The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-06-25
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION OF
WISCONSIN DECLARED FOR
A GOLD STANDARD.
GEN. Villas HEADS THE DELEGATION
The Unit Rule Was Adopted, Multiplying
the Votes of Silver District Dele
gates-Free Silver Showed More
Strength Than Expected.

Milwaukee, Wis.,, June 23.-Free silver
developed unexpected strength in the
Democratic state convention today. I'm
til within three weeks the gold standard
adherents were supposed to be over
whemingly in the majority in Wisconsin,
but when the test came this afternoon
on the adoption of the minority and ma
jority reports from the committee on res
olutions, the SILVER men were found to
number 12S of the $40 delegates in the
convention. The delegates at large to
the national convention are all gold
standard advocates and are headed by
Gen. William II. Villas and Edward s.
Bragg. The district delegates chosen
today by the district delegations include
several silver men, but will be governed
by the unit rule. They have no pref
erence for presidential nominee.
WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS.
Milwaukee, Wis. June 23-The eau
cussing of congressional district delega-
tons delayed the opening of the state
convention and it was 11:45 when ex-
Governor G. w. Peck, chairman of the
state central comittee, sounded the gavel
and called the assemblage to order
Thomas Frawley of Eau Claire was
selected as temporary chairman. After
a brief burst of applause had subsidized,
Mr.. Frawley proceeded to deliver u
speech on the issues of the day. He
said that while the great issue Of pre-
vious national contests (the tariff is pre-.
served and the lines thereto are sharply
drawn, still the paramount issue pre-
sented is, shall the Democratic party of
today stand where it has stood for up
wards of quarter of a century of its
existence, for a stable currency meas
ured by standard that the enlightened
Judgment of the commercial nations Of
the world have established and that ex-
perience has approved? Here and there
traces of lukewarmness and 'apostacy
may exist, the speaker said, but the Dem
0cratic party of today, especially the
Democracy of Wisconsin, as ever in
sists that the honor and integrity Of this
nation shall be preserved that its prom
ises made in the hour of necessity in our
great civil conflict to the pensioned he
roes now living or the widows of those
dead; that all our obligations, no matter
what the occasion or when issued, shall
be redeemed; no reputation in the way
OF debased currency or change of stand
ard shall or will be permitted The
credit of our nation, like the immutable
principles upon which our government
rests, must and shall remain unchanged
and Interchangeable.
The Democratic party knows that in
an era of commercial and industrial de-
preston no nation can successfully evct
itself from the great sisterhood of pro-
gressive states and adopt or use some
special medium of exchange and arbitra-
ry measure of value in opposition to the.
rest of the enlightened nations of the.
world. 1t believes in the coinage of sill
yer at the ratio of 16 to /. The Demo-
cratic party insists that the standard es-
tablished by the wisdom and experience
of ages as the safest and best shall con-.
tinue as the measure in all our CONNER
cial affairs.
1t insists that the logic of protection
will compel the Republican party ulti-.
mateIy to grant the demands of the six
states whose delegates sailed out Of the
ST. Louis c0vention.
The echoes of that convention have
been scarcely silenced until the learned
doctors of the "grand old party" are
reading between the lines and defining
the true meaning of the platform adopt
ed 1t is protection to private interests,
silver to the west and whatever is de-
manded to the rest of the country.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Ffawley's
speech. committees on permanent Organi--
Zati0n and resolutions were appointed,
and fight between the gold and silver
factions ensued over q motion that all
resolutions be referred to the committee
without reading. The silver men OPP
posed the motion, but tehy were outvoted
and the convention took recess until
2:30.
Following are the delegates to Chicago,
chosen at caucuses of congressional dis
trict delgations:
First district-GeOrge McKill of James,
vile and Thomas Kearney of Racine.
Second district--J. n. Malone and Viii
liam III. Rogers of Fort Atkinson.
Third district-Herman Gasser of
Plattsville AID DIR. w. A. Synon Of
Ridgeway.
Fourth William Mergenthal
and Henry Haas of Milwaukee.
Fifth distriet--M. G. Mead Of Plymouth
and DR.. Henry Blank Of Jackson.
Sixth district--H. p. Hamilton of Man.
itowoc and J. III. Wood Of Green Lake.
Seventh district-RObert Lee Of Alma
and A. G.. Lawson of Eau Claire.
Eighth district. l.. Brennan Of Ste
vens Point and John Warner of Ke-
vance
Ninth district-Judge Amos Holgate of
Marinette and E. J. Dockery of Ashland.
Tenth district--R. ]. Shields of Supe-
rior and M. p. McNally of New Rich
mOnd.
A minority report from the silver men
on the committee on resolutions was re-