Omaha daily bee., 1904-08-12
SPARKS FROM FUSION FRAY
Outcome Of Conventions at LincSln Makes
Delegates speeChlsss.
DEMOCRATIC MEETING A HOwuNG FARCE
of Breesy Interviews and
SPARKLING Stories Gathered at
the TwO-RinEed Political
Circus.
From a Stan Correspondent.)

1obHS AhNA Audh AAAe RtANAaag AaAAANA ~ NAAN
leaders to the rank and file of the delegates
to the fusion convention leaves no room for
mirth and laughter.
I'D tell you what the. boys were saying
round about me-" whispered a prominent
Fifth district performer in the democratic
ring, as the circus was breaking up at A
o'clock I'm the morning. They all said the
same thing-but It wouldn't be flt to print"
This applies likewise to most Of the things
that are being said today BY the detected
and demoralized delegates.
How do you feel this morning?" was the
greeting of an old friend to George Cor
coran Of York, who had worn his voice into
frizzles calling the roll Of counties for the
democrats throughout the night. How do
1 feel?" responded Corcoran. well, not
too good-but not so bad as I thought 1
would feel when 1 went to bed a little
while ago"
To the question how he liked it National
Committeeman Jim Dahlman threw up
both hands and said Il refuse to be inter-
viewed by any one today"
But you got the fusion you were after, }"
was suggested.
Eyes, but not just the kind of fusion that
we thought we were bargaining for"
One of the delegation that had recently
attended the st. Louis convention and held
his nose while he swallowed Parker, inter-
rupted to say: well I don't feel quite so
sore going home now as did going home
from St. Louis"
well, then" interjected a bystander
that's only because you are getting used
to it,"
Rubbing II in on 1fetcaIfe.
At the breakfast table W. H. Thompson
and Judge willis D. Oldham were banter
1 ing r. L. Metcalfe as the father of fusion,
responsible for the present product.
you can have all the credit for it. ex-
claimed the little giant from Grand Island
Il hand the keys over to you"
Credit for what?' asked Oldham.
For fusing ourselves clear out of the
race Why this fellow Berse won't get as
many votes as the Parker electors and
there isn't populist in the state who will
vote for them. Every year for the last five
years have said this would be the last
year of fusion for me. and say right now
that this finishes the job"
The only man saw who was able even
to force a smile and try to look pleasant
was Mike Harrington, the big popuIist
| from ONeill.
1--WE might have done better said Har
rington. but we did pretty we'll. I am In
this fight from the word Co We are
going to give you fellows a regular In
! Follstt campaign in Nebraska and weil
keep you busy to the close
But Harrington has talked this way sew
eral times before without being able to de-
liver the goods.
Colonel Frank Eager who is really the
manager for Vice Presidential Candidate
Tibbles, confided to me that "the populists
have accomplished almost all they set out
TO accomplish" ''Tibbles is talking a little
wild" he added because he is excited. I
think our folks will be satisfied with what
we have got. We have straight electoral
ticket for Watson and Tibbles and we
nominated a state licked and merely let
the democrats ratify it. Better than that,
we made the democrats come over and
listen to Watson give them the worst skin
ming their party ever had. tell you Wat
son is all right"
Sire Up of Pop Convention.
| Looking back over the debris left by the
nights havoc several interesting features
passed, BIZ in the convention routine stand
out in a clearer light. In the first place
the populist convention was better attended
than any ponulist state convention since
1900 More counties were represented and
a better representation of the old guard
was present. Nearly every man on the
floor was an orator and felt himself ag-
grieved at the five-minute rule for speeches
"a rule which. by the way, was honored
more I'm the breach than in the observance.
The populist convention, however. had been
padded and weighted at the ends as the
delegates discovered only when the first
roll call was ordered, Instead of an ap-
portionment of one delegate-at-large and
one delegate for every 100 votes in the re-
spective counties as heretofore the offcers
of the committee had started out by giving
every county five delegates-at-large and
one additional for every 200 votes poIled
last year for the populist nominee for uni
versity regent. As a result there were s47
delegates credited to the list, but proper
tionately the larger part Of them came
from the unpopulated districts on the edge
OF the state and the heavy voting counties
were largely overshadowed. AS usual, Of
course, one or two men cast the vote for
entire counties with ridiculous divisions on
halves and thirds when they disagreed
Yet they we're an earnest lot ana appar-
emily thoroughly imbued with the serious
ness Of their deliberations.
Some funny things crept out with refer
enoes 70 the counties in which populist or
ganizations had been disbanded. Several
counties were represented in which the pop
ulists had given up their own identity and
gone into the democratic fold so that the
same convention at one and the same sit
ting chose two state delegations, one to 20
to the populist end of the tent and the
other to go 20 the democratic end of the
tent This was true notably OF Richardson
county, Jefferson county and several others.
Down in Jefferson county when the demo-
cratic convention was called to order the
populists discovered themselves to be IN
the majority and they promptly voted down
resolution endorsing Judge Parker ana
pledglng him democratic support, and only
out OF compassion for their democratic col
leagues desisted from putting a democratic
convention on record by resolution against
the democratic presidential nominee.
Democrats Become a Laughing Mob.
The democratic convention, too. WAS well
attended In fact the seats seemed 10 be
more fully occupied as the session waxed
longer than they were at the beginnine-
some unoharitable persons explaining this
by the fact that Lincoln refreshment re-
sorts close at 1890 p. m. and that the slo-
cumb law is very strictly enforced al the
state capital
The gathering set out bravely with no
little enthusiasm and az various stages
demonstrated he lung power capacity, es-
peolaily whenever some hit was made de-