The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-07-04
RETICENT AS TOPLATFORM
Present Concern Is Over Seat
ing of Illinois Hearstites.
Declares that II In Beconafng Mora A.
parent that Judge Parker VIII
BE Defeated for the Nem-
inatiOn.

SnOrtly De1ore noon To-Day, ana lrOm
the moment that he set foot In the
hotel. he was an exceedingly busy man.
his callers being SO numerous that he
found 1t difficult to obtain time for
meals.
The instant he walked into the lobby
OF the hotel he was surrounded by .
dense crowd which pressed forward
to shake him by the hand. There was
no cheering or demonstration Of any
kind beyond the pressure of the throng
around him. which finally became 20
dense that he had difficulty In reach
ine his room. As soon as he entered
the door OF his apartment the visitors
were upon him. and from that time
on he was given no rest. He declin-
ed to express his opinion regarding
the outcome Of the convention.
On Only One Committee.
"T see" he said, that 1t has been
reported that / am to be member
OF the committee on credentials. I
would like to be. but l will not
II am to be a member of the com,
mittee on resolutions and could hard
| Iy serve on them both. The commits
tee on credentials will have an fm-
portant matter to settle at this con-
yention. 1t must determine whether
or not the party Is to be run by gavel
rule In my opinion here Is not more
important question before the pubic
tcday than whether or not a few men,
one of whom happens to have a gavei
| IN his hand, shall override the wishes
Of the voters who have selected GER
| tain men to represent them in conven-
tons The people elect their men ana
should have them. but In some cases
| of late 1t does not seem as though they
were not getting them. am opposed 70
/ such proceedings from every stand-
! point" -. 60.
an was more non-committai
| ~ have heard talk" he said, "of a
| oold plank, In the platform. OF course
n goes without saying that ! am OPP
nosed to such a thing and ! VIII not
Does that mean that II gold plank
ia inserted in the platform you VIII
leave the convention &.
| Mr.. Bryan laughed heartiiy as ny
renlied: .,,a4
az 40 not think that I will be called
4 .o answer that question in the convens
zion anv more than / am compelled e
answer II now Really. though, couia
NOT discuss such a question as tnat
When asked If he had any particular
financial plank that he proposed &c
father before the committee on resoiut'
ions, Mr.. Bryan declined to say, mereis
remarking: .,o..
Tho r,eetine of the committee on reso'
buttons"
Neither would Mr.. Bryan say IL NJ
would accept a financial plank com
4 promising between an animation OF TINS
Kansas city and Chicago platform ane
a gold platform.
Later in the day Mr.. Bryan gave ou
the following formal statement:
| A Favorable Statement.
after conference with a number o
delegates from various sections, an
satisfied that the opposition to Judg'
Parker is sufficient to make his nomin
alton highly improbable IL not impos
| sible There has been no concentrat
ion upon any anti-Parker candidate. blu
two arguments are having weight witt
the delegates.
feeling is that the party must not o
surrendered into the hands of Wal
street The influences back of th'
Parker candidacy are so intimately as
| aociated with the trusts and great cor
porations that the Democratic part.
could not appeal to the masses Tn
nary cannot afford to entrust its futur
Ito the men who were responsible for tn
party's defeat in 1896 and 1900.
IF Mr. Parker had a record OF nj
own he might be judged upon that re
cord. But as he has refused to speal
he must be judged by the records o
his principal manager. Senator Hill
land his finoncial agent. August Bel
mont. A man who is weak enough I
nut his candidacy In their hands be
fore the convention would not be stronl
lenough to resist their influence afte
election IL by any possibility he shout
be successful.
Parker Cannot Win.
The second objection Is the one tina
carried weight with the conservativ
delegates. viz: That he cannot win. l
is becoming more and more apnaren
that he would prove a weak candidat
land this is robbing him of whateve
strength he had among the men who's
first desire Is to win. With such
candidate the battle would begin Wit
a foot race and end woth rout- Thes
prove his undoing.
"The first fight of the convention
seems likely to be over the Illinois con
test.
The Illinois State convention prob
able has no parallel in convention his
tory. 1t was run by brute forces an
without any regard to Democracy o
ldecency. The contestants will presen
the endorsement OF a majority of tn
delegates OF the convention, VINO. nav
ling been deprived OF voice In tn
state convention. will appeal for jus
ltice to the National organization. Tn
National Committee cannot endorse tn
Hopkins methods without overthrowinl
lhe most fundamental of Democratic
doctrines. viz. the right of the major
ity to rule"
When asked about the platform. MI
Bryan replied that nothing definite
lcould be said on the subject; he hopes
to see a platform satisfactory to tn
Democrats who had borne the burdel
of the fight in recent campaigns. Oh
the subject of candidates. he maintains
the attitude that he has maintained al
along. saying that he is not urging thu
Nomination of any particular person
land will be satisfied with any on'
whose Democracy is unquestioned and
who can be trusted to faithfully carry