making an eloquent appeal for unity.
II stood,'' he said, sat the cradle OF the
old Greenback party. (Cheers) I stood
at the cradle of the Peoples party. God
forbid l should be hore today TO attend
Its funeral. Stand together, friends; lift
up your hearts to the majesty and dIgni-
ty Of the duty laid upon your shoulders.
| The men of Valley Forge had no more
sublime and treme ndous duty than we
have today. No man, however great, ia
worth scintilla against the interests of
| this great party
executive committee.to step up to the plat
| form. Among those who thus advanced
| was Mrs. Mary Ellen Lease, who was
| warmly chee-ed.
| Chairman Taubeneok introduced az
| temporary chairman of the convention
Senator Marion Butler of North Caro-
lima, who was received with three oheers,
which he characterized as 'oyolone Of
patriotism. History showed, he said,
that there always came a crisis in the
affairs Of men when humanity was raised
to higher level. accordingly as the men
on whose shoulders the responsibility
rested were able to meet the crisis with
wisdom and patriotism, (cheers), and
to solve them to the betterment of hu-
manity. Two political parties, he said,
had adopted platforms, had put forward
! their leaders. Now another great politi-
cal party, young but growing, giant in
| strength, had assem- bled to speak to the
American people in this critical and GIN
portant hour. (Cheers.)
| Populists were here because there was
need Of them to be here. The parties
| the war had succeeded in bringing the
nation to the verge of bankruptcy and
ruin, and had necessitated the existence
of Populist organization.
| The two parties had Wed with each
other in 'stradling." New "straddling'
was thing Of the past. He went ON to
speak of the transportation question
as standing side by side with the money
| question and declared that both these
great questions would have to be solved
before the oountry'got back to prosperity.
II the Peoples party were 20 60 out of
existence tomorrow, the next Democratic
national convention would report plat
form on which Bryan would not stand.
| (Cheers.)
"The Peoples party had raised an is
sue so universal, so great SO important.
that 1t had split both old parties in two
(IauRhteriand applauss.)
| What Is your duty touayP Lit Is to en-
| dorse and approve what is right and con-
demn what is wrong. No other course
| is true Populism. II you waver in your
principles Ia delegate, "We will not do
| it'') then you become no better than the
old parties which you were raised to de-
stroy. We have split both old parties.
We did it on principle. We ourselves will
not split, because we stand upon the prin-
ciple and are not going to be foolish
enough to split, upon details. If we
standa together go away from here, a
united band of brothers we will strip for
| the fray aud we will see next Novem Der
that the millions of organized capital
AM gold monopolists are stricken in
this country
Wnar Mr Rut1eJ, pasr1n,o3 bio saat soma