Gilpin observer., 1900-07-12
THE CROWD AT KANSAS CITY
Luried Description Of. the Pcrspiring
Patriots.

Patriots.
The correspondent of the Chicago
Record. writing his paper from Kansas
City during the time of the convention,
says:
\ convention crowd is restless as the
sea. Like the sea. it suggests IL tre-
mendous activity going to waste. The
convention multitude marches and
counter marches: it goes in mt one door
way and comes out ut another; it wan
ders upstairs. and then wanders down
again: it parades in loose order from
one hotel to another: it walks around
in circles and doubles on its OVID track.
never arriving anywhere or finding
that for which it is vaguely searching.
A national convention. seen from the
outside. is chaos. 1t is n huge. stew
ing mass of distracted and nerve
wrought men. far from home. who have
run amuck through the banners and
electric light until they are dizzy and
irresponsible and forget why they came
to Kansas City.
When bees become foolish and break
out in n swarm some one has to beat
a pan TO induce them to get together
and quiet down. Some one ought to
beat Il pan in Kansas City this week.
The swarming centcrs are the hotels.
or ut least they would be hotels under
normal conditions. AT present they
are large coops for holding Democrats.
The carpets are covered with canvas
All fragile furniture is stored away.
The corridors and Railways are cleared
so that the mob may not have to
trample on anything when it begins to
rage through the building. Painted
banners hang overhead. telling where
hi Int 1,.,. a. n
the doors are thrown open, and any
body is mt liberty to march into any
state headquarters or any overcrowd-
ed bedchamber and help himself to that
which is tcmptingly set forth on the
dripping center table. This is the Dem
ocratic hospitality of convention week
Help yourself to whatever you want
and shake hands at every opportunity
whether you know the man or not.
To get into Il hotel you elbow your
way through II wedge of people that
fills the sidewalk and spills over into
the gutter. Every man with whom you
struggle is radinting heat like n parlor
stove. and all the faces lifted above the
scramble are flushed and wet. The
whole rotunda opening ahead of you is
in seething uproar, from which you
catch now and then such words as
'l'l'Eullol. SILVER, anu
then some others that can't be quoted.
In the gallery which runs around the
rotunda are seated women, provoking
ly cool in their light-colored dresses.
They are watching the turbulent per-
formance with only faint show of eX-
citement, and when they smile you
have the painful impression that they
are amused to see men make such fools
of themselves. Underfoot there is the
rubbish of tattcred newspapers and
fraZzled cigars. A fine dust has arisen.
The temperature Is that of n haymow.
You hear men all about you who moan
and complain of the heat. but they do
not try to escape. If you force your
way through the jam and get into n
state headquarters you find the same
condition. The room Is full, the men
compressed together. elbow to elbow.
lostening to some nobody who cannot
he seen. but whose voice Is lifted In
frantic argument. and you escape to
another headquarters. which is desert
ed, save for two delegates. who are
asleep, with their heads against the
wall
You get out of that hotel and fall In
to n procession of men, each of which
has his coat slung on his left arm and
n palmleaf fan I'm his right hand. This
procession Is ON Its way to another ho-
tel. The asphalt turns back II blister
ing heat, and the puffy breeze from
over the hills is therefore worth n dol
lar minute.
You follow your procession into an
other hotel. ovcrfiowing with daft hu-
manlty. The same irresolute throngs.
the same idle vocifcratiGns, the same
meaningless hurry and hustle. the same
state headquarters sheltering limp out
sidcrs who have got that far ana fallen
over to rest up for fresh start.
But In the remote corners OF the ho-
tells. locked away from the roaming
horde and the inquisitlve rank and file.
n few men have their heads together.
and II you want to know what Is hap.
peniDg at the convention you will have
to ask one of them. The convention
crowd Is only the froth of the OCCASION
State bosses stick close to the electric
fans and save their energies. lie who
goes into the hotel lobby and talks his
voice away is never In the front line
when the nominations are made.