The sun., 1896-09-14
A LEADERLBSS' PARTY.
The Condition that Confronts
the Popocrats at Buffalo.
ALL THE OLD LEADERS CUT,
And the Old State Machine Has
Already Gone to Pieces.

Party 10 Victory In the Pnst-The Con-
| vcntion 20 he Hun by Unkuown Men
Sone OF the Country Popocrnts Believe
Suizer shouid Be Nominated for Cow
| ernor, Others Favor RidEwny, While
| F-iends OF Fred Cook Believe that he
Would Re the Strongest Candidate Be-
cause Ho Has Changed from n silver
Man TO - Gold Man, and Has Not Goo
hack Hnto the silver Canp-w. r.
| Sheehah ResiGns from tho National
| Committco In n Letter In which ne
Repudiates Bryan and His PIntrarm.
| BUFFALO. Sept. 13-The announcem' mt ,hat
| Senator Hill will not attend the Democratic
| State Convention which is TO assemble here ON
| Wednesday to nominate candidates for Gov
! ernor, Lieutenant Governor. and an Associate
Judge of the Court OF Appeals. is considered the
| most striking feature of these ante Con venton
hours. Senator Hill has attended every State
| Convention OF his party since 1872. He has
been the leader of his party in the State for the
| last eleven years From youth he has
| been a striking personality in the annual
| gatherings of the Democratic party OF his time.
| Senator Hill docs not believe that he could
| be of any service 10 the Democratic party
| in this Convention. He has counselied moder-
| alton In the hope that something OF the DEM
| ocratic State organization might be saved upon
| which to build n rejuvenated Democracy. In
| return for the labors that he has performed for
| his party II was left for petty assembly dis
| trict in his adopted town of Albany to affronS
| him and to disregard q courteous request that
| he be sent to this Convention an uninstructed
delegate. IL WAS pointed out in THE sun this
morning. in a despatch from Albany. that Sena-
| tor Hill believes that the Democratic organiza-
tion of the State is bent cutting its own
| throat, and that he proposes to allow those in
control of this Convention to perform the job
| with neatness ani despatch.
Next in Importance to Senator Hills attitude
| is the letter of William F. Sheehan. National
Committeeman for the State. declaring that IL
| this Convention endorses the repudiation plank
OF the Chicago platform he will forward his
resignation to Chairman James X. Jones OF the
Popocratic National Committee. A copy OF Mr..
SheebAn's letter was received in Buffalo to-
night II Is o foregone conclusion that the Con-
vention will endorse Bryan and the Chicago
| platform, and Mr.. Shcehan and other Demo-
| Gratis equally well known have taken time by
the forelock.
Those who have attended the Democratic
| State Conventions of the last dozen years arc
| looking forward with more than ordinary in
| tcrest to the workings of this Convention. No
one the grounds tonight has the faintess
notion who Is TO write the platform OF the
! Convention. While speaking on this subject it
may be said that there are Democrats h're to-
! day who recalled that for the last tweuty-fvo
| years the Democratic platforms of the state had
been prepared by eminent sons OF the party.
! They recalled that Horatio Seymour, Samuel j.
| Tllden. Man,on Marble, Daniel Mann NJ. David
| B. Hill and other shining lights in the Demo-
cratic party had prepared the platforms OF he
| State Conventions. and that in every way they
had been worthy of the support Of the Demo-
| Gratis OF the Emnire State. The platform OF
| this Convention will be written by some nom
descript, who must obey the behests of the
| Democrats who regard party regularity moro
| than party honor. This platform. however. iS
| Is asserted, which is TO he adopted here Will b0
| looked back upon something like a friGhtful
nightmare 1t will be the one dark and hor-
rible spot in the history OF the Democratic party
| OF the State since war days.
In the estimation Of the best Democrats OF
! the state 1t will plunge tho Democratic organi-
cations into chaos. IL will totally dist, tegrat0
| the Democratic machines. municipal ana State,
| and upon the ruins must be commenced another
| Democratic structure, but in the opinion OF
| those wise in party affairs the rejuvenated
Democracy will not materiaiZe for nearly q
| dozen years to como. The voters have lost all
| faith in the Democratic party of the State.
The Cleveland Bryanite Office holders. II 10
| insisted. do not represent the party, and this
has been clearly demonstrated by their own
| conduct. The sound and substantial Demo-
| Gratis II is added, who believe in the principles
| of their party. aghast at the crazy determi-
nation to force upon them an endorsement OF
| Bryan and the Chicago platform In the words
| of a well known Democrat here:
| Those who are TO be in charge OF this Con-
| vention remind me OF SO many rattlesnakes
| bent on fanginG' tho Democratic party OF tho
| State. Another and still more interesting point
10 that these alleged Democrats WHO are TO be In
| control OF this Convention Rrc perpetrating AN
! outrage and n scandal in the party Ia the ma
| tIon. upon the Democrats OF other States, wha
have been brought 10 Look UP TO the Democratic
| organization OF New York State as representa-
| tive of the principles of the party. But, as
| said before. these men are bent on fanging' TO
death the Democratic party of the State"
There are Democratic here who declare IL to be
| almost ridiculous that the Democratic party OF
| the State Is in the hands OF men either unknown
to fame In the party or known in their local dis
| trictA as Democrats who have chased after
| every fad and every deusion that has con-
| fronted the two parties In the last twenty hv0
| years. In former Conventions there have been
| some Democrats who have guided and directed
the deliberations OF the party in the State: Sem
ator Hill, ex Gov Roswell r. Flower, Richard
| CIoker ex Lieut.. Il ov William +. Sheehan, and
| ex-Congressman Perry Belmont, THESE others
| have eIerted a powerful influence: Augustus
| i. Scheu. ex-Congressman Daniel Lock weods
| John Cunneen, Wilson s. Bissel. and others
| equally we'll known. In recent years Mr..
Blssell has not been In accord with the
regular Democratic organization OF the State
and number of other Cievelandtes have only
looked upon the Democratic State organ. .zation
AS II means TO boost them along,
Senator Murphy will not be here, because he
| is not well enough TO leave Long Branch, but ho
| 10 for Bryan and tho Chicago platform, and no
| will be represented here by Mayor Francis ].
| Maloy af Troy. Hugh Mclaughlin OF Brook u
! Is for Bryan and the Chicago platform, and h,
TOO. will he represented only by deputy in the
| person OF Bernard j, York. In looking over tho
| list 1t may bo said that Senator Murphy and
| Hugh Mclaughlin are the only two veterans
| left of the Democratic Stale machine who Rd-
vocAte BRYAN and the Chicago platform, aud
! they will not be present at this Convention.