The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-06-16
MEN WHO SCORN SECOND PLACE No One Wants the Vice
 Presidency. SOME PREVIOUS CAMPAIGNS In Late Years 'sUnknowns' Have
 Been the "Iails." Hen. whiteiaw Reid Contributsd to Defeat ef Ben Harrison Ana
 Je. sibIey Failed to Be
 Named.
BY ALFRED J. sToFER.

Washington. June 14-(Special)--ln the earlier days of the republic as much care was exercised in the selection Of candidates for the vice-presidency as in naming those for the presidency.
 True in those early days to be Vice President meant as a rule to become President later on. But for the past quarter of a century the leaders of neither of the political parties except in rare instances have seemed to care a fig who got second place so long as after the head of the ticket had been agreed upon.
 crats or Republicans, who. are men, tioned for the presidency appear to be willing to take the vice-prssidency. At least that is the impression that usually prevails at conventions.
 And this brings to mind an oft-re- peated anecdote. A small boy one day told most seriously by his father who took an intense interest in politics and legislation that he wished to impress wildly upon his mind one thing. Il wish. my boy" he said. "as you grow to manhood to remember this: I would rather be right than President
 The urchin willingly promised that he would never forget 1t, and went out into the yard to romp with his play mates. His dad smiled as he thought how he had impressed the boy. In a few minutes the little fellow came bounding back into the room and said to his father: But, papa I'd rather. be wrong than to be vice-President of the United States"
 Nomination of WhiteIaw Reid.
 At the Republican convention held at Minneapolis in 1892 after the coI- lapse of the movement to defeat Presi- f Blaine a large proportion of the dele- gates lost interest in the proceedings, and took no hand whatever in the selection of the running mate that year of Benjamin Harrison. Some of the delegates assuming that Levi P. Morton of New York, as a matter of course, would again be nominated for vice. president. took the first trains for their homes. The nomination for vice-presi- dency was made Friday evening. the convention having taken q recess to enable everybody to so to dinner. as 1t was late hour when General HaP- rison was given a renomination.
 At the West Hotel during that con- vention three bars were run. At one only straight whiskey could be bought. At another mixed drinks only could be procured.s. At the third bar nothing but champagne was sold. At 10 o'clock in the evening while the corks were pop ping at the champagne bar news came down from convention hall that the candidate for vice-president had been selected. Tn this spacious place. which was the billiard room converted into bars, there must have been at the time pagne counter there were no less than forty delegates. and fully hundred more were at the other counters.
 The late Hamilton Disston, the big saw manufacturer of Philadelphia and the. owner of much valuable property in Florida. had a crowd of friends about him. He was a Harrison dele gate and so happy over the failure of the opposition to stampede the conven- tion to Blaine that he was opening wine reeardless of expense --.,'- 't.... .'
 ssWho has been nominated for second placer" some one inquired.
 Reid" was the answer.
 .sNonsense,' calculated a delegate who did not train with the Harrison follow ing. From Reid would not have 1t, and besides, he would never consent. to be the running mate of Ben Harrison. whom he royalty hates. as shown by his never calling at the White House.
 ssWho said anything about Speaker Reed?" asked another man. White law Reid of New York has been nomin- ted for Vice President
 E6W aIOunQ lkhb CAldAhpdhBS D8t w lieved the report which they found la- ter was only too true. Morton was anxious and willing to accept another nominated for second place. and he has never gotten over hisf disappointment and to be turned down by his own del- egation was galling.
 Whitelaw Reid was bitterly opposed by labor organizations. He would have never been selected for Vice Pres ident had not nearly one half of the delegates failed to record their votes. Harrison and Reid were walloped out of their boots by Cleveland and Stew enson in 1892. That year vote was cast heavily for the Democratic ticket, and the demand for tarifE reform was also strong throughout the land.
 Shrewd politicians have contended right along that 1t was a stupid piece of business to have nominated Allen c. Thurman of Ohio for Vice President on the ticket with Cleveland fin 1888 at the St. Louis convention. JudRe Thurman had one foot in the grave then and died not many months later. Had he been elected he would not have lived to be of any use to his party.
 William R. Morrison of Illinois was generally considered the logical cam didate at that time for Vice President h,t he and President Cleveland did not exactlv train together, and of course he cut a sorry figure in the convention tor second place. q
 Why sfBIey Failed.
 At Chicago tweleve years ago after