Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-10-13

pie of the Union were ever called to-
participate.
The Democratic national convention
met at Charlestown April 80 The mere
choice of a southern city for holding
the gathering was taken as am omen
of disaster. Delegates from the north
and west strongly favored the nomina-
ton Of Senator Douglas, but southern
Democrats insisted that even Douglas
was not sufficiently friendly to the
cause Of the southern states. For two
days the convention wrangled over res
buttons. jefferson Davis promulgated
the theory that a citizen of the south
had the right to enisratc to "A territory
with his slaves The south demanded
this resolution in the Democratic plat
form. After a long debate, in which
each side refused to accept the others
desires as regarded the slavery plank,
/ the convention divided and the delega-
tons from Alabama Mississippi, Louis
lana. South Carolina, Florida, Texas
and Arkansas withdrew. 1t was a sol
! emn scene, creating a profound impress
sion and marking the beginning of the
end. The remaining delegates on the
following day proceeded with the work
of naming a candidate Douglas led
all others, but on account of the two
thirds rule was never able to secure
enough to receive his nomination.
| Finally, on the tenth day of the ses-
| sion, the convention adjourned to meet
| at Baltimore on June 49, Meantime
those who had Withdrawn had as
sembled and agreed to meet on the same
! date in the city Of Richmond The
disruption of the Democratic party,
which had enjoyed vigorous and sue
cessful life for 80 years, had at last
occurred.
| When the Baltimore branch of the
| Democratic party re-assemblcd, five
more days of Wrangling followed. AT
! the end of it still another group Of
southern states withdrew, and the re-
naming delegates nominated Douglas
| for president and II. Y. Johnson OF
Georgia for vice president. In the
| meantime the seceders from the
! Charleston convention. joined by those
from the Baltimore convention. nom
| mated John c. Breckenridge of Ken
lucky for president and Joseph Lane of
| Oregon for vice president, and plat
form demanding protection for slavery
in the territories was adopted.
Quite different from the disrupted and
diSorganiZed Democracy the Republl
| can convention assembled in Chicago
full of hope and enthusiasm. The gen
eral impression was that Seward would
receive the nomination because Of his
prominence in the party, and his
acknowledged ability. But there was
serious objections to his nomination on
the grounds of availability, because his
radical utterances had made him UNI
popular in many of the border states
On the first ballot Seward led by con-
siderable plurality. To his surprise his
nearest opponent was Abraham Lin
coin. LinColns friends had been assid-
uously at work, and every suggestion
of his name In the convention city Of
the convention hall was answered with
a laundering shout Of enthusiastic APP
proval On the second ballot Seward
gained II votes, while Lincoln gained
10. On the third ballot Lincoln was
nominated amid tremendous cheers ant
booming of cannon. For vice president
Hannibal Hamlin was named and the
convention adjourned with ~ declara.
ton OF platform principles which re.
pudiated the bred Scott decision, denied
the right of congress or Of a terri
torial legislature to give legal existence
to slavery in any territory, and an
nounced the Democratic doctrine o
popular sovereignty as fraud and
7 deception. The war of the rebellion
| had begun A fourth ticket came int
} the field. representative of so-callet
Constitutional Union party, made up o
old line Wings and chiefly marked b!
its conservatism. John Bell of Ten
lnessee was named for president an,