Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1899-05-13
SATURDAY EVENING, MAY IS, 1899


ence claimed to be democratic gath
ering. Was it such? We find IN Its
members, adherents and attendant
sympathisers certain gentlemen who
cordially and Loyalty supported Bryan
and the Chicago platform. We also
find certain others who helped the re,
publicans to elect McKinley-gold
bugs. Palmer and Buckner men, and
at least one paper that has been the
steady advocate of the plutocracy,
Grover Cleveland and the gold stand
ard. And then there were some others,
certain persons who indeed gave
,ukewarm outward support to Bryan,
hut who, as we all know, were inward
" prieving that Cleveland, Whitney
and the Wall Street gang, that had dis
graced the democracy and plundered the
neonle. were not running the campaign.
A coalition of such elements, even II ii
had endorsed the Chicago platform
would have been viewed with some
snsnicion when it undertook to lead
and to lug in new and local issue CAL
culated to befog those issues on which
national parties are arrayed and divid-
e0 The engineers who planned and
managed the convention-and we 90
NOT blame them for employing the old
"cut and dry" method-were very
astute set of gentlemen. They wanted
TO take in their fold the gold bugs,
boilers and deserters OF 1896; for they
we'll knew that their help was mucn
needed, but they had to say something
about standing by democratic primer
piles. II they had been frank, honest
and above board, they would have de-
clared fattooted for standing by the
Chicago platform and for renominstpe
BRYAN who by money and treachery
was swindled out of the election in
1896. But such q resolution as this,
howe ever acceptable TO the great mass
of the Virginia democrats, would have
trod on the toes OF the boilers and gold
Bugs who, helped so greatly to make
up this motley gathering OF blue spirits
and grew. On the other hand, to leave
out the whole business would have JUS
sifed the belief of many that the under
lying principle of the entire movemen'
to promote personal interests and
ambition, at the expense of democratic
unity and democratic principles. What
was to be done in such strait? How
was the conference to ride the two
horses at once? There was no help tor
it but to adopt straddle. This Is
wrapped up in half-sentence, in which
claiming to be democrats they 'reat-
firm their devotion to the doctrines of
the party and their fealty to its organ
ization." All gentlemen you can't
get off that way. What are the doc.
trines of the party? Are they the doc
trines of the Chicago platform or are
they the doctrines of the Indianapolis |
boilers convention which nominated
Palmer and Buckner? Mr.. Jones |
would tell you the former, but VIVA
would his Richmond gold bug allies re-
spopd? 'Feal:y to its organization
That is very good, but gentlemen, if
you mean the organization that shaped |
the platform and nominations at Chi
cago, why not say SO? You know that |
prominent in your movement are those
who bolted the regular democratic or
ganization in 1896 and helped to stab !
the democratic party, or worse still,
secretly reioiced when it was being /
done. The platform on this point
is studiously evasive and is in
tended to deceive the people.
Mr.. John Goode was chosen by the
managers to give the keynote of the
convention. He made long speech, in
which he discussed the proposed re-
form and had good deal to say about
general politics. Not one word, now
ever, did he say in favor of re-afiirming
the Chicago platform. Is be for it or
not? At any rate, his silyence is signf
cant. 1t is believed by some that he
would like to drop its principal feature,
the declaration against the gold stand
ard, the national banks, and possibly
also government by Injunction. He
did, however, come out very strongly |
against the trusts and the corporations,
for which we thank him, but not one !
OF his ideas on these subjects is en-
bodied in this platform of the confer
ence. We doubt not that many of |
those who heard him would tell US that |
the trusts are not such a bad thing
after all; thst they are as necessary an
incident to capital as the gold stand |
ard, and that to oppose either is folly |
worthy OF Bourbons and moss-back |
democrats. In a word, the conference
was too much split up over these great
economic questions to put in plank |
on the subject. So they lodged it, just
or tbavy did tho c;lvar cuo,+;o,, 49,, IL