The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-07-01
SILVER MINIS CONFERENCE
BIMETALLIO NATIONAL G0MMII- THB AND IN ALTGELD CAUCUS.

Senator Jones Says That the BimetalIic
 Committeo Win Steer the Silver Cause
 Through the Convention--H Hill May Be
 Temporary Chairman and Jones PerIna-
 nent Chnirman--Booms of Silver Candi-
 dates in Plenty Arrive at Chicago.
 Chicago, June 9O.-Behind closed doors, in separate parlors of the Sher- man house, there were begun this morning two conferences, the results of which are likely to materially affect the deliberations and outcome of the na- tional democratic convention. One was that of the Bimetallic national com mlttee, brought into existence at Mem phls year ago, and subsequently, in dorsed by convention at Washington, D. c., in August, It is composed of number of democratic senators and representatives and a committeeman rom each state and territory.
 There was a conference of the forty eight district delegates and delegates at-iafge of Illinois, together with number of leading party workers from all over the state called personally by Governor Altgeld, who is the chairman and absolute dictator of the course to De pursued by the delegation, for the purpose of considering the merits and qualifications of the various men al- ready in the field for the presidential nomination, to discuss what course of procedure the delegation should advo- cate in regard to the abrogation of the two-thirds rule and further suggest and carry out methods to offset any scheme l looking to a compromise that might be suggested by the gold standard minor ity, and likewise to decide whether or rot Illinois should claim either the
 yemporary or permanent chairmanship of the convention. These two meetings | made the Sherman house the rallying point at an early hour this morning of the scores of delegates and the hum
 dreds of boomers already on the ground.
 Senators Harris of Tennessee and Jones of Arkansas were early astir, and their parlors were full of callers when they left the breakfast table. In re- I sponse to numerous questions from 4 | Congressman Bland, Senator Jones said I explicitly that the Bimetallic committee | proposed to take charge of and to steer l the siver cause through the prelimin- | aries of the convention, as well as on the floor after it had been organized. They proposed, he said, to keep their l eyes open and to be prepared for what l ever shreWd or sharp play the gold I standard men might attempt to in | dulge in. At the same time it was not l proposed to dictate candidates save to l throw it's influence for free silver men. l Nor would it undertake to force any ! officers upon the convention. It was
 the prerogative of the national com mittee, said the senator, to name the I temporary chairman, and that prerog- ative would not be interefered with if
 the committee acted fairly and selected l a democrat who could be depended
 upon to rule justly. Otherwise the sil- | yer men would present a candidate of I their own, and who as a natural con- sequence of the overwhelming predi- lections of the body, would of course be
 elected. When Senator Jones was ask 1 ed whether he had said last night that
 Senator David B. Hill would be accept
 able to him in this capacity, he answer 1 ed in the affirmative.
 While the senators and Secretary
 Towles were greeting the throng of ar irving visitors many new faces put in an appearance in the corridor and lob l by. Among them were George F. Kee-
 ney of San Francisco, general secreta- l " of the American Silver association; | Mir. Delmar, secretary of the New York
 state silver committed; Charles Welsh I secretary of the Iowa state centra \ committee; General Master Workman l Sovereign of the Knights of Labor, Sen | ator Dubois of Idaho, Senator Petit 1 grew of South Dakota and Congress I man Shafroth of Colorado, the three l republican silverites, thus early on the
 ground, but who kept to the rotunda and did not place themselves in evi. l dence in the democratic parlors; Sena- l tor Cockrell of Missouri and Senator 1 Martin of Kansas, Senator c. N. Feltor | of California, Senator David Turpie o1 Indiana, Myron D. King, private secre-
 tary of Governor Matthews of Indiana and Secretary Nelson of the Illinois 1 state central committee.
 In the interchange of opinions con.
 corning presidential candidates, consid- | erable prominence was given to the re. port which had reached here from the
 east this morning that Vice President | Stevenson was looming up as a presi dential candidate, and that it was pos | sible that the eastern democrats, tC l many of whom he is known to be ac. ceptable, might seek a coalition witt I the southern delegations with the view
 of forcing his nomination. Among tn,
 silver men, however the suggestion
 was not received with favor.
 1 Comptroller James H. Eckels arrived
 at the Palmer house yesterday, prepar
 ed to stay until the convention Is over i 'I have just got here" said MT
 Eckels, "and cannot say much abou
 the situation. I will say, though, tha
 I have heard no talk in the east abou
 bolt The democrats of the east art
 coming to Chicago to meet democrat'
 from the west and the south and plain
 ly lay before them the situation. If the 1 party is not disrupted by the radica
 action of silver men, we stand a goot