The San Francisco call., 1896-04-02
Why New Hampshire Republi.
cans Indorsed Both Reed
and Mckinley.
TO KEEP PEACE IN THE FAMILY
The Senator Denounces Political Cow
ardice and Insists on Honest.
Manly Warfare.

CONCORD, n. H., April 1.-Senator
Chandler's paper, the Evening Monitor,
publishes letter tonight which the SEN
ator sent to Senator Lodge last evening
In it he saws:
''The ludicrous incongruity between the
delegates-elect and the last resolution of
the series adopted by to-day's convention
needs an explanation from me. A short
time ago a Mckinley movement was or
ganized in Manchester under the lead
of Henry NJ. Putney of the Mirror news
paper. The pretext for the out
break was my denunciation of the cam
paign methods of Messrs. Osborne and
Hanna, which the Mirror represented as
an assault upon Mr.. Mckinley personally
The argument seemed to be because Mr.
Chandler had iniudiciously told the truth
about Osborne and Hanna, therefore New
Hampshire ought to abandon Mr.. Reed
an d support Mr.. Mckinley. An assumed
virtuous indignation was to change m ems
deliberately formed opinions. The move
ment did not seem to threaten anything
serious. Public opinion settled upon eight
persons for delegates known to be favor
able to Mr.. Reed.
Yesterday Mr.. Putney came to Concord
as the advance guard of the Manchester
delegates. He had been designated by
the State Committee with two other gen.
tlemen as an advisory committee on plat
form. He called on me for my views. |
began by saying that L assumed that no
resolution concerning Presidential candi-
dates would be proposed, as we had not
done that even during the exciting days
OF the Blaine canvass. He said that If
resolutions instructing for Reed were pro-
posed the Manchester delegates would OPP
pose them. l replied that no such resolu-
tions were desired that delegates ought to
be uninstructed and free and uncontrolled
by resolutions of any kind. as they always
had been. l asked him to assent to this
plan.
"Just before starting for the convention
1 heard accidentally that the committee
on resolutions, the night before, had de-
cided to add to the platform, which had
been shown to me, a resolution declaring
that MIR. Reed was noble and illustrious
and that Mckinley was pure and able;
that New Hampshire could be happy with
either and preferred one or the other. I
also learned that it had been arranged to
keep this information from me until as late
d moment as possible.
81 Immediately asked the committee to
my room, also such candidates for dele
gates as could be found and few
other friends, and we consulted hastily.
The candidates said that they had
all been known for weeks as un-
reservedly for Reed; that they were sure of
| an election by acclamation; that disturb
ance in the convention was undesirable,
and that it was possible, although not
probable, that of the 700 delegates then
pouring into town from the cars, a majority
might be found against us if we had an
acrimonious debate on an attempt to de-
| feat a resolution, and that they thought
we had better let the whole platform pass
without quarrel.
LAS / was embarrassed by the fact that
| was to preside at the convention and had
no time to arrange the programme
of a fight I reluctantly yielded to
| their opinion and we went to the
| hall. We nominated the delegates by ac-
clamation and adopted the platform as
whole unanimously. A motion was made
| by Boston broker to substitute for the
currency plank the single gold standard
resolution of the Massachusetts conven-
linger and others, and only received one
| vote, that of the broker himself. 1t was
unsuited to the opinion of New Hamp-
shire and to the candidacy of Mr.. Reed,
| who is a bimetallist. The convention
ended before o'clock, joyous and enthu-
siastic over the prospect an overwhelming
victory in State and Nation. This expia-
| nation may not be satisfactory, but it is all
can make.
| VI confess l was unprepared at the mo-
| ment of entering the convention for the
device which was the ultimate develop
ment of the Osborne Hanna movement in
| New Hampshire. Our self-restraint was
cowardly. 1t was the opinion of good
| judges, and it was clear to me after all the
delegates had assembled in the hall and
cheered, first the name of Reed and later
the name of Mckinley, that the conyen-
ton was for Reed two or three to one. I
have acquiesced. in such an act of cow
ardlce once before, when we allowed to pass
the resolution of the New Hampshire con-
vention in 1877 that the Hayes administra.
tion was good and pure rather than have
bitter controversy over the question
whether its conduct had been honorable in
surrendering to Democratic usurpers the
lawful Governments of Louisiana and
South Carolina, whose title was as good as
that of Mr. Hayes.
~ once denounced another such act of
cowardlce when, on foolish pretext that
| 1t was necessary to count in Mr.. Hayes, it
| was agreed by Ohio statesmen to make the
| aforesaid surrender of two lawful Southern
governments. Hayes and Packard and
Chamberlain and Republican honor might
all have been saved if the Republicans had
shown the courage of their convictions.
So the mongrel resolution of to-day might
have been easily defeated if men had not
cried peace when honest manly warfare
was required. But the delegates are all
for Reed and l do not think Hanna can