Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-04
National Political Conventions Of the Past



| down with him when the nomination
| mad gone to another. Following Conk-
| ing, James A. Garfield nominated John
sherman In the fullness of time, some
votes were cast for Garfield himself.
lie rose to a point of order and began
10 protest against the delegates voting
/ Ior him when his name was not before
.ne convention. Chairman Hoar cut
MIN Off in the middle of sentence to
prevent him from saying something
that might prevent his accepting the
domination. Hoar had seen the drift
toward Garfield, and Hoar was intense
~ opposed to the nomination of Grant,
'lseiy because Grant, as president,
YOU'D listen to Ben Butler about Mas
saGhusetts patronage distribution.
Two convention speeches great
enough to outlive the issue of the
moment were spoken in opposition, not
IN eulogy, OF candidate. Both of them
were by Bourke Cochran. and both
Vo1ced the opposition of the Democracy
OF Oh Iammany hall to Grover Cleveland.
The first was in 1884 when the nm
known Cleveland, who had never heen
TO Washin gton, and who knew nothing
of national affairs, was taken I'm and
nominated by the Democrats because
OF his remarkable success in New
1ork state politics. Cochran and
Grady made impassioned sneeches
against the Cleveland idea. but to mo
avail. In replying to Cochran. General
Bragg of Wisconsin said: 1--WE love
him for the enemies he has made"
voice in the gallery responded T,et
EN- nave little more grape, Captain
Bragg. Again in 1892 Cochran deliv-
cred powerful speech against Cleve-
land. 1t was heard in profound silence
and was greeted by no cheering Cleye-
land was on the highest crest of popu-
larity then, and oratory could not in
jure him.
Most famous Of the convention
speeches, however, is that one delivered
In Chicago In 1896, which won for it's
maker the Democratic nomination for
the presidency, and which inaugurated
the most heated political campaign the
country mad known since the Civil war
Mr.. Bryan went to Chicago with the
notion hrmly fixed in his head that he
would be the nominee few weeks
before he had sat in the Republican
convention at st. Louis as a newspaper
correspondent, and had seen the nomi-
nation of Mckinley. He had seen the
silver leaders of the west rise and de-
nounce their party and leave the hall.
He went to Chicago to win the nomina-
ton. He won it,
When it was seen by the election of
Senator Daniel to be temporary chair
man that the silver men controlled two
thirds of the convention, the followers
of "Silver Dick" Bland were certain
their man would win. Then Bryan. al
though few people knew of his high
ambition, stepped in. He made the
'crown of thorns and cross Of gold"
speech which took the convention by
storm. The scenes of wild enthusiasm
then enacted have rarely, if ever, been
approached. Bryan was nominated,
made his famous swing around the cir
Gle and was defeated.
The picturesque career of an indus
trious American politician need not be
confined to the limits of the conven-
tions of one party. Ben Butler of
Massachusetts, was made the chief dis
penser of patronage in his state by
Franklin Pierce. President Pierce
was nominated by Jefferson Davis, his
secretary of war. When the Demo-
cratic convention met at Charleston in
1860 Ben Butler was there with Massa-
chusetts in his pocket. But he was
careful not to get in the path of the
cat, whichever way it might jump. For
fifty-seven ballots he announced the
vote of his state, and each time re-
served his own vote until the last, then
declaiming in theatric fashion: The
state of Massachusetts casts one vote
for the Honorable Jefferson Davis of
the state of Mississippi" In another
year Davis was president of the Con-
federate States and Butler was out
cunning for rebels. He was one OF the
most unpopular of the Federal gen
erals in the south on account of his rule
in New Orleans After the war he is
found trying to impeach Andrew john
SON. Under the Republican Grant he
dispensed patronage in Massachusetts
as he had under the Democratic Pierce
and Buchanan. Then he is found again
in Democratic ranks, being electeu
governor of Massachusetts, on that
ticket He leaves the Democrats ana is
nominated in 1884 for president of the
Greenbackers Six weeks later he is
member of the Democratic national
convention, and is discovered using
substitute platform for that reporteu
by the committee, the Butler supstl-
tute favoring the granting OF pensions
to Confederate soldiers
President Roosevelt has figured in
three conventions of his own party. In
1884 when he was 26 years ola, ne
was a lieutenant under Thomas Z.
Platt. fighting for the nomination OF
blaine. At Philadelphia in 1900 he
nrotested against being nominated for
vice president and was 'kicked up
stairs" by Platt who supposed he had
him shelved. In 1904 Roosevelt was
the unanimous choice or a convention
at Chicago which had no spectdculai
features because it's work was done be-
fore it met.
The clans are gathering in both par
+ies and within a year from now two
other great national conventions VIII
,eve met, nominated candidates and
adjourned What they will do may de-
pend upon an incident too trivial to pc
thought of now and on the other mana
~ o,arhers of the two parties may
have SO mapped out their work IN ad-
vance that the only functions of the
conventions will be to ratify the popu-
lar will.
1r,,.-,,.h,no vou want YOU will find in the