Evening star., 1896-07-07
Scenes and Incidents Among the
Democratic Hosts.
CRIES IN STREET and HOTEL CORRIDOR
Enthusiastic Delegations Go About
With Undiminshed Ardor.
IN THE CONVENTION HALL

I.-Since o'clock this morning there have
been signs of something unusual happening
In Chicago. The babel of tumult that ordi-
narily exists in the downtown district has
been irordinately swollen by the injection
of an additional element. Democratic en-
thusiasm is the general term Of the new
element, but 1t includes a number Of differ
ent component features. Taken together
and mingled with the normal uproar of
this turbulent town they swell into dis
eordant chorus. forming a fitting over
tUre to the big democratic concert that
begins at noon- Bands are playing on
every corner and down every street; march
ing clubs are swinging their jubilant way
through the crowded thoroughfares, call
ing their campaign choruses as they go.
Tumultuous groups of happy Bourbons.
Well tanked even at this early hour with
Bourbon OF another brand, make their
presence known after their own peculiar
fashion. Horns and kazoos blown by the
lusty-lunged rooter of the country candi-
dates make noise enough to rend the blue
vault of heaven. if there were one over
Chicago, but there is not
DE Tanlmapy gents are host in them
selves when 1t comes to noise. Their IA
vorite cry is a rattling chorus like this:
Hail de nominee.
Hall de nominee,
Wat tell do We care who tell he be;
Hail de nominee"
They whoop 1t up in the corridor with
this and wind up with tiger, that "every-
ting goes wild Tamminee"
The free silver orators still hold forth in
the lobbies expounding their doctrines and
engaging In arguments until the last mo-
ment before the convention meets. They
a lvI-gly 1r
score against gold bug Is greeted with
applause Oratory of the Tillmanesaue va
riety catches the crowd. A colIarless
granger can Gemolish a logical argument
at a sweep by Singing in one of Tillman's
odoriferous epigrams- The orator with the
Ioudest voice and widest range of wind
mill gesticulation gets the largest audi
eDce
once III e while the assemblages in the
corridors are broken up and swept aside by
procession OF cheering. yelling rooters,
VINO swing through the place shoulder to
shoulder and ths whole go rushing down
the corridor like a torrent of humanity. to
be dissipated by barrier somewhere and
thin out in the overflow and be later
Caught up in another eddy that circles
around a point of interest.
ArdOr Undfmmed.
Last night was a great night for the
hooters and they turned out today a little
lleary, but with aIdor undimmed The
Missouri men make their breakfast off a
chew of tobacco and a toothpick and the
1ammany crowd take a cocktail and a shoe
shine tt en- they are ready for the business
In hand, which is to make all the noise they
can. The crowds in the hotels remind the
oountrymen of nive of bees about to
swarm. The individuals move about rest
less and uncertain, circling around in swift.
tut aimless, fashion and keeping up a
mighty buzzing the while. To complets-the
simile the bands strike up their din and
congregate the swarm in spots, whence
they are later to be hived at the convention.
By 10 o'clock the aimless. shifting crowds
take on a uniform motion and continuous
streams of humanity pour down the streets
leading to the lake 'front.' to board the
trains for the convention hall. Singly and
in delegations. headed by bands and drum
corps. or pushing their Individual way
through the dense mob. the people struggle
for the train entrances. Chicago's normal
crowds on the streets, sufficient at any
time to appall hayseeds from Washington
and New \ ork, resent this invasion of their
alleys and struggle for possession Of the
slime-covered iagstones and grimy side
walks
Cable cars and trolley cars go plowing
through the masses in manner recklessly
peculiar to Chicago. The guardian angel
VINO is pcpularly supposed to protect chill
dren and drunken men, extends her favor
to these poor unfortunates and a quorum
get through in safety. At the stations of
the Illinois Central railroad the people rush
for trains as they did on favorite days of
the worlds fair. Train after train is dis
patched and yet the end of the crowd
stretching up the streets do not seem to
materially shorten.
Outside the Hall.
Outside the convention hall scenes of the
widest disorder and confusion are reigning.
The arrangements for admission are posi-
lively Incompetent Fifteen thousand per-
sons were massed outside the front of the
building until fifteen minutes before the
opening of the convention. They were all
placed at one side of the building, where
they ranged in parallel lines several squares
long. When the word was given this i'm
nense body OF people converged at four
small doors, each not more than four feet
wide.
The crush that followed can be imagined
Men and women were ground together in
the mass like wheat between the mill
stones Crying, shouting, cursing, entreat-
ing. they struggled to keep their footing
Once down was to be ground into a shape
less mass With resistless force the crowd
In the rear pressed forward and their
weight exerted upon the people in the front
rank was inconceivas,le
Once inside the building the people found
themselves in a great lobby, but so ar
ranged that the crowd would again have to
converge at entrances smaller than the
first.
Here again occurred crush that almost
rivaled the one at the entrance
There are dozens of doors around the
convention hall. but these were not opened.
as was done at st. Louis, where the crowd
was equally distributed.
Aged Senator Harris of Tennessee, who
Is to be permanent chairman of the conyen-
ton. applied at one of these for entrance.
L wouldn't let you In If you were NV
grand1ather," shouted the Chicago police
man on duty there. The last / saw of the
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