Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1904-07-13
PARKER AND DAVIS.
The Eastern Wing Of the Democratic
Party Names the Candidates but
Comedies the Platform
TO the West.

llC DCIllOIIdlIC JldtlOIldl COn-
vention completed its labors at St.
Louis on Saturday with the result
that Judge Alton B. Parker of New
York was nominated for president
and Henry G.. Davis of West Vir-
glnla for vice president. Neither
man is a stranger to public life.
Parker is chief justice of the court
of appeals in New York and Davis
has served the state of West Vir-
glnia as senator. He is 81 years
old.
Judge Parker's nomination was
made on the first ballot. At the
end of the roll call he lacked ONLY
a few votes of having the necessary
two-thirdS and before another roll
call could be announced a number
OF states scrambled for the band
wagon and it was soon made unan-
imouS.
VIM. Bryan and the Hearst fol-
lowing and western democrats gen
orally made a strong fight against
Parker but it availed nothing more
than the adoption of a truly pro-
gresslve and thoroughly democrat
lc platform. The ovations tender
ed Mr.. Bryan demonstrated that he
had lost none of his popularity so
tar as the people are concerned, but
the delegates from the east and
south said they were done with his
leadership and found new Moses
IN the person of David B. Hill, who
dictated the nomination.
Excepting the, platform adopted,
there IS very little satisfaction of
the work Of the convention so far
as the great majority of western
democrats are concerned and it is
conceded that the democraticparty
can not carry state for the ma
tiOnal ticket west of Missouri.
However, the new regime claim
that they are now in shape to carry
New York, New Jersey, Delaware
and West Virginia, besides the sol
Id south as we'll as some of the
New England states. If they can
deliver the goods they will elect
their president, but one of the sad
deSt things in politics is the fact
that 1t IS easier to make claims
than get votes and we are fearful
lest the ides of November show
to the Parkerites that their man is
not even as good vote getter as
MIR. Bryan whom they have learn
ed to so bitterly despise.
1t will be very difficult for Mr..
Parker to get on the platform with
both feet if his past record and
more particularly the record and
expressed views of his lieuten-
ants are to be taken as an index of
his views.
The only victory Mr.. Bryan won
was on the platform and it follows
that the only defeat Mr.. Hill suffer
ed was in the resolutions commit
tee. Mr.. Bryan got everything in
the platform he asked for except
an income tax clause. Mr.. Hill in
sisted on a gold standard clause
and less radical anti trust clause
but was overwhelmingly defeated.
And herein lies the strange and
seemingly inconsistent feature of
the convention. 1t was a Hill
Belmont Cleveland convention as
10 ITS candidates, and a Bryan
Hearst and western democracy
convention as to platform. There is
no telling how the country at large
will take such a mess but SO far as
the humble writer of these lines is
concerned he would rather the
Parkerites would have taken the
whole hog. To US it looks like
serving God and Mammon at the
same time.
There seems nothing left for
Kansas democrats and populists
but to masticate crow for awhile