Omaha daily bee., 1898-06-17
BUTLER WINS HIS BATTLE
Chairman Of Populist National Committee
Comes Out on Top.
AUL WNDeRvooRT IS EXCLUDED
Committee Votes to BAR Him from,
Any OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Long
and Pierce and Park Fac
tion Routed.

ers were early on hand at Creighton hall
when the populist national re-
convened yesterday morning. All night they
INDUCED in loud protests against what they
considered to have been an outrage and
were now prepared for the "Philippi' bout.
The first thing was the presentation of
the report of the credentials committee. Ac-
cording to this report, only twenty-seven
regular members were present and there
: were seventy mine proxies. In the matter
of the contests the committee reported as
follows:
Administrations Fletcher uusion) and
w. 5. Morgan (anti fusion), present In per-
son, and j. II. Boyd of the Cooper TEX
Peoples Cause. holding the proxy of a. W..
Files.
Florida-Al proxies, A. C. Wicks (anti-
fusion) for Frank II. Lytlc; Elmer E.
Thomas of Nebraska for S. S. Harvey and
DIV. Hamilton for John F. Rhoads.
For I~llinois-George w. Wickline. present
I. In person, and l.. ID. Reynolds of the Chicago
Express and Nick Haus of Texas, both anti
! fusionists, holding respectively for Frances
X. Cole (whom the committee had recog-
Anlzed instead OF Eugene Smith) and j. ID.
Hess.
For Iowa-S. b. Crane. the proxy Of w. Fl.
Robb; j. f. Anderson and S. B. Crane pres
ent In person.
For Pennsylvania-John o. Yeiser of Ne
braska, proxy for Hon. w. Morris Deisher.
For Ohio-L. B. Allen, proxy for Hugo
Preyer. Not present. J. s. Coxey and ID. d..
Chichester.
Recommendations for the Future.
The report concluded with a number of
recommendations, as follows, for governing
contests in and settling questions of mem
bership in the future:
First. That hereafter the national com
mittee do not recognize any power of sub
stitution or right of assignment or transfer
in a proxy.
Second. That no man can hold and use a
: proxy of any national committeeman outside
4 his own state.
Third. That no man can hold a proxy
from another state when he has been recog-
niZed publicly by the populist authorities of
his own state, as not in the peoples party.
Fourth. That the national chairman or
secretary be directed to enter on the list
of members of the national mint those
whose names are certified to the national
secretary by the state chairman and secre-
tary or by the three national committeemen
from that state and no other, and II the
state chairman or secretary or by two of
the national committeeman from his state on
the rolls.
Fifth. That hereafter we recognize no
telegraph proxies.
Lastly, we recommend to the next ma
tional convention of our party a change in
our rules so that one man can hold and use
three proxies from his own state and that
no man can use any other proxies than those
from his own state.
All the five committeeman had
signed the report. They were Sen
ator William V. Allen of Nebraska,
chairman, A. II. Cardin of Kentucky, ex-
Governor John P, Buchanan of Tennessee,
Congressman c.. A. Barlow of California and
Eltweet Pomeroy of New Jersey, whose
name had headed the list of nine which had
been attached to the call under which the
national committee had met in Omaha.
All forenoon was consumed with a debate
over the report, the ''middle-o the readers
making a test fight over Paul Vandervoort's
exclusion as q proxy.
Burlsitt Has the Floor.
Eltweet Pomeroy, who, as the secretary
OF the credentials committee, read the re-
port, took a few moments to explain the
character of the task the committee had
The leader of the middle-of-the-roa con-
tingent, Colonel Frank Burkitt of Missis.
sippi was watching his opportunity and got
to his feet as soon as Mr.. Pomeroy finished
and, with much flourish Of oratory and 8
great deal Of dramatic posing, occupied tn,
floor with n long speech in which he
charged the credentials committee with
having refused to recognize Paul Wander
WORT of Nebraska as being entitled to hold
the proxy of NJ. w. Howard of Alabama. II,
lauded Vandervoort's military record, said i
that gentleman was good enough to have
been elected, the only male member of tn,
Women's Relief Corps of the United State!
ind honorary president of Clara Barton's Rec
) Cross society he was a good enough popu
list for Nebraska. and therefore good enough
to hold an Alabama proxy in the nationa
committee, and finally branched off into
spread eagle protestation of loyalty to hi
country. Colonel Burkitt always wears
suit OF confederate gray. He said he "love'
the gray, not because he did not love hi
country's flag, but because he liked tn
color" Vandervoort's proxy, he said, h
held in his hand, and he asserted that tn
credentials committee had positively re
fused to admit Vandervoort, whose claim
had been presented once or twice Wednes
day, and again with additional testimon
just before the national committee Assem-
bled. and then moved that Vandervoort'
proxy be accepted as an amendment to tn
credentials report. He first demanded tn
seating of Yandervoort in the committed
outright, regardless of the report.
Pomeroy Gets Back at Him.
Debate followed, in which several uncom
plimentary things were said about Hug
Preyor of Ohio and others. Mr.. Pomero
Immediately followed Colonel Burkitt. Nj
Pomeroy said he was always interested |
the spectacle of a southern man fghtin
his own doctrine OF state rights. Sever;
times Colonel Burkitt attempted to inter
rupt Mr.. Pomeroy, but Chairman Butte
shut him off, saying: "The gentleman frol
New Jersey cannot be interrupted unles
he permits it; the gentleman from Ne
Jersey refuses to allow himself to be inter
rupted.'' Mr.. Pomeroy explained how tn
Nandervoort matter had been presented
the credentials committee and had bee
withdrawn by the very men who were urgin
his side OF the case.
Senator Allen, who had a seat right
front OF the chair, also made an explanatio
which did not explain, from the middle-ot
the-road point of view. and then w. S. MOI
gan, editor of the Louisville, KY, Buzz Say
who is the anti fusion candidate for go,
ornor of Arkansas, arose. amid the shou
OF his side, and came forward to the pla
form for a two-m minute speech. he said.
was a hot talk he gave and he accused Il
credentials committee with acting in a vel
lop-sided manner. II had admitted a pro,
from Hugo Preyer OF Ohio. he said. and y
Hugo Preyer had accepted a check of s