Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-08
AROUSED BY BRYAN
CONVENTION STIRRED UP BY THE
NEBRASKA LEADER.
Pleads for Seating the Anti-Hopkins-
Charges That Will of Majority
Was Frustrated.

the seating of the anti-HopklnS delegates
from Illinois. He said:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen OF TINS
Convention. | came to this convention in
the hope that we would be able to agree on
platform and on candidates. and have moth
ing to stir the feelings or rouse contention.
(ApplauseJ l still hope that We shall be
able to agree upon a platform that will rep
resent the sentiments of all of US, 50 that
we can present it to the country as the
platform of united party. prolonged APP
plauseD will go further than that still
hope that we shall be able to present TO
the country a ticket behind which can stanu
a united party. loud cheers and APP
plause) And | regret that am compelled
to come in at this time and present a sub
ject upon which your votes Will be asked
But if there is one democratic principle
more fundamental than another it is the
right of a majority to rule. tApplause) If
you destroy the binding force Of that prin-
Ciple there is nothing that can hold party
together.
And. my friends. it is because I want
the democratic party to stand on that
Jeffersonian principle of majority rule
that l come here and present the mi
nority report in this case. loud APP
plauSe.)
Ruled by Clique.
in the state of Illinois the majority
was not allowed to rule That convention
was dominated by a clique of men who
deliberately. purposely. boldly tramped
upon the rights of the people of Illinois
My friends, the evidence shows that no
band of train robbers ever planned a rob-
berry upon train more deliberately or
with less conscience than they did. CAP
Ilause.D And these men who planned it
and who carried it out have the audacity
the lmpudence and the inSOlenCe to say
that because they certify that what they
did was regular YOU cannot go behind
their certificate. If that is good law in a
democratic convention it ought to be
good doctrine in a court. and if it is good
doctrine in court. then the only thing
that train robbers have to do in the flu
ture is To make Il report of their transac-
tons over their own signatures. Great
laughter and applause)
Il reply that after they have committed
their crime all that train robbers will have
10 do IS to certify over their own sigma
lures that il was a voluntary collection
taken up for religious purpose and deny you
the right to go behind the returns. laugh
ter and applause.)
They tell you that the law of the party
in Illinois permits the state committee to
present the chairman. and they deny the
right of the convention to override the
wishes of the committee Such a doctrine
would be undemOcratic if true. for such
doctrine would permit past committee
to fasten itself upon a new convention and
dominate new set of delegates. Cap
plauSe)
But. my friends, that is not all, for
John p. Hopkins two years ago the same
the recommendation of the committee and
asked a vote upon it. and submitted it to
the convention. Two years ago he recogniz-
ed the right of the democrats in the state
convention to elect their temporary chair
man. This time he did not dare to do it,
for If he had done it he would have been
repudiated by the convention there assem-
bled. The minority presented a minority
report, or wanted to. but the chairman of
the committee. Mr.. Hopkins. brought Mr.
Quinn up to the convention platform and
handing no vol Sai hat ha
the chairman Of the convention. and Mr.
Quinn. Selling the gavel. began his rule of
tyranny. despotism and unfairness. Great
applause)
Making Up the Roll
Then they had their state committee
putting on the roll the delegates whom they
wanted. but when the credentials commit
tee brought in minority report they re-
fused to consider II and refused to allow
a report upon 1t. And yet in spite of the
fact that that convention was not allowed
10 act upon its own credentials, was not
allowed to decide the merits of its own
delegates. yet with all they seated they
did not seat enough, for more than half
the men actually seated by the Hopkins
committee have signed petitions asking
that they be sent back home, and that
democrats who represent the people of
that state be substituted for them In this
convention. (CheerS)
In the hearing before the committee it
was asked, Why did not they present a mi
TO select delegates-at-large? Well, my
friends. there was a contest in that COM
inittee There was opposition to Hopkins
but why would you expect that a minority
report would be filed? Why should they
expect it when they had already held that
minority report was only advisory and
could be put into the waste basket and
need not be acted upon?
They are estopped from asking why a
minority report was filed. They made no
attempt. they declared no purpose. to sub
hal Agyl h.
and, my friends, admit in the report
that if they had openly intended to substi-
tute other men for the men selected by the
districts they might have done so, but to
do so il would have to be the act of the
convention The convention never attempt
ed ii. The convention was not asked to do
II. and the evidence shows that the resoll-
ton that is part of the record. and upon
which they relied was never introduced
was never passed. but is a fraud. pure and
simple. presented here to this convention
today. cloud applause)
Duty of the Convention.
Now. my friends. what is the duty of this
democratic convention? The democrats of
Illinois are not like the democrats of the
south. Down south the democrats have all
the local offices. and they can reward their
men for their loyalty to the party. Up in
Illinois there is strong republican ma
1Orlty and the democrats in Illinois are in
many parts of the state. struggling against
overwhelming odds; but they are actuated
by love OF principles, not by hope of office.
But what will you tell those men? VIII
you declare that the action OF that conven-
tion Is right? VIII you support the meth
obs employed? II they had a majority of
the convention. why did they not permit
Il roll CALI Why would they deny II il they
had the votes there? Men do not go wrong
as rule unless they think 1t is necessary
To carry out some object and the only way
that you can decide that these men did
wrong unnecessarily Is to decide that they
were so perverted in conscience that they
did wrong from choice rather than from
necessity. (Applause)
Bryan Speaks Again.
After Delegates Menzies and Quinn had
replied Mr.. Bryan again started to speak.
and was again warmly cheered. He said:
Mr.. Chairman ladies and gentlemen: l
have only 10 minutes. Don't take my time.
The first speaker said that had not heard
the evidence. | stayed in the subcommittee
of the national committee and heard evil
dence until o clock i'm the morning zap
plauSe). and have heard more evidence