The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-06-20
rHr TWO coNyENTIoNs.

number of our Republican con
 tsmporaries find malicious pleasure ! in references to the lack of harmony among Democrats, and freely predict that tho convention at St. Louis will
 be a regular throat-cutting function. These critics, it occurs to us would | feel much better. If their own coming convention gave some prospect of free- dom of. thought or independence of ac- ton. f6 1t does not afford any promise of the kind. We doubt if there has ever been a national convention of one of the great parties which was so thoroughly a cut-and- dried affair as that at Chicago will be. From pres ent indications it will be nothing more than a ratification affair. and so far as any voice of the party is concerned the members of the Repuglican Nation al Committee might get together and carry out what is pre-arranged just as well as a convention can do. ., To start with, no opposition to
 Roosevelt is expected or will be al- lowed. The party is bound to him as firmly as Andromeda was bound to the
 rock. and there is no Perseus to free it from the bonds. The convention must
 accept him. and no objection will be allowed. The nominating speech and
 the seconding speeches will be pre- pared before hand, and not a will be left uncrossed or an undotted when the time for their delivery comes. The places for applause and laughter will be marked, and we've no doubt that
 men will be designated and their seats
 in the audience provided so that. they
 may be ready to start the laugh or the applauding at exactly the proper time and place.
 The platform, too. will be dictated
 and put into shape so that there will
 be no possibility for differences of opinion, or for unseemly wrangles which might disturb the serenity of the dominating factor in Washington. While there appears still to be some uncertainty with regard to the man for second place we have little doubt that this will also be attended to In time. and that the convention will only take one merely formal ballot for pur
 poses of record. As now appears the entire affair will be entirely machine work, and will be too tame to be in-
 teresting.
 It will certainly be widely different
 at St., Louis, for. as a contemporary
 observes. 1t will be a battle of giants.
 There may be a hard-fought contest
 over the nominee, and the same over
 second place. There will be such di-
 versity of opinion over the principles
 and policies to be expressed in the
 platform as can but lead to prolonged
 discussion. We are free to admit that there is not as much harmony in the
 party as would be satisfactory, but the
 lack of it will have a tendency to
 Of opinion. The strongest men of the
 party will be there and they will con-
 fer with each other for the good of all. We have a feeling that the pres
 ent apparent Reorganization will have
 good effect because it will lead to
 free discussion of both men and meas
 ures. And we further believe that the
 result of the conventions work will be
 ticket and platform upon which all
 Democrats can unite and work togeth- CT for success.
 Whatever our convention may do or
 fail to do it will not be a mere ratifica- tion meeting, as the other will be.