The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-09-07

\, portunity was given the delegates In said
Democratic convention to vote for their
choice for candidates after o'clock p. m.
The only motion that was put to vote IN
said convention, upon the matter Of can
| didates, was a motion to make the In
/ formal ballot, taken in the afternoon.
| formal. This motion prevailed, and re-
suited. as Mr.. Duvars friends claimed.
| in his nomination.
| did not take the ac1on Of said Dem
| ocratic convention very seriously. was
| assured by many Democrats that they
| would not be bound by any such action,
| as the action Of that convention after 8
o'clock D. m I did not believe that the
intelligent and sober-minded Democrats
| of the Seventh congressional district
| would ever contend that that convention,
| at least after It had taken the informal
/ ballot and adjourned TO p m, fairly
represented them or that they were in
! honor bound to abide by its decision. On
! the other hand I was assured by the
! Democratic delegates from Sedgwick
| county and from several other counties,
that they did not regard such action as
binding upon them. and that, If it had
not been for the persons who were in
toGcated in that convention, the result,
in all probability, would have been Diff
ferent
When the two conventions adjourned
confidently expected that the Populists
throughout the Seventh district would
stand Loyalty and faithfully by their
nominee and would proceed to arrange
for the campaign, and that the Demo-
Gratis, recognizing that they had but
small minority Of the votes, and know
ing what had occurred at Great Bend,
would take the necessary steps to induce
Mr.. Duval to withdraw from the ticket
and give me the united Democratic sup
port. I especially expected this when
remembered that many Of the leading
Democrats throughout the district had
assured me before the conventions met
that in their Judgment a Populist, and
not a Democrat, should be nominated
for congress, and that in their judgment
it was political wisdom to not attempt
10 nominate or elect Democrat to con-
gress IN the Seventh district. I confess
to much surprise later upon learning
that not only were the Democratic sup
porters Of Mr. Duval in the district in
sisting upon his making the race, but
also that the Populist supporters of Mr..
Duval, men who had helped TO make my
nomination unanimous, were exerting
themselves to the utmost to make Mr..
Duval the Populist nominee instead Of
myself There has never been a day
since my nomination that I have not
been willing to submit the question back
to the people, as to whether Mr.. Duval
or myself was the peoples choice.
About a month after the nominations
met Mr. Duval In Wichita and earnestly
endeavored to impress upon him the fact
that the Populists were entitled to the
candidate, and that in my Judgment In
view of what was happening and likely
to happen in national politics, he nor
any other Democrat could get the solid
and united support Of the Populists My
reasoning appeared to be without effect
In the presence of Mr.. Pitts, chairman
of the Democratic committee, and Mr.
Ayres, chairman Of the POpulist commit
tee, I urged upon Mr.. Duval and Mr.
Pitts the importance Of applying the ref
erendum principle, and offered to enter
into any kind of an agreement by which
the question between Mr.. Duval and my
self should be submitted to and voted on
by the people. I offered to submit the
question back to the people either by a
primary election or by petition circulat-
ed by the township committeeman. But
all propositions looking to this end were
rejected by Mr. Duval and Mr.. Pitts. At
the same meeting Mr. Ayres insisted
upon Mr.. Pitts calling the Democratic
committee to meet with the Populist
committee at Larned for the purpose of |
attempting settlement as between Mr.
nd
promptly refused to do. Mr.. Ayres a few
days thereafter wrote letter, a copy of
which he has, urging upon Mr. Pitts the |
Importance Of having his committee meet
with ours. This Mr.. Pitts, by letter, |
promptly declined to do.
When the Populist committee met at
Larned, instead of proceeding with the |
canHaign, and arranging means and |
methods to carry it on. they spent the |
entire day in discussing how they could |
get one Of the nominees off the ticket |
The large majority of the sentiment at !
that committee meeting being in favor |
Of making the Democratic nominee the |
Populist nominee, and inducing me to get
off the ticket. It Is not true that thev
passed a resolution requesting me to |
withdraw. But they did pass a resolution |
holding out inducements to me such as !
the nomination for attorney general, etc |
If 1 concluded to withdraw from the |
ticket. all Of which I promptly resented |
as wholly outside the power and purpose |
of the committee
I discovered then for the first time |
that the Populist congressional commit |
tee was made up largely of Duval fol- |
lowers, composed of two classes: those |!
who had been put on the committee |
originally as Duval men, and those who |
had concluded, for reasons unknown to |
me- that IL was to their interest to get |
Mr.. Duval on the ticket, and me off
After this meeting It was reported 10 |
the newspapers that was about to with |
draw from the ticket in favor Of Mr.. Du- |
val. During a period Of about two weeks /
after this report was circulated I receiv |
ed many letters from Populists. and I
some from Democrats, throughout the |
district protesting against any such ac- !
ton on my part The Populists insisted. 7
as a rule that it would not be inst or |
fair for me, having received the unani- |
nous Populist nomination. TO make a /
Democrat who had been defeated In the /
convention the Populist nominee. some |
the Populist party by any such action.
Many Democrats from Sedgwick and |
adjoining counties came personally to see |
me. and entered their protest against |
my Withdrawing in favor Of Mr.. DuvaI |
am sure not less than fifty Democrats |
OF sedgWick county made such a pro-
test. |
Whether under any circumstances I |
,Fern@
course sIter receiving these letters and /
hearing these rro-as+s : .,,.,,,7,- -, /