Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-07-16
CAMPAIGN KEYNO7ES,
Bryan Needs No One to Voice
His Principles.
KNOWN TO ALL THE PEOPLE.

Senator Burrows Wasted Effort at
Chicago - Selection Of Campaign
GeneraIs-SkiIlfuI Leaders A-pienty
In the Democratic Ranks-coIlapse
Of Mr.. Hearst's Mayoralty Recount.
By WILLIS J. ABBOT.
The preliminary forecasts Of political
conventions are apt to be improbable
AS rule, they are based upon the per-
sonal prejudices, ambitions or hopes Of
those who give them out. For example.
here in Chicago three weeks ago if you
read the newspaper forecasts you
would think that Taft was certainly
doomed to defeat and that the trium-
plant allies, either by Roosevelt
stampede or some mysterious or darkly
suggested coup. would crush him into
the dust. The whole world knows the
result. The allies. impotent to stay the
course Of the convention. were made ri
diculous by the complete collapse Of all
The same situation existed with ref
erence to the prellminaries Of the Den-
yer convention. 1t happened that the
subcommittee having in charge the ar
engagements for that convention was
made up of men most Of whom are at
heart hostile to Mr.. Bryan. 1t was
drawn from national committee
which was chosen to elect Judge Par
ker and had for its chairman Roger Sui
Ivan Of Illinois, whose personal antag-
onism to Bryan is a matter of general
notoriety. Being on the field. the MEM
bers of this committee were able to in
fuence newspaper correspondents to
the extent that most ridiculous state.
ments were circulated throughout the
entire country. In their endeavors to
accomplish this end the members of
the committee were ably seconded by
Governor Johnson's press bureau.
Much stress was laid upon the selec-
ton of a temporary chairman, who Is
supposed to sound "the keynote" Of
the campaign. Personally 1 am in
clined to regard this is as trivial
matter. With an unknown candidate
an introduction of this sort might be a
matter of some Importance. But most
Democrats will think that Bryan is his
own keynote. For more than twelve
years he has been going up and down
fhn IN,
which he believes, and the notion that
an obscure lawyer from central ILL
nois was to be selected to explain in adj
vance what will be the meaning Of a
Democratic campaign In which Mr..
Bryan is the candidate verges some
what upon the ridiculous. A struggle
or test Of strength over an issue of
this sort might be entertaining as a
contest between rival political factions,
but its bearing upon the campaign
would be about as weighty as the fly
upon the locomotive wheel.
Consider, for example, the Burrows
keynote speech ut Chicago. When
the Michigan senator was chosen to
deliver this Grafton wild cries Of
treachery and treason went up from
the Taft forces, but nobody, even
among the few who heard Burrows,
remembers what he had to say. The
only lingering recollection Of the Bur
rows outbreak was the skill with
which he invited Roosevelt STAN
pede at time when stampeding was
obviously impossible.
The Contests At Denver.
There We're only two really serious
contests before the national commit
tee and the convention at Denver. No
tice Of contest was given from the
District of Columbia, involving six
votes. This Is time honored prec-
edent, for not in the last sixteen years
have the doughty Democrats OF that
District, who have no electoral votes,
failed to send contesting delegations to
Democratic conventions. AS one Of
them remarked to me when I eXpostu-
lated on their seeming dissensions:
''Well, we can't vote for president, for
congressman, for governors, for may
ors or for aldermen. All we can vote
for is delegates, so we vote for as
many different kinds Of delegates as
possible and get our political excite
ment out Of that"
The contest from Cook county. ILL.,,
which is practically the city Of Chica-
go, was more serious. The story of this
contest is an interesting one as show
ing some of the desperate endeavors Of
factlon-which. processing lip service
to Bryan, is dstinctively anti-Bryan
and anti Democratic-to control the
Denver delegation. The primary law of
Illinois distinctly specifies the time at
which primaries shall be held In GER
tain counties, including Cook. The re-
doubtable Sullivan, fearing the effect
of delay called the Cook county prima-
ries at an illegal time. AS result the
state convention which was to noml-
nate state officers and elect delegates
was shown to be illegal. and Its man
ayers prudently postponed the selection
of the state officials. They proceeded,
however. to elect the delegates, which
were therefore tainted with Illegally.