The record-union., 1896-07-20

something in excess of three million
voters. They have been reviled and per-
secuted, they say, on all hands CT
they have prospered in spite of these
prosecutions and it is for these reasons
that they wish TO perpetuate the party
name and incidentally oppose the selec-
ton of any nominee for the Presidency
except one of their own number.
They do not object to Bryan on per-
sonal grounds. They say he is good
enough Populist for us, but we have
equally acceptable men in our own
ranks" Perhaps when Senator Jones OF
Arkansas arrives he may be sufficiently
influential with the leaders to bring
them into line, but it is doubtful.
General Weaver of Iowa thinks the
nomination of Bryan the eninently
proper course for the convention to fol-
low He thinks it would unite the party
to give the voters something to work
for, because his nomination by both
parties would make his election GER
tainty He would also include Sewall in
the nomination. He says there would be
no Inconsistency in PopuliSt support OF
Sewall, who has been Greenback
Democrat always. 1t is his belief that
the Populsts will vote for Bryan wheth-
er they nominate him or not. In his
opinion Bryan will not only be elected,
but he will carry Iowa by handsome
plurality.
The contention of Taubeneck, Chair
man of the National Committee, that
Bryan should not be nominated is in
dorsed by some of the ablest men in the
party who feel that such a course would
be suicidal. These say that the nomina-
ton of Bryan is dictated largely by sell
fish considerations; by men who hope to
secure local preferment through the sue
cess of the national ticket. General
]. C. Coxey of Commonwealth fame is
another of the conspicuous Populists
who cannot be convinced that Bryan'S
nomination by the party would be for
the best interest of it. CoXey has no
candidate, but he does not want the Ne
braska man. He insists upon the nomi-
nation of straight out Populist, with
some arrangement for division of the
electoral vote, based upon the relative
strength of the two parties as shown ON
State tickets.
1t is a curious fact that some of the
Southern Populists have been converted
from free traders to extreme protec-
tionists through their affiliations of late
years with the Republicans. While
some of these men place silver above the
tariff as national issue, there are
others who are willing to give their sup
port to a tariff reformer, but say that as
between the two they would prefer Nc
Kinley Generally speaking, however.
the delegates care nothing for the tariff.
With them the all absorbing question is
Irr1p cf e.
cure this they will make any sacrifice
and go to any extreme to defeat Nc
Kinley and his hated gold bug"
friends.
The Sabbath brought in but few ar
rivals of delegates to the convention and
fewer of any note. Principal among them
We're Reuben F. DeK olb, the Populist
candidate for Governor of Alabama; j.
S. Coxey of Ohio, famous for his army
that marched to Washington in 1894.
Senator Jones of Arkansas Chairman
of the National Democratic Committee
was expected to spend the day here en-
route home from Washington and con-
fer with Governor Stone, but he will not
arrive until tomorrow.
The published call for meeting at
the Lindell this afternoon in behalf of
quite a crowd of people, but Chairman
Taubeneck, by whose authority the an
nouncement was supposed to have been
made, stated that it had never been the
intention to hold such a meeting so far
as he knew. AT the middle of the road"
headquarters in the Laclede, however, a
continuous meeting went on all day and
far into the night Here was afforded an
20
talk to express their views on the ques-
| tions for which the Populist party
stands. II was an open game and the
speakers were often compelled to an
swer or fence" questions more or less
discriminating. The principal ideas
discussed were the money question, di-
rect legislation, Government ownership
of railroads and telegraphs and the
! other Populistic planks.
There will be two contested delega-
tions to engage the attention of the Ma
tional Committee, one from Illinois and
one from Colorado.
The Colorado contest promises to de-
velop into something interesting on the
floor of the convention r. A. South
worth, Chairman of what is known as
the Waite delegates, says of the contest:
CDllle from d very ldTSe state ana Ine
railway fares range from four cents to
six cents, with maximum of ten cents
in the mountain districts. The only
paper in Colorado claiming to be a Pop
ulist publication is the Rocky Mount
ain News and it was in this that the
call for our State Convention made its
appearance, signed by the Chairman Of
the State Central Committee. Many of
IL 4 Il -
many were too poor TO pay the exorbi-
tant railway fares charged. Those who
did come to the packed convention
came ON passes.
Governor Waite announced that am
appeal would be taken from the deciS-
ion to the st. Louis Convention. He
further said that a mass meeting of the
delegates would at once be held in
Plumbers Hall. Seventeen counties fol-
/ lowed Mr.. Waite from the hall and a
mass convention was held and delegates
were chosen. Many of the delegates Sc
| lected were not present at the meeting,
and when we notified them of their Sc
| lection all but one of the fortyfive bade
us godspeed in our work Waite was
| first chosen Chairman of the delegation,
but he was removed last Monday and I
! Was pidtei III HIS pidCe DSCtuSe Iit
! dorsed Bryan
Thomas W. Patterson is at the head
of the other set of delegates from Colo
| RADIO. which Mr. Southworth says is
| composed of Democrats and not Popu
| lists.
! Inquiries among the Alabama, Geor-
| gia, Tennessee and Texas delegations
tonight discloses the fact that under
no circumstances will they accept Bry-