Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-07-11
NUMBER 56.

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the civil service laws as will afford
equal opportunities to all citizens of
ascertained fitness.
We declare it to be the unwritten
law of this republic, established by
custom and usage of 100 years and
sanctioned by the examples of the
greatest and wisest of those WHO
founded and have maintained our
government, that no man should be
eligible for a third term of the presi-
dental Office.
The Federal government should care
for and improve the Mississippi river
and other great waterways of the re-
public so as to secure for the interior
states easy and cheap transportation
to tidewater. When any waterway Of
the republic is of sufficient Importance
to demand aid of the government such
aid should be extended upon a definite
plan of continuous work until perma.
nent improvement is secured.
Confding in the justice of the cause
and the necessity of its success at the
polls, we submit the foregoing declara.
ton of principles and purposes to the
considerate judgment of the American
people. We invite the support of all
citizens who approve them and who de-
sire to have them made effective
through legislation for the relief of the
people and the restoration of the coun-
try's prosperity.
The convention was called to order
on Thursday morning by Steven d.
White of California, who had been
elected permanent chairman on We'd
nesday, and the first business to come
up was the report of the committee on
platform. The platform was reported
as above. ;.
There was a minority report signed
by the committee from 16 eastern
states, dissenting from the financial
plank as reported by the majority and
declaring for the maintenance of the
existing gold standard until there
should be an international agreement
for the maintenance ofthe parity be-
tween silver and gold.
Senator Hill offered an amendment
to the platform in which he sought to
pledge the party to do nothing to af-
feet the status of existing contracts
and to promise that in the event that
if it should develop after year of
practice that the parity between gold
and silver is not maintained, the free
coinage law must be repealed.
Senator Tillman offered an amend
ment to the platform denouncing the
administration Of President Cleveland;
and repudiating the construction that
Mr.. Cleveland had put upon the finan-
cial plank, etc. 49,.
Senator Tillman spoke to his amend
ment for so minutes. At the outset
he was greeted with cheers. A little
later there were Kisses, and turning
from the point whence they came, he
said that there were only three things
that hissed- snakes, serpents and men.
Later in his speech the audience be-
gan to call time and the bands broke
in with music. Before concluding,
Senator Tillman pictured the condi-
ton of the people Of the south and
west as compared with those of the
north, and said that the Democratic
party was at Chicago to make a new
declaration of independence. His
speech was magnificent effort but
from the press reports, which may be
misleading, it does not appear to have
been well received.
After several members of the COM
mittee on resolutions had spoken for
the platform, Senator Hill got the
floor in support of his amendment.
His appearance on his feet was the
signal for a wild outburst of applause
from. the gold people. The applause
was kept up for several minutes. MIR.
Hill spoke about the disposition of the
silverites to drive the eastern men out
of the party and make room for Re-
publicans, Populists and Wings who
have never voted the Democratic
ticket in their lives. He said that free
coinage in the platform was all that
the eastern people could reasonably be
expected to bear, without putting on
their shoulders other revolutionary
tendencies that are cited in this plat
form.
Hill was followed by several other
speakers and then came w. ]. Bryan,
of Nebraska. He was met with an
ovation and made one of the most re-
markable speeches in his life. He
carried the convention with him most
completely, and at the conclusion of
his remarks, all previous convention
demonstrations were eclipsed. The
cheering lasted for fully quarter Of
an hour. Even the gold men from the
east Joined in, not on account'of SYM
pathy for the cause, but for admiration
of the man.
Senator Hills proposed substitute
was voted down, 626 to 909.
A. resolution, endorsing the admin
istration was defeated 564 to 357.
The platform was adopted, 62S to
3O1.
The convention, at 4.47 p. M, took
a recess until 500 p. M, and after re-