The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-07-15
CONFIRMING THE PARKER TELE-
 GRAM.
Inside History of Historic Crisis at sr Louis, While sheehan and h'h
 Awaited Verihcation of Message.

Chicago Tribune.
 Ex-Lieutenant- Governor W. F. Snee- han, personal representative of Juose Parker. was the man who sent the ihes sage to Esopus, N. Y. demanding con firmation of the historic gold plank telegram which plunged the St. Lotus convention into such throes or eAci't ment on the afternoon and evening ol Saturday, July g. This point seems ." be the only one in connection witn tnt momentous occurrence which has not yet been cleared up. and The lripunII Is about to take 1t outl of the douptius column by the following statement oi stan correspondent:
 T happened to be in the tunnel -liks corridor that surrounded the inner shell of the convention hall. writes tne correspondent, and there was an eye witness of the events attendant on 'hi receipt of Judge Parker's telegram: saw William F. Sheehan write dls patch demanding veribcaton Judge Parker's extraordinary messase'. and I saw him receive a telegram lIna" Esopus telling of the difficulties expe- rfenced there in getting prompt con firmation. All this occurred during the 2 o'clock session of the convention on Saturday afternoon before the rumor of the platform repudiation had spread among the delegates
 At half past 2 the hollowed eyed. tired out delegates on the floor of the convention hall were listening to the speeches placing before them the names of candidates for the Democrat ic SVice- Presidential nomination. Tn the corridor outside the entrance to the delegates section was a group or panic-stricken men listening to dis patch that might undo all thelr Nercu, lean labors in securing the peacefuj nomination of the Democratic Presl- dential candidate
 "Sheehan held the famous telegram in hand that visibly trembled:: He was clad in well made suit of fight blue flannel and his pink summer shirt made the pallor of his face most no ticeable thing. Next him was David Bennett Hill. with his small, short sighted eyes screwed up into minia. leaf fan which he carried during the whole session moving to and fro with pump like regularity. August Bel on Sheehan's right. The rest of tho group was made up of the tall forms of Patrick H. McCarren. the Brooklyn boss, and Senator Martin of Virginia.
 MT. Sheehan read the telegram once and Hill shook his head uncomprehend- ingly. Sheehan read 1t again, and Mir. Hill took from him the bit of yellow paper, put on his glasses. and read it for himself. There were about six lines of clear typewriter stuff. and 1t was evident that the trouble had nothing to do with deciphering the let tering. of the message It was it's inn port that puzzled.
 Dan Campbell of the Michigan dele gation, politician who would ordi- narily have received most respectful treatment. approached the group ani was impatiently waived aside. Then the little knot of New Workers turned and made for the telegraph office. To reach it they had to go half round the board walk in the circular corridor as IT they were. walking against time Sheehan. Belmont and McCarren In the lead with Hill and Martin in the rea-. The telegraph office was shut off from the corridor only by a temporary wooden counter At the west end of it's eastern section, next the Associated Press booth. there was a narrow open senger boys. Here the quintet who were making more history than the thousand influential Democrats up- stairs came to stop. They nut their read and re-read the famous tele- gram.
 "Mccarren knitted hia thin b-ows and pursed up his clerical lips as he pointed out with a sharp finger the puzzlins phrases in the last sentence. What was the meaning of that request about declining the nomination should my views on the gold standard prove un satisfactory to the majority of the con- vention" Did 1t mean that Alton B. Parker was objecting to the laborious- ly wrought platform?
 Tt means that he's rejected itn OK ploded Sheehan with an excited oath. | and I'm d-d glad that he has No decent man could do anything else. "I don't think so,' said McCarren | gently, and David B. Hill agreed with | him.
 "'Well. I'd be a fool to go before the country with thing like that, an- | swered Sheehan his blue eyes snappirg z pXnifpmanf POfnC for confirmation of it.
 TO this no one offered objection Sheehan put the typewriter telegra IT. on the rough pine counter. stepped in | page message to Esopus with a lead pencil. He showed his literary effort to his companions, who nodded ac. placed the document on the desk beforS telegraph operator and did not let | go until 1t had been put on the wire He called higher official of the com panv and impressed upon him the vital need for promptness and deathlike sc crecy. He did not tell him that the rate of great party hung In the bal ance, but he made his point so clear | that he was given a wire for his exclu- | sive use.
 Meanwhile D. B. Hill. without ', word of explanation, had hurried back around the circular track to his seat with the New York delegation. He was going to set the machinery for an adjournment in motion.
 Hill is beside himsels.' was Shec- | hans almost contemptuous comment. He doesn't know what to do or what to think, He wants to read the telegram tn the convention one minute. and the next he thinks we'd better wait till the Vice President has been nominat- ed and the whole thing finished
 Let me see that telegram again asked McCarren. and Sheehan took the much handled dispatch from his brea B. | pocket
 ." T think it's the greatest thing since the repudiation of greenhackism.' said the Brooklyn leader simply
 "Thero was no response and the l quartet settled down at the counter end to wait till the ticking wires should | Meanwhile Hill was hurrving back to thnm. With James NJ. Guffev of Penn svlvania on hts arm he came speeding out of the sunken exit to the delc- gates section. Guffev is we'll along | in life aud he was physically unable to stand the Nov. Workers pace His white hair heN~ out behind ns he at tcmnted to keep uo. but he gave m tin, | trial when the first quarter had been l raSseo With not on tho hack and a mUff1od iniunction to TTurrv for | Gods sake the PennsvlvaniRn wrench Fd his arm free and stopped in his tracks.
 David Bennett Hill was let to carry the news from Ghent to Ak all alone | The news was tidings of the fierce ob- ! 1ection of the few flre-eating Southern CTS whom he had been able to sound l indirectly on the Parker telegram' An,l senator Hill. following the story of Browning's famous poem, 'galloped' to | do it That is to say. he scuttled. for