The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1904-07-29
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
Reviewed by one Who Left
the Party When Free
Silver Took 1t.
Heralded as the Enemy of Trusts
Yet il Was Dominated by
Trust MagnateS.

Democratic convention teach!
AS circus 1t was success. King
master David Bennett Hill, OF New
York; Trick Horse, Alton Brooks
Parker, of the same State; Perform
Ing Monkeys, John Sharp Williams,
of Mississippi, who tried to initiate
Elihu Root as temporary chairman;
and Champ Clark, who essayed the
role OF mimicking Uncle Joe Cannon
as permanent presiding officer; Trust
Busters, James NJ. Gufey, Standard
Oil msgnate from Pennsylvania; and
and August Belmont, of New York,
recently chairman OF the executive
committee of the L. & n. Railroad
Company, who together with David
B. Hill secured the nomination OF AL
ton Brooks Parker as their represen-
tative In the race for the Presidency,
and gave the party as Its nominee for
the Vice Presidency Henry 6. Davis,
president of two railroad companies,
president of big national bank, and
a leader of the coal trust.
The real sincerity of the platform
Is indicated by the fact that William
jennings Bryan and David Bennett
Hill agreed In favoring Its adoption.
OIL and water, 1t Is said, will not mix.
When l was a country boy there was
In every back yard structure into
which the wood ashes were poured,
and from which came liquid known
as lye. This would bring oil and
water together and produce soft soap.
Champ Clark, In his opening ad-
dress as permanent chairman, quoted
the declaration of the psalmist. lin
my haste said all men are liars"
David Bennett Hill exemplifed how
we'll this applied In his case, when in
the committee loom he assured Mr..
BRYAN that he did not know how
Judge Parker stood on the financial
question. Mr.. Littleton, who was
selected to present Parker's name to
to the convention, got into the same
class by proclaiming that his Gandi-
date would accept the platform as
made for him by the party, and thus
secured the support OF the friends OF
free silver, who, by striking out the
action OF the committee In thank
Ing Almighty God for the abundance
of gold, had left the utterances OF the
Kansas City platform still In force as
the attitude OF the party on what was
really the paramount question at st.
Louis. The convention was so un-
ruly that the chairman said "the rab-
BILE and the mob had controlled 1t
from the beginning" He could not
make himself heard without the use
OF a megaphone.
1t was so indecent that obscenity
and the vilest epithets were screamed
from one of the halls to the other, In
spite of the presence OF at least $500
ladies', and no one tried to sup
press It,
Mr.. Bryan denounced the delega-
tion from Illinois as mo better than
train robbers" One of the promi-
nent figures of the convention was
Gov. Vardaman, Of Mississippi, who
secured his high place by opposing
the education of the negroes, al
though he believes In training his
horse or his dog. What was to me
the most characteristic performance
OF the convention was the selection
by the leaders OF pitchfork Tillman,
from South Carolina, to act as It's
mouthpiece In explaining It's position
with reference to the Parker telegram.
He is the chief of the Saloon Trust
In his State, and if he ever had
thought or impulse that was not sec
tional and narrow, 1t has failed to
come under my observation. John
Sharp Williams, temporary chairman
of the convention, and leader OF the
Democrats in the House of RepreSen-
tatlves at Washington, who was
first to discuss the Parker telegram,
said:
My friends, we purposely made
the platform silent on the question Of
the monetary standard. We made
1t silent because we all agreed that II
was not an issue In this convention. "
Judge Parker thought it was an Is.
sue, and said that il he did not break
the silence of the convention his
nomination would be a Dead Sea APP.
pie to him. Senator Tiiimar contra
dicted Mr.. Williams in his statement
that all agreed the monetary issue