The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-08-31
CHEERS FOR CLEVELAND
New York's Sound Money Dem
oerats in Enthusiastic Ses-
sion at Syracuse.

t14'--4
snappers" held their enthusiastic con-
vention of four years ago, was the scene
of today's proceedings of the reform De-
was PRETTY decorated with the Stars and
| Stripes and Red, White and Blue bunt-
| ing interspersed with shields. The ballot
| emblem of the party-a three masted
ship under sail-was suspended at the
back of the stage.
There was a seating capacity on the
floor of 1,500 and 100 on the stage The
delegates were slow in arriving at the
hall. Ar noon. the hour set for the con-
vention to begin business, there was not
a corporal's guard in the hall. The dele
gates began assembling at 12:15 and few
minutes afterwards Gaylord's band ar
rived at the hall Their presence lent the
first life to Convention Hall.
The delegates were delayed in conven-
ing owing ito the late arrival of several
Western delegations.
AT 1888 Chairman Widenmann, of the
State Committee, called the convention to
order. He annaunced that Under Sheriff
Henry H. Sherman, of New York City,
would read the call. This was done. AT
this time there were about half dozen
people on the stage while the seats on the
floor were about half filled. The specta-
enmann then addressed the delegates. His
remarks were enthusiastically applauded
many times. He SAID
Fellow Democrats-And when / say
Democrats | mean men who are true to
the principles of Democracy as laid down
and maintained by Jefferson. Madison,
Seymour, Tilden and Cleveland. CAP
plause) | mean men who will not follow
the hArpSieS which Offered TO
the name of Democracy at Chicago. /
mean men who do not believe that 5S-aye,
later on. As and 40-make 10O (Applause)
l mean men who oppose the building
around this country silver wall which
would be more costly and more detri-
mental to the advancement of the pro-
gress of this country than any Chinese
wall that has ever been built; l mean
men who wili not allow that our Supreme
Court should be debauched and brought
down to the level of a tool of a political
organization. (Applause.) I mean men
who stand by civil service reform-men
who uphold those principles for which our
fathers fought. for which we are fight
ing. and men who viii uphold them for
coming generations and believe that they
are the only ones which will lead this
country to its highest and greatest desti-
nation. (Applause.) l mean men, gentle
men, who Will grasp the standard of
defile ii ana sretaff1 Fif. ana kseb II for US
and future generations, and mean men
also. gentlemen, who prefer defeat with
honor to victory with dishonor Cap
plause.)
At the conclusion of his remarks Mr..
Wtdemann said he had been requested
by the State Committee to name Daniel
G. Griffin of Watertcwn as temporary
Edward G. Dunphy of New York and
Henry A. Richmond, a son OF Dean Rich
mond, as a committee 10 escort Mr.. Grif-
fin to the chair.
Mr. GriffinsS r,rNco r,.ee, ~, 4i,o
was met with an soutburst of enthusiasm
from the delegates He spoke as follows:
When citizen has to choose between
a duty 20 his country and an opposite
demand by his party. if he hesitates or
attempts to minimize or palate the ex-
tent. of his defiance of his party organ-
zation under such circumstances, he
tnereoy publishes his own pusillanimity.
For a party is but an instrument se-
lected by patriotic citizen as the best
means for effectuating public welfare and
when 1t ceases to perform that function
and becomes instead the exponent of
dangerous doctrines, he is bound to at
tempt its purification; and failing in that,
then to select the next best means to
accomplish his duty. We recognize as
Well as any one that when a voter has
aimed himself with political party in
the course of events he is likely to find
much in its management, in the views
OF the candidates nominated and in the
conduct of the officials selected by it to
AWAKEN MS dlStrusI ana TO d1Scredlt his
party. And STILL these things are not
always so essential as to justify his
withdrawal from his party or
his aiding in the establishment
Of an independent or irregular organiza-
tlon and thus in a measure postpone or
defeat more important or essential OBJ
jects. But see before me too MANY who
IN years past in hard-fought political
campa gns have loyalty supported the
candidates and the platforms of Demo-
cratic conventions when their own griev-
ance and their disgust with the manage
ment OF their party were calculated to
believe that you have met today merely
to utter complaint about an unessen-
tial act of the Chicago Convention.
And what are our grievances and what
is the cause of conventions like this IN
every State in the Union7 Why the Chi
cago Convention threatened public well
fare and ddshonored Democracy in its
own household And If We in order ~
combat that danger and avenge the in
suit are compelled to act independently
OF our party organization, then we glory
In our irregulafity.
And SO we are not as Justification of
our conduct pointing to The indispslfa a HE
circumstances that the Chicago Oiafforr,o
and candidates before this practically re-
the convention that the whole work Of
that body has already been repudiased
by the Democratic press and by Demo-
cratic press and by Democratic orga n "a =
tons in a most significant and infliien- dI,e
tai manner than lever before be-
fell the work of similar
convention. but We choose rather
to base our action exclusively upon our
sense of purity. Far better for us in the
times to be remembered as irregular
democrats than as regular Repudiaton-
lsts 10 those who ask us why we do
not suppoTf Mckinley. our answer is:
We are Democrats and not protectionists
70 those who ask US why we do not
support Bryan, our answer stiH: We are
ar+ D. rfl.. ..+-.- .f~.4- re
we are still pressed for an explanation
by those who assert we should
not practically nullify our suppont
by giving 1t TO al cause rem
resented by a hopeless candidate bit
mat we should choose Instead between
the TWO candidates already nominated
ana one OF whom is sure of election. we
reply. NO man is yet qualified to predict
that the Indianapolis Convention cannot
originate movement which shall make
It's candidate formidable competitor
with those already in the field
IN SO far as the Republican candidate
mas been coerced into an uneauiyocal dec
laratlon for sound money, we commend
the influences which have produced SO
satisfactory result; bat when he claims
such material advantages for ourselves
from reciprocity with South American
states we pause to inquire; II fair trade
with colored people is such a good thing
why not with white folk also?
The chief charge we make against the
Chicago platform and which so far stands
undfsputed by its adherents and the cam
didates nominated thereon ~ that II
proposes The free and Independent cf,f41axse
of silver at ratio far in excess Of its