Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-02

dent at the next national convention
of the Democratic party. Only his
own refusal can avert such action. |
happen to know that within three or
four weeks he will make a statement
on the subject and outline the issues
on which he would be willing TO be q
candidate, if at all.
do not speak for him, nor do l be-
lieve there is any man in the United
States authorized to speak for him.
Yet I individually believe that Mr.
Bryan will be candidate before the
| 1908 convention and that without very
much delay he will announce definite
ly the platform on which he stands and
will ask the support of the Democratic
voters prior to the convention more
for the issues in which he believes than
for himself. Probably in that event
he win be nominated. Probably, too,
there will be 4 fine fight in the conven-
ton, and no Democratic convention or
any other convention should be adj
journed without u hearty discussion
both of candidates and of issues. A
cut and dried convention has always
been disastrous. We need not look fur
Their back than ST Louis in 1904 to dis
cover that. 1 hope and expect to see
many candidates for the presidential
nomination, and the Indications axe
that this expectation will not be disap-
lpointed.
Yet if recent political history, which
I recall. shall he repeated the cOnven-
| of bnr G,rh fnr hn ret
place will toss the vice presidency t.:
almost anybody. This was done III
1886, when Mr.. Bryan's nomination
and his candidacy were hurt immeas
urably by the nomination for the vice
presidency of an utterly unknown
man and one who had not given any
great proof of devotion to the Demo
cratic cause. In 1900 Il wearied con
vention was led by IL delegation which
to my certain knowledge was hostile
to the head of the ticket to nominate
Adlai Stevenson, whose estimable ant
lovablc character could not overcome
the fact that he was out of touch will
the Democracy of today. In 100
Judge Parker. who himself suffered
from the corporation prOclivities of the
men who forced him upon the party
was still further handicapped by hay
ing Il coal, gas and railroad magnat
of West Virginia placed on the tickle
with him. What happened we al
know.
Some Possible Nominees.
If Mr.. Bryan should be nominated
and that seems possible, his friend
should exert themselves to see tina
this time, for the first time in man,
years, the question of the vice presi
dcncy should be considered as careful
ly as that of the presidential nomina
ton. There are mauy men to WHOM
this distinguished Office. with all it
possibilities. should be and probabl
would be most attractive. The diff
Guilty of discussing Il matter of thi
: sort is that by some curious conception
of political necessity one must Away
figure on Il vice presidential nominC
coming from Il section of the countr
; far removed from that in which til
presidential nominee lives. And s
you have got to fix your presidents
nominee first if you wish to write o
the subject. But If we suppose NJ
Bryan to be the probable nominee her
are some names that might well b
considered:
Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, youn;
rich. member of the AstOr family, liel
| tenant governor of New York, who ca
ried it by $500 in the election at whic
Hughes defeated Hearst by over 81
600, Il present candidate for the fir:
place.
Governor Warfield of Maryland, Oh
of the finest types of Il southern ma
heartily in accord with the spirit
progressive democracy, the chief exc
utive of Il state which should be Der
Ocratic, but has once gone against Il
Democratic party; loyal party ma
who would carry his state for the tic
:. ct whether he appeared upon it or ne
l. but whose presence on the ticket wou