The Lamar register., 1908-07-15
How It Was Done.
r.o. 81. s,.el.l corr..s..A...l


coming to the final period OF his
speech. said: 81 offer the name Of
Americas great commoner. Nebra-
ska's gifted son, william -
Then the storm broke. A conven-
tion official at sign from the Bryan
managers pressed q button that had
been made ready for this occasion.
and an immense portrait Of Bryan
dropped to view over the platform.
This was strictly spontaneous. you
must understand. Amid the tumult
and uproar many could not get q good
look at It and yelled turn 1t around"
Those in charge turned 1t this way
and then that, and then We all recog-
nized the Colonel. That old familiar
gum-elastic smile could not be mis-
taken, that smile which has been the
aight-mare of old-line democrats for
twelve years now. and the audience
whopped itself hoarse for the great
1s to1. anti-imperalism and other
dead issues idol. a
That was the stage setting for the
great eliminating act of the conven-
tion's work. Only one thing was lack
ing to make the picture complete
There should have been another pic
turs Of the Pefferine whiskers Of
Kern Of Indiana opposite that of the
Colonel as he had already been sele-
cted at Lincoln. 1t was enough to
make those who were giants in the
party in the old days when q demo-
cratic convention meant something
better than q round up Of the cranks
ON the continent turn over In their
graves.
Having run the gsmut Of all the
auackery. demagoguery and fustian.
with the last plank of the Chicago
platform of 1896 waterlogged and
sunk. the fantastic crew thu is run
ming the democratic party has got
hack to Bryan and the Oklahoma
platform Of nine foot hotel sheets as
Q life raft and is drifting the Lord
knows where.
The band struck up the "star
spangisd Banner" "star Spangied
Banner bs Hanged. said . southern
delegate. "they had better make it
. funeral march. It's the funeral Of
the democratic party. All there Is
to look forward to In the interment
next fall. And don't think there
viii be any friends Of the family left
70 pass around and view the remains.
Mine font shsats sd six feet Of earth
east ard vest = III that's left OF the
DaFty. wonder II there ID any other
-asinins thing thatdenocracy can do
u convsntion assembled. OF course.
st first blush you'd think there was
not. but don't know. 1 am afraid
the returns from all the lunatic asy-
lums are not in yet"
Meantime the cheering went on.
The crowd went wild. The delega-
tion banners waved and tossed wild
ly about. delegates and spectators
rose to their feet and cheered them
selves hoarse. One woman stood on
the chairman's table and yelled like
Q Conanche: several Oklahoma ladies'
trisd to pull the New York delegation
! .to the vortex. but Tanmany snever
sleeps. 30 had NO use for nine foot
sheets. and remained silent. The
portrait Of the Colonel over the plat.
form looked up at the front rows Of
the gallery. which had been quietly
packed with large lunged shouters be
fore the doors were thrown open to
the public and winked. And the deaf
ening din went ON. The democratic
party, which had stood for human
slavery and seen that buried; had
stood for secession and seen that
buried; had stood for greenbackery
and seen that buried; fiat money,
fifty cent dollars. and the abolition Of
the United States Supreme Court. ant
seen them all sunk out Of sight, had
at last got ON ground from which it
refused to be booted or jeered. 1t
was clinging to . man that could
stand for anything or everything and
was used to being buried. q
The delegates who did not Join in
the uproar with much heart were
those old-line democrats from the
south. Bryan and Bryanism have be-
come . bitterer and bitter dose ~
them Of late. anAsas they are not d
clusively recruited from the violent
wards of Bedlam they can't see a
democratic victory in = campaign uh-
der q pair Of twice defeated candi-
dates. Some Joined in the cheering
but in 4 half.hsarted way. But even
alienists themselves suffer more or
less from the contagion Of insanity
with which they are surrounded. and
It was evident that the reason Of
some OF the southerners was begin
ming to totter under the influence Of
the whirling ghost dance. Had the
thing kept on much longer probably
they would have been gibbering and
muttering with the rest.
oUyAn ~Al1 ~aaid tha aO,1theru dele.