Omaha daily bee., 1896-08-24
SOUND MONEYS SOLID RANKS
IL
Leading Iowa Democrats to Be in oOnven-
ton This Week,
PROBABLE ACTION OF THE DELEGATES
One Line of Thought to lie the
Strengthening OF the National
Ticket. Though Some Atten-
tion is Given other Matters.

DfSS MOlNES, AuB. Eo'7 NSpeOIdi'J -AoNo .
sound money democratic convention, to be
held in this city Wednesday, will be
larger gathering than was the fusion con-
vention of democrats, populists and sill
verltes at Ottumwa last week. The sound
money men will have almost every county
in the state represented. There will be
from 500 to 900 delegates present; the eX-
pectation is that about 700 will be here.
And it will look a great deal more like a
democratic convention than did the OF
tumwa gathering The acknowledged
leaders of Iowa democracy were conspicu-
ously absent from that gathering; they will
be just as conspicuously present at this
one.
The sound money sentiment in democratic
ranks is growing, rather than weakening, ac-
cordng to Colonel l.. NJ. Martin national
committeeman for the Iowa sound money
democrats He speaks by the card, for he
has had an immense correspondence in the
last two weeks with all parts of the state
on this very subject. This is the way he
states the situation:
MARTINS ESTIMATE.
"The normal republican vote in this
state is about 225,00O; democratic, 175,OO0;
populist, 10000. Democrats and populsts
have fused Supposing the fusion is sue
cessful-and no fusion in Iowa ever was
the republicans are left 10000 in the lead.
From the letters and estimates ! have re-
ceived, | calculate that % per cent of Iowa
democrats will vote adversely to Bryan.
That is, 40 900 of them will not support the
free silver candidate OF these $4,000 will
vote for the sound money democratic ticket;
10000 will support Mckinley. The net re-
suit of the calculation is that the Bryan
ticket must get about 40, 900 republicans. or
nearly 20 per cent of the partys total
strength. 1t is just as impossible for
Bryan to carry Iowa as it will be for him
to get Massachusetts"
Colonel Martin says further that his cor
respondence indicates that there is an i'm
mense force of democrats in the state who
Will say nothing, but quietly vote for Nc
Kinley Its strength is hard to estimate
the more information he receives the larger
he finds Is this force. 1t includes business
men who for business reasons, cannot af-
ford to announce themselves as boilers, and
who will refuse to affiliate themselves
openly with the third party, but will not
vote for Bryan He receives a great mum
ber of confidential letters from this class
1t will increase after the convention of next
Wednesday, which Is expected to have a
strong moral influence. 1t will be gather
ing of the recognized democracy of the
state, and its enthusiastic work will give
backbone to the sound money people all
over the state. "a week after this con-
vontion," declares Colonel Martin, there
will be more sound money democrats in
Iowa than we dream of now. The thing will
sweep over the state like a prairie fire and
1t will have tremendous effect"
SOME OF THE OFFICERS.
The convention will meet in the Grand
opera house at 10 a. M. Wednesday. J. E.
e. Markley of Mason City will be temporary
chairman and great speech is expected
from him. Judge w. l. Babb of Mount
Pleasant, who a year ago was the demo-
cratic candidate for governor, will be per-
manent chairman.
The First, Second and Third congressional
districts will be represented by full delega-
tions from every county. The Fourth will
have nearly complete delegation. The
Fifth will have but one or two counties
represented, and in the Sixth, the sup
posed hot-bed of free silver, every county
will have a full delegation. The Seventh,
Eighth and Ninth districts will have prac-
tically complete representations. The Tenth
and Eleventh will be lightest of all, those
districts having manifested much less in
terest in the movement than the other
parts of the state. They are, however, both
regarded as safely republican districts"
1t is pretty well settled that the conven-
tion will do nothing but name delegation
to the Indianapolis convention and adopt
sound money platform. There has come
from the Sixth congressional district a
strong demand that a state and congress
sional ticket also be put up by the sound
money men. This demand will not be
made is an interesting and valuable pointer
on how fusion will work. In the Sixth dis
trict the democrats, populists and silverites
have determined on fusion, and Fred r.
White of Louisa county will be their candi-
date This idea has dspleased the demo-
Gratis very generally and they are anxious
for straight-out democratic ticket. 1t all
means that fusion will not fuse this year
any more than 1t has in the past
PROBABLE LINE OF ACTION.
The decision will be to devote all attention
to the national ticket and to leave con-
gressional and state matters to take care
of themselves. Sound money democrats will
generally vote for republican congressional
candidates.
There is considerable talk of the selec-
tions that will be made for delegates to
Indianapolis. A slate for delegates t-arge
is II. II. Trimble of Keokuk, L. NJ. Martin
of Marshalltown, w. /. Babb of Mount
Pleasant and Lucius Wells of Council Bluffs.
This combination, from present indications,
Is likely to go through. Other names that
have been discussed in this connection are
John Cliggett of Mason City, John C. Bills
of Davenport, Joseph Eiboeck of Des Moines,
w. H. NJ. Pusey of Council Bluffs and Ezra
Willard of Atlantic.
In the First district, the names of w. w.
Baldwin of Burlington, Edward Campbell of
| Fairfield John Wallbank of Mount Pleasant
and George f. Smith of Keosauqua are
proposed.
In the Second among those mentioned are
Nathaniel French of Davenport, Samuel
Calm of Muscatine, A. e. Swisher of Iowa
City and j. T. BEEN of Marengo.
Third, Robert Benson of Dubuque, NJ.
Kicker of Waterloo. l.. y. Springer of In
dependence, j. II. Scales of Ackley.
Fourth, J. E, Markley of Mason City,
II. L. Gilbert OF Monona, Sam G. Sloane of
Charles City.
Fifth, R, T. Corman of Marshallrown NJ.
II. Carpenter of Jones county, H. L. Getz
of Marshalltown, w. p. Brady of Cedar
Rapids
Sixth. T. B, Perry OF Abba, John C. Jor-
dan of Ottumwa, w II. Hollingsworth of
Sigourney, Joel Stewart of Grinnell.
Seventh, S. j. Gilpin of Winterset, w. A.
Park of Des Moines, T., r. North of Adel,
]. D. Seeberger of Des Moines.
Eighth, j, A. Bradley OF Centerville, S.
II. Mallory of Charlton, j. b. Horner of
David City, II. II. Scott of Clarinda
Ninth, L. L. Delano OF Atlantic, w. f..
Cleveland of Harlan, w. W, Merritt of Red
Oak. ''
Tenth, j. ]. Russell of Jefferson, H. A..
Cook of Denison, w, c. Wilson of Webster
City, j. C. Saunders of Fort Dodge.
Eleventh H. A. Jandt and John c. Kelly
of Sioux City, p. X. Holbrook of Onawa, f,
F. Ward of Lemars f. L, Brownell of
DOLLIVER GIVES AN ESTIMATE.