The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-07-09
WASHINGTON.
PROM our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, July 9Th, 1896.


thousands of good democrats are now
travelling, and towards which millions
more are looking with deepest inter
est. The veal or woe Of the demo
cratic party, not only for the present
campaign, but for the future, will be
determined by the convention which
meets in the windy city this week.
AS far as the most important plank in
the platform to be adopted by that
convention is concerned the matter is
already practically settled in favor of
silver. The principal contest in the
convention will be over the head of
the ticket, it is believed, although
there is report that fight is to be
made to drop the rule requiring two
thirds of the convention to nominate.
There is another report to the effect
that formal bolt is contemplated by
the gold democrats, in case the head
of the ticket nominated is a radical
silver man. Your correspondent will
have to see this before he will believe
it. From the beginning of this un-
fortunate fight in the party it has been
preached up by the gold men that the
fight should be fought to finish in
side the party and that when the
National convention had adopted
platform it should be Loyalty accepted
by the minority. Now, men like ex-
Secretary Whitney and Chairman
Harrity of the Democratic National
Committee, have done that sort Of
preaching, and l positively refuse to
believe that they are going back on it
if they fail to ge, the convention to
see things as they see them. National
Conventions are courts of last resort
to political parties, and no man should
take part in one who is not prepared
to accept its decisions. There may
be individuals who attend the Chicago
convention who will leave the demo-
cratic party because of its action, as
they have right to do, but don't
believe there will be any boiling on
the part OF body of delegates.
The more that becomes known
about Hobart the more republican
dissatisfaction there is expressed at
his election by Hanna for the second
place on the ticket AT first it was
thought that his obscurity would cause
him to be accepted without protest
by the rank and file of the republican
party, but since the newspapers of the
country have been throwing their
searchlight upon Hobart's record
there is regular republican howl all
along the line. They may not be able
to force him off the ticket, but it is
certain that had they known as much
at st. Louis as they do now that the
Blaine republicans in that convention
would never have allowed Garret
Hobart to be nominated for Vice
President, and it is doubtful whether
Hanna would have asked such thing
of the convention had he known that
Hobart not only bolted the nomina-
tion of Blaine, in the "a campaign,
but furnished a considerable part OF
the money to pay campaign expenses
of Ben. Butler, whose running was a
factor in the election of Mr.. Cleve-
land, The Blaine republicans were
not any too well disposed towards
Mckinley anyway, and, now that
they know the part played by Hobart
in keeping their idol out of the White
House, nobody need be surprised il
thousands Of them knife the whole
ticket in November.
President Cleveland has no sympa
thy for men who are convicted oi
violating pension laws. He refused
applications for pardon for three such
Convicts just before he left Washing
ton for Gray Gables. In the. case Of
Paul A. Marcelhno, he wrote on the
application for pardon: "This convict
was guilty, apparently, of nearly all
the crimes and frauds denounced by
our pension laws, He seems in every
way possible to have cheated and
swindled ignorant pensioners and
imposed on the government. The
punishment meted out to him was all
well-deserved, and / cannot yield tc
the unthinking and irresponsible ap-
peal for his pardon" Upon the ap
plication for pardon for Andrew J.
Rocks the President wrote: "This
convict personated dead soldier, ant
through that means procured a pension
and robbed the government, He wa:
justly dealt with by the court, ant
should suffer all the punishment
awarded to him." and upon that of S
o. w. Brandon, who was pension
attorney: "Denied-I am unwilling
10 pardon those who in violation o
our pension laws, overcharge appli
cants for pensions for the services
they render in substantiating thei