The morning times., 1896-05-31
HARD FIGHT FOR SILVER
Prohibitionist Southgate Tells of
Clever Methods at Pittsburg.
Dickie, Concealed Their Strength.
How II Resulted.

Several of the leaders OF both factions
of the Prohibition party are here on their
way home from the Pittshurg convention.
Mr.. j. II. Southgate of Charlotte, N c.,
who was put on the "bolterS' " ticket as
Vice President, with Rev. Charles E. Bentley
of Lincoln, Neb., the defeated broad guage
leader, as President, is one of them He
defines the National party, the name
adopted by the bolters as populism with
prohibition attached.
This definition is amply borne out by
the platform, which not only includes free
silver and the issue of legal tender paper
in sufficient volume to meet all the
demands OF legitimate business interests
but also government control of railroads
and telegraph lines, election Of President
and Senators by the people, non-secta rian
schools, and a half dozen other "ismS,''
Tor which certain organizations contend
II is the avowed purpose OF the National
party to send delegations to both the
great national conventions to attempt to
force these issues upon each of them.
The free silver and unlimited greenback
plank was really the bone OF contention
1t was Nebraska movement to force
the Nebraska PopuliSt platform upon the
Prohibition conve ntion. S t. John of
Kansas and others declared in advance of
the convention that if a free silver plank
were NJ: adopted they would not support
the ticket
The nomination of so clean cut and
unobjectionable a man as Joshua Lever
Ing OF Baltimore upon a single plank
Prohibition ticket, 1t is thought here, VIII
add largely to the vote cast for the Pro-
| hIbition ticket in strong Republican States
Mr.. Levering has no previous record as a
| politician TO embarrass him.
Those who were present at PittSburg
| speak with admiration of the way in
which the single plank, anti-free silver
men managed matters, under the leader
ship Of Prof Dickie of Michigan, chairman
OF the national committee, and DR.. Funk
of Brooklyn, chairman of the committee
on resolutions.
On the question of tabling tile minority re-
pert, which had free silver as it's corner
stone, they carefully concealed their full
strength under the preteXt of not wishing
to enforce gag law, a great many of
them voted against tabling the report and
thus apparently gave the silver men
majority Of 1SS on n test vote.
This threw the silver men off their guard
| and they thought the convention theirs
Meantime the single plank men were doin q
| active missionary work.
They took the undecided delegates into
| corners and told them that with free silver
in the platform the 27, 900 Prohibition votes
| in the State of New York which defeated
| James G. Blaine in 1884. would 20 back
| to the Republican party; that Vermont,
! Massachusetts and even Maine could no
| longer be depended upon to give any ap-
| preciable support TO the cause, and that i II
| the State in which they were now meeting
| and which had hitherto SO effectively aided
| the movement, a Prohibition candidate on a
| free silver platform would scarcely COM
mand five hundred votes. When the de-
| cisive vote on the adoption of the silver
| plank was taken delegates from all these
| States and from Virginia, Indiana, Mich
! lgan and Illinois swung into line and con-
| verted the supposed free silver majority
| Of 1S8 into single plank majority of forty