The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-06-11
A SILVER PLATFORM AND CAN
DIDATE.

Ihe National Democratic convention
will declare for the free and unlimited
coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1.
Kentucky was the turning point in the
battle between the silver and gold forces.
When Kentucky declared for free coinage
the gold men gave up the fight.
In Democratic National conventions
majority vote adopts the platform while
two-thirds vote is necessary to nomi-
nate candidate. But it is now more
than likely that the candidate nominal.
ed at tine Chicago convention will he in
accord with the platform and that he
will receive the necessary two.thirds
vote.
The Eastern and Middle States will be
solid for gold platform and quite likely
Maryland. Wisconsin, through the in.
tiuence of Senator Villas, is apt to send a
gold delegation and Michigan has in.
structed her delegates for gold. There
will be sprinkling of gold delegates in
some of the other States, but they will
count for nothing. The silver men in all
the States where they have a majority
will enforce the unit rule and if this
National convention does as all of its
predecessors have done for the last half
century, it will sustain any State that
adopts the unit rule. Assuming this to
be the case the gold men will not get a
vote outside of tie New England and
Middle States, and Maryland, Michigan
and Wisconsin. With all of these States
the gold men can muster more than one
third of the convention, and by sticking
together could prevent the nomination
ton of silver candidate, but there is
one obstacle in the way.
Michigan will play an important part
inIthe Chicago convention. Her dele
ga.ion is composed of 10 gold men, and
l3 silver men and the delegation is
bound by the unit rule. But there is a
grave doubt whether the gold delegation
will be seated. After well organized
campaign which resulted, as was sup
posed, in the election of large majority
of free silver men, the convention, when
it came to crucial test, was found to be
on the gold side. An investigation has
been made of the circumstances which
led to this action of the convention and
the data is now in the possession of the
silver executive committee in this city.
A list has been secured of every delegate
elected in the State, with statement of
his views on the silver question, the
name of the person to whom he gave his
proxy, the federal position, if any, held
by the person to whom the proxy was
given, and the agreement, if any, made
at the time of its disposal. 1t is said
that the information thus obtained will
be enough to convince any committee on
credentials that the vote cast in the
State convention by the delegates hold
ing proxies were not in accordance with
the platforms of the county conventions,
which chose the original delegates, and
that, therefore, the decision reached by
the State convention was not an ex.
preston of majority of the Democrats
of the State. The silver men will contest
the gold delegation of Michigan in the
National convention, and when it is re-
membered that the silver nen will orga-
nize and control the convention and the
fact that the vote of Michigan is needed
to give the silver men the necessary
two-thirds vote to no mate a silver
candidate, betting man would not like
to wager much on the gold mems chances
for seats in the convention.
But even if the gold delegates of
Michigan are successful in retaining their
seats in the convention the chances are
that silver man can still be nominated
by a two-thirds vote. The invariable
custom has been that where a candidate
can muster more than a majority vote
but not the necessary two thirds; the
requisite number of votes have generally
been forthcoming. In the National
Democratic convention of 1856, as soon
as Buchanan had received majority
vote, Douglass promptly telegraphed
his managers to withdraw his name
saying that no candidate should stand |
in the way of a man who had majority |
of the delegates, and Buchanan was
accordingly nominated on the next |
ballot. 1t is more than probable that
similar deed will be done in the coming
Chicago convention.