New Iberia enterprise. (New Iberia, La.) 1885-1902, 1900-07-14
THE READING OF THE DEMOCRATIC
PLATFORM BY SENATOR TILLMAN.
JAMES CREELMAN, IN THE N. Y. JOURNAL.

Senator Jones announced that tht
Committee on Resolutions had made
unanimous report and he handed
the platform to Senator Tillman tC
read.
Mr. Tillman strobe to the front
of the stage, black coated black
cravated and girdled at the waist
with a leather belt. AS his tall figure
and powerful, Indian-like face was
seen there was thunderclap OF
greeting The supreme moment OF
the convention had arrived.
The Senator's voice rang high
and clear, and he gestured and threw
his head back and filled his tones
with irony and sarcasm or exulta.
tion as each phrase demanded it.
He crouched and stamped his foot
and parted his lips and hissed the
words between his teeth at times.
He looked like some great actor
playing out the central part in some
drama. He read the first plank,
which was devoted to a reaffirma-
ton Of the Declaration of Independ-
ence and the denunciation of i'm
perialism, and his voice thrilled
the great host. Again and again
he was interrupted by the tumult
in the convention.
At every sentence the cheering
was renewed. Cuba, Porto Rico
and the Philippines all touched the
convention. It is impossible to de-
scribe Mr.. Tillman's extraordinary
defamation. Probably no other
orator in the United States is capa-
BILE of the same eye-rolling, teeth
grinding, mob-stirring oratory.
A beam of sunlight shown full
upon him as he rolled out the decree
Of the Democratic party against
colonies or subjects under the
American flag, and he looked like
some gaunt prophet, his single eye
cleaning fiercely under his splen-
did brow. And when, finally, he
read the sentence that declared i'm
perialism to be the paramount issue
of this campaign, the multitude
leaped to it's feet.
The climax had come, Democracy
was on fire = heart, soul, brain,
hand, foot, voice. There came from
that mighty audience such shout,
such prolonged shout as comes
only from human nature touched
by the flame of some great cause.
Instantly the great hall was con-
verted into swimming, swirling,
dashing whirlpool of color and
roaring voices. Every man, woman
and child there waved American
flags on which were printed the
words: "The Constitution and the
flag, One and Inseparable, Now and
Forever-of an Empire, Never" "
There were $4,000 flags waving
at once and $4,000 voices blended
in that thunderous music.
The Massachusetts delegation
raised a great silk flag on a pole
and waved it wildly about. The
band played "The Star -Spangled
and as the strains of the
music swelled through the building
a colossal American flag was lower
ed from the roof to the stage. 1t
was a flag that would cover the
floor of an ordinary theatre.
Across its white stripes were in
scribed the words printed on the
smaller flags. Slowly it descended
until its folds brushed against the
white marble face of Bryan's bust
on the platform. The roaring Of
the audience ascended note by note
in intensity until the sound became
deafening.
1t was like a war of Niagaras.
Every State and every Territory
joined in the demonstration. Bill
lows of red, white and blue, seem med
to surge and dash, across the floor
and around the standing tiers Of the
great amphitheatre washing against
The walls and billowing back again
to the centre. Flashlight photo
graphs were taken, and the smoke
Of the powder flosted across the hall