The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-04
Bryan Says He is in Hands of
 tha Wrong Man
TALKS OF THE PLATFORM
Dlstlneuishd Nebraskan Is Surrounded By Great Crowds Immediately Upon His Arrival at Hotel and
 Spends Very Busy Day.

ol LOUIS, Jely 3.-Wllllam Jennings Bryan arrived at the Jefferson hotel shortly before noon today, ana from the monument that he set root in the hotel he was exceedingly busy man. his callers being numerous that he found it difficult to obtain time for meals.
 The instant he walked Into the lobby of the hotel he was surrounded by a dense crowd which pressed forward to shake him by the hand. There was no cheering CT demonstration of any kind, beyond the pressure of the throng around him. which finally became so dense that he had difh- culty in reaching his room. As soon as he entered the door of his apartment the visitors were upon him and from that 1 time on he was given no rest He deelin- ed to express an opinion regarding the outcome of the convention.
 T see" he said. that 1t has been re- ported that 1 am to be a member of the committee on credentials. would like to be- but I will not I am to be a member of the committee on resolutions and could hardly serve on them both"
 Talk of the Platform.
 On the subject of platform, MT. Bryan was more non-commttal.
 ''I have heard talk" he said, "of a gold plank in the platform. Of course it goes without saying that 1 opposed to such q thing. and 1 will not stand for It.
 Does that mean that If gold plank Is inserted in the platform you will leave the convention? ?"
 Mr. Bryan laughed heartily as he re- piled:
 T do not think that I will be called to answer that question in the convention any more than I am compelled to answer 1t now. Really though I could not dis cuss such question as that"
 When asked if he had any particular financial plank that he proposed to father before the committee on resolutions, MT Bryan declined to say, merely remarlxing
 'I cannot talk of that matter before the meeting of the committee on resolutions" |"
 Neither would MT. Bryan say if he would accept financial plank compro- missing between an affirmation Of the Kansas City and Chicago platform. and a gold plank.
 Later In the day MT. Bryan gave out the following formal statement
 Parker Cannot be Nominated.
 After conferences with a number of delegates from various sections, I am satisfied that the opposition to Judge Par ker is sufficient to make his nomination highly improbable, if not impossible. 1 ineft nus Deen no concentration upon any anti-Parker candidate, but two ar- guments are having weight with the dele gates. Among the radical democrats the feeling Is that the party must not be surrendered into the hands of Wall street. The influences back of the Parker can- didacy are so intimately associated with the trusts and great corporations, that the democratic party could not appeal to the masses. The party cannot afford to entrust it's future to the men who were responsible for the party's defeat in 1896 and 1900 If Mir. Parker had a record of his own, he might be judged upon that record. But as he has refused to speak he must be judged by the record of his political manager. ex-Senator Hill and his financial agent August Belmont and the records. A man who Is weak enough to put his candidacy in their hands before the convention would not be strong enough to resist their influence after the election if he were by any possibility sue cessful.
 The second objection is the one that carries weight with the conservative 6ele- gates, viz: That he cannot win It is be- coming more and more apparent that he would prove a weak candidate. and tbis Is robbing him of whatever strength he had among the men whose first desire Is to win With such a candidate the bat tie would begin with a foot race and end with a rout. These two arguments seem qulte certain to prove his undoing
 'The first fight of the convention seems likely to be over the Illinois contest. Convention Has No Parallel.
 'The Illinois state convention probably has no parallel in convention history. If was run by brute force and without any regard to democracy or decency The contestants will present the 'endorsement Of majority of the delegates of the convention who having been deprived of voice in the state convention, will ap- peal for Justice to the national organiza- tion. The national committee cannot en- dorse the Hopkins methods without over throwing the most fundamental of demo- cratic doctrines, viz: the right of the majority to rule"
 When asked about the platform, Mir Bryan replied that nothing definite could be said on the subject; he hoped to see platform satisfactory to the democrats who had borne the burden of the fight in recent campaigns On the subject of can didates, he maintains the attitude that he has maintained all along saying that he Is not urging the nomination of any particular persons and will be satisfied with any one whose democracy Is un- questioned and who can be trusted to faithfully carry out democratic policies after election.