The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-20

| calls and the conservatives once more
 met in pitched battle. MT. Bryan and | ex-Senator Bennett Hill were the gem l erals of the. opposing forces. After
 a drawn out fight it was agreed that | the platform should be silent on the question of the gold standard. A tariff plank prepared by Mir. Bryan was in- serted. The committee was unanimous | on the report. Out of what seemed
 to be implacable enmity there had come perfect peace.
 Next day the peace and tranquility
 turned into anger and chagrin. The convention was preparing to nominate
 It's candidate for yice-president when
 1t was thrown into a whirl by the rumor that Judge Parker had teie-
 graphed that he would not accept the nomination unless the platform de- clared for the gold standard. group of leaders were conferring excitedly when a newspaper extra with an im- perfaect account of the Parker tele- gram was scattered over the hall. In
 moment the place was bedlam. Champ Clark was chairman and he proved equal to the emergency. fThe gentleman from Texas moves that the
 convention stand adjourned until O clock tonight. he screamed. Those
 In favor of the motion say aye" There
 was not an aye. Those opposed say
 no" There was thunder of noes
 n.
 ayes have it and the convention stands
 adjourned" It was arbitrary and un-
 fair. perhaps. but 1t was the only
 thing on earth that prevented a riot.
 The convention soon found that
 Judge Parker had only declared his
 own position in favor of the gold
 standard and that if his views should
 be unsatisfactory to the majority of the convention. he authorized William F. Sheehan to decline the nomination in his name. Peace was patched up among the leaders and it was agreed
 to- send a telegram to Judge Parker
 saying that the convention did not re- gard the money question as an issue in the campaign, and that his views did not preclude his taking the nomin- ation on the platform already adopted
 Mir. Bryan led the fight against sending the Williams telegram to Judge Parker. He rose from sick bed, eluded his nurse and appeared in the wee sma' hours of the morning. Ills voice was husky and his face was ashen. but he fought to the last He was voted down, as he had been on every test in the whole convention. But the thunders of applause from the galleries which greeted his every ut terance. the fact that no one but Bryan could get a respectful hearing, and the mutterings of the men who feared to speak aloud.-all showed that Bryan was still beloved by the rank end file of his party. Although defeated on every vote. Mir. Bryan left the St. Louis convention a bigger man than he was when he entered 1t.
 The next day, when the news of Bryan's losing fight reached the country. there were s thousands and hundreds of thousands of men who had voted for Bryan in two campaigns who swore they would not vote for Parker. Bryan took the stump and urged his followers to vote the ticket, but 1t was in vain. His crowds were as large and his receptions as enthusi- astic as ever. but his advice was as seed scattered on the stony way.
 In Indianapolis. for instance, in a state which had twice rejected Bryan by the largest votes ever given against Democratic candidate. there was to be a great Parker rally, David B. Hill was to be the orator. A torch light procession was formed to escort the speaker to TomIinson Hall. As the marchers walked along they marked each step with the staccato chant of "Bryan-Bryan-Brya Mir. Hill could not get the audience to