Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-07-08
TWO RECORDS WERE BROKEN
A Party Precedent and Length
of Session.
1T WAS NOT A TEST VOV.sv
The Showing Of the Silver Wing v S3e
Greater Hereafter.
VERY NEAR THE TW0-THlRDS SAIORlTY
VERY NEAR THE Two-THlRDs 9IoRlTY
The Gathering Was Wonderfully Inter-
esting Assemblage in Point of Num-
bers and Personnel-The Giants
of the Party Were There.

Chicago, ILL.,, July 1.-THE silver men
have won the first days fight in the ma
tional democratic convention. They rout-
ed their opponents by a majority of 207,
seated Senator Daniel in the chair over
Senator Hill, the nominee of the national
committee, and broke two records. They
upset practice which has always here
tofore prevailed In democratic conven-
tions though 1t has been sometimes ig-
nored in republican conventions and
they held the longest first days session
or any great national convention within
recent memory. The vote of 905 cast was
one less than the total vote by reason Of
the fact that Senator Hill refrained from
voting, but this loss In q calculation of
relative strength was offset by his oppo-
nent, Senator Daniel, chivalrously voting
against his party and himself. The re-
suit today showed the silver men to be
sixty-hve votes short of a two-thirds ma
Jority, taking 1t as q test vote. But In
many respects 1t was not so. There were
eight votes of South Dakota cast for Hill.
which on square issue of free coinage
will go for silver. Three votes In West
Virginia thrown against the silver can
didate today will be counted for the silver
platform. The territories, which on the
preliminary roll were given six seats, but
only two votes each, will probably be
awarded six votes in the permanent or
gdniZation, except Alaska and the Dis.
trict of Columbia, which will remain at
their present rating. Alaska, admitted
for the first time to democratic national
committee, sent six gold delegates to O
silver body, and 1t Is expected will be
punished for it's freshness by having
its representation cut down to two. This
a a nrin ,it.fx
instead of twelve, as cast today and all
but three of these votes ALASKA two and
the District of Columbia one) are counted
for silver. Nebraska's sixteen votes will
undoubtedly be turned over to the silver
men by the credentials committee
Floridas vote, which was four to four
on organization, will be given five for sill
yer and three for gold hereafter and
Maryland, which voted twelve gold and
four silver on organization, 1t Is said,
Will scatter in the proportion of eleven
silver to five gold when 1t comes to vot-
ing for the diffent silver candidates,
though 1t will remain as now on the
question of platform.
These changes and accessions, 1t Is
claimed, will come very near giving the
silver men the two-thirds majority they
seek and will enable them to carry ev-
erything their own way. II they should
still lack few votes they have Michigan
to fall back upon. decision In favor of
silver men In one or two outside districts
in that state will convert under the unit
rule the twenty-eight gold votes of Mich
igan into twenty-eight silver votes, and
give sure two-thirds majority for the
silver men.
The gathering of today was a wonder
fully interesting assemblage in the gi-
gantic Colseum-wonderful in point of
numbers and interesting with regard to
the men who made up the assemblage.
The giants of the party were there.
There was Jones of Arkansas, difildent
to degree, portly in appearance, but
quick In movement; Harris of Tennessee,
older and not so erect as his senatorial
colleague. suzing up the convention with
the keen eye of the practical presiding
officer; Tillman, leading the South Car
olna delegatio hardly less noticeable
than his older fellow senators, and the
young governor of Texas who also came
In for his share of attention.
William c. Whitney sauntered into the
great hall almost unobserved. He took
his seat with the New York delegation,
near by to Bissell of Buffalo, who has
been President Clevelands law partner
and postmaster general, and looked
about the sea of faces. Hurrying along
through the covering crowds of arriving
delegates came Russell, the boylsh-look-
ing ex-governor of Massachusetts, and
with him the other Russell from the Bay
State, who had been unsuccessful In his
vacated by his namesake. Gray of Dsl-
aware and Villas of Wisconsin, Mr..
Clevelands most ardent supporters on
the floor of the senate; Bradley Smalley
of Vermont and others of the gold lead
ers entered unobserved and took their
places quietly
When David B. Hill entered with the
New York delegation many of those who
afterward voted to keep him from the
temporary craftsmanship forgot family
quarrels and cheered as heartily as the
rest. Again and again the enthusiasm
broke forth. and Hill sank modestly into
his chair and looked as though he wish
ed to be out of sight
1t was nearly o'clock instead of noon
when the convention was called to order,
and for an hour and a half prior to the
time when Chairman Harrity of the ma
tional committee tapped his gavel the
floor had been one moving. converging,
diverging mass OF humanity, principally
male, but with a sufficient leavening of
women to make 1t marked.
SUMS Cotton Review.
New York, July 7.-Cotton advanced 1
point, but lost the Improvement and
closed unchanged to points lower, with
the tone steady and the sales 80, 400 bales.
Today's features: The Liverpool news
today was stimulating and prices have
advanced. Liverpool is doing good
business on the spot and futures there
advanced today. There was also some
buying here for Liverpool account. The
rise was soon lost, however, on local SELL
ing, but the tone of the market was firm.
Several prominent houses were good buy
ers, including buying for German ac-
count, and Manchester was firm and ac-
tive. Some of the southern spot markets
weIa easier and the weather bureau re-
There was very little commission house
business.