The Indianapolis journal., 1896-06-26
CONVENTION ECHOES.
some Of the Objections Raised to the
Barnlike ssWigwam.-

st. Louis Letter in New York Post.
The city is beginning to sober up after
its weeks convention orgie. The last OF the
visiting bands has gone home and night Is
marching heelers and the bray or horns.
But it was brave uproar while II lasted
The American method of President-making,
with its special growth of incidentals dur
ing the last half-century, has excited much
comment among foreigners, and the recent
convention here exhibited its pecuilafities IN
their most aggravated form. The marching
clubs contained more half-grown boys, the
hotels were more noisy and dusty and
smoky, and the barro0mS turned out more
offensive bummers than on any former oc-
casion perhaps, in the annals OF political
convention history
This is doubtless the fruit of the too IA
miiar folly of the mammoth convention
hall The absurdity OF wigwam building
has not yet, apparently. reached its. limit.
ing four years. Convention cities have
come to feel a sort of pride in. eclipsing
ali previous records as to the size OF the
audience which can be gathered within a
single hall. If wimbledon has housed its
thousand, Pottville feels called upon to cor
raj it's tens of thousands. The mammoth
they are supposed tc be built They wall
in all outdoors and put roof over 1T; they
admit to single sitting as many people
would fill a good-sized city of the lesser
class but it is almost impossible to see,
and utterly out of the question to hear,
more than half that is going on in such a
|
sorry satisfaction of filling their lungs with
microbe saturated air, swelterfng If 1t is
hot, shivering il 1t is cold. steaming II IL
is damp and witnessing, as through glass
darkly a species of semi-dramatic dumb
show. interspersed with an occasional out
break of meaningless but ear-spl1tting din
when one of these bosses signals his boys
to make demonstration for their candi-
date. On the principle suggested by Herr
Krupp. who calls his cannon peacemakers
because, as he increases their size and de-
nations become
less anxious TO provoke their use, II is
possible that the huge convention nuisance
will one day prove its own antidote, but
the effort of Patrick Collins. Of Massachu-
setts. to hasten the day of deliverance by
resolutions confining the attendance. at
gates. their alternates. the national COM
mttee and the press, deserves encourage
meme from all sensible people. To pack the
much a part of machines" ambition as
to capture the suffrages of delegates on the
floor; and the ciaque, which is usually
brought from distance, makes the whole
town suffer when 1t is turned loose between
sessions. The making of President is a
solemn enough undertaking to demand
proper delberation and dignified procedure
even in the preliminary councils of the sew
eral parties. To turn it into a money-mak-
ing show and surround it with the atmos-
phere or country circus, Is an insult to
the American institutions of which the po-
litical orators prate so glibly.
Even the press representation might be
weeded with good effect 1t Is now so large
that seats which are good for anything can
be given to but few of the reporters and
correspondents. and the authorities COM
plain that they do not know how to make
determinations between the various news
papers without giving offense- This how
ever. is one of the cases where offense
to a few would work for the good OF the
many. There is no reason why any one
newspaper should bring small army of
representatives into the hall, and the troub-
lie is multiplied when half of the army SIM
ply consume space and do not work, or
where they sin against good nature by sur
| rendering their seats to trends who have
no newspaper connection whatever, but are
smuggled in merely for a chance to "see
the fun from commanding seats on the
platform.