The Washington herald., 1908-06-19
By WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE.


Chicago. Ill. June 1s-It is entirely fit
ting that the work OF a convention be-
gun by the reactionary speech Of Senator
Burrows should close with a demonstra-
tion for Senator La Toilette. merged into
cheers for Theodore Roosevelt, for es-
sentially he is the force that keeps men
like Senator Burrows and Senator La
Toilette together. And all the long sum-
mer day, this great convention has been
doing Theodore Roosevelt's work and
very little else.
II was a hot day, and the perspiration
that the thousands shed would have
fioated all four OF the Presidents battle
ships, and the real trouble OF the con-
yention-in a day OF trouble-began. after
the invocation had been spoken, after
Senator Hopkins had given a visible
demonstration Of the platform. which nc
one heard and no one seemed 20 care tC
hear. and after Representative Cooper. OF
behalf Of the minority Of the committed
on resolutions. began scoIding the conven-
tion.
His speech. Of course. did not convince
Il was a protest rather than an argu
ment, and, anyway, the convention woult
not have changed that platform, which
Il believed to be inspired from Washing
ton II the minority had offered the Tel
Commandments.
Cooper ScOIds Convention.
But Cooper scolded and when the au
thorized representative from the raiIroa,
engineers and firemen and trainmen ap
peared and warned the conveption tha
the railroad employees of the countr!
were dissatisfied with the anti-injunctiol
plank, that made no difference. either
Gabriers trumpet would have been lait
on the table for the regular order b.
the convention this morning. Its fac
was set. II was under orders. and moth
/ ing could move Il. So il moved ma
| jestically along II adopted the plat
| form. formally voting down by over
whelming majoriues planks advocatin
publicity in campaign contributions. rec
ommended by the President in his mes
sages; valuation OF railroads, read b.
the President in his messages. and tn
election OF Senator's by the people.
| For the convention was for the ROOse
/ welt policies, only when il had them il
| the regular order and the authenticate
form. The Roosevelt policies as such di
not interest the convention. for It wa
/ under orders and took only the real mil
( of the word as it came through the com
mittee. and it believed. and probably wit
| some justification. in the facts tha
4 Roosevelt did not care 70 have his poncie
! come into the convention by the way @
! Wisconsin. So il voted for the programm
/ and went on to the next order. and IN
/ next order was the nomination Of
/ President.
Is Serious business.
And that is a serious business. It
curious 20 know just how forms and con
ventions and precedents are worshipe
| without sense or reason by apparent
| clear-head men.
But there sat q thousand delegates an
ten thousand spectators. and listened [
five mortal hours Of utterly useless, er
tlrely meaningless. and absolutely vacu
Gus speeches. These speeches were put
ting men in nomination for the Presidenc
who had no more chance TO be nominate
than they had OF picking out a harp chec
and joining the heavenly choir. Boutel
Of Illinois. began Il. naming Cannon.
The crowd stood for him with some pa
tience, though no one listened TO hin
Gov. Hanly. OF Indiana. an unusually abl
governor and an otherwise sane mar
came a little afterward and got IN a ro7
with the convention. because # laughe
at him and jeered during the last half q
a perfectly unnecessary speech. He as
sured the convention that under Fair
/ banks there would be no government b
/ impulse and the crowd knew what h
was driving at and his usefulness as a
orator was ended.
Mayor Bookwalter. of Indianapolis, FOL
| lowed Hanly, and took a side swipe a
Taft by saying that Fairbanks was
| candidate whose record was such that n
weak points in it had TO be covered up b
| a special plank in the platform. and the
his days work was DONE" and he sa
down after fighting with the hornets G
! the convention.
New YOrk's Sense of HumOr.
New York has a sense Of humor. an
when the name was called for New Yorl
the delegates rose, laughing. and let Ger
! Woodford make the shortest and mos
| appropriate speech Of the day nominatin
Hughes. And when he said that only tw
men beyond a doubt could carry Nev
York-one being in the White House an
the other in the governors Office at A
bany-he made the crowd restive, an
! quit Just before his credit gave out.
The only real clarion note Of the cor
vention was sounded by Knight of Cal
/ fornia, seconding Taft's nomination. Fo
| Knight has a voice, and Mr.. Burton. {
Ohio. who put Taft's name before til
convention gracefully. was not heard a
well as a speaker should have been hear,
Knox also was nominated with prope
| eclat. and without too much wind-jau
ming.
And II the young football playe
! Cochems, of Wisconsin, who gave n
Continued on Page II, Column 4.