Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-05
FIGHT COMES TODAY.
Den ocrats at Kansas City Passed
Yesterday Hurrahing.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CONVENTION
Notable Absence of Many of the
Old Conservative Leaders.
NEW FACES IN EVIDENCE
CHARACTERISTICS OF CONVENTION
NEW FACES IN EVIDENCE

KANSAS CITY, Mo-. July b-"We re-
jcice tonight and tomorrow fight" said an
old democratic rustler as he left the Con-
vention Hall last night after the gren.
demonstration provoked by Chairman Rich
ardson's reference to Bryan at the close
of his speech. That is what they are doing
rejoicing and fighting and apparently re-
joicing In the fight The brass bands with
their eternal repetitions are not necessary
to inform us that there Is hot time in the
town. 1t is hot in every sense physically.
emotioEally and metaphorically. Prickly
heat and loss OF rest add to the political
Irritation. and shouting, roficking Fourth
Of July crowd contribute to the pictur-
sequences of the scene
The convention is in full swing, and in
some respects 1t is the most notable con-
vention that ever happened. 1t seems to
have Just happened not to have been de-
signed. The medley of irritation and Ella
ton. of scheming contention and reckless
Indifference rivals a cowboy picnic. While
the leaders are engaged in an almost life
and death struggle over the politics of party
and state the great floating crowd runs
amuck In its bubbling and boisterous hilar-
lty. The great mass of the delegates seem
to have but one definite idea and that is
that they are for Bryan and that Bryan is
going somehow, they don't know or care
how, to lead them to victory, and that
there Is going to be another not time In the
old town when that comes about.
Leaders Cool and Calculating.
The leaders on both sides Of the contest.
and contest there is of the old-fashioned
sort, are as cool and calculating. and the
floaters are rollickingly Indifferent The
convention is like the Kansas City climate.
which chills you in the wind and boils the
very blood in your veins when you get out
Of he fraff with on1V the matter of turn
ing a corner to make the change. Inc
demonstration over the mention OF Bryan rs
name in the convention last night was al
most as great as that which in NC followed
his famous speech of the crown OF thorns
and cross of gold"
In size OF the assemblage and the scenic
surroundings t surpassed that memorable
occasion. To picture the scene to the
minds eye it must be realized that the con-
vention hall is the largest in which ma
tional convention was ever held, and Is SO
arranged that the entire assemblage Is be-
fore the eye at one time, without columns
or anything else to interrupt the vision
and 10000 people can actually look into
each others eyes, so that there is almost
transferrence of thought and emotion
Democratic aSSemblages are by nature emo
tional. and the western spirit of the local
population adds dash of energetic life to
It here. The same crowd that made such a
demonstration for Bryan last night came
near being led into a frenzied acclaim for
Hill earlier in the day, with no other in
spiration than the noisy shouting of a gang
of Hill rooters who had been packed in the
galleries back of the press seats. The in
tent of the Hill demonstration was intended
to be hostile to Bryan. This shows how
little realization the general mass of the
convention have of the character of the
contest which is being seriously waged.
The Same Old Contest.
The real contest is a struggle for suprem-
acy IN the party between the same elements
tl1t I'D L., h. To-, -
Though many of the familiar leaders who
resisted free silver and Organism in 90 are
now absent, the issue is the same, though
the situation is reversed. Then the element
represented by Cleveland, Whitney. Cor
man. HILL Flower, Croker and Harrity was
overwhelmed while trying to hold its own
against the ideas that had come up like q
tide from the common people. Now the sur
vivors of that deluge, with only a few of
the old leaders, are trying to press back
the tide, and though they have shown al
most supernatural skill and strength, they
cannot succeed. They are but few who are
engaged in the effort, and they are not in
perfect harmony among themselves. They
desire to accomplish the same thing but
there is the enmity between Leader Hill and
Leader Croker. and there are weaknesses on
the part of other leaders which both have
to contend with.
The absence of figures familiar in old
time democratic conventions is conspicuous
Whitney. German. Harrity. Mclean. Wat
terson Bynum, Morgan, Catchings, Turpie
Cockrell. Vest. Lamont Villas, Horton and
a host of others, long familiar figures where
democrats assembled to confer and to fight
out their differences. are not here. Hill and
Croker and Pattison and Perry Belmont
are the only conspicuous representatives of
the old conservative clan, and even the
ranks of the old-time leaders in the more
radical thought are depleted. Blackburn
Mcmillan, Tillman are the chief represen-