Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1908-04-17
THE DEMOCRATIC STATE COM
MIT II.

MTTTEE.
Irish Standard, Minneapolis :: We
are in receipt of communication
from the wandering Minnesota Demo
cratic Committee, at present located
in Chicago, ILL.,, urging us as demo-
Gratis to aid in making the Denver
convention a deliberative democratic
body.
We have usually found it possible
to aid in our way democratic COM
mittees of the state of Minnesota.
We did aid the present democratic
committee in the work which it was
selected and authorized to perform,
the election of a democratic state
ticket IN Minnesota two years ago.
We do not recognize the authority of
the Minnesota Democratic Committee
IN its present, selfassumed national
work. It was not selected by the
Minnesota democrats to do any such
work. It has no authority from the
party. It would not even have
authority to carry on campaign IN
favor of certain men as nominees for
the next state ticket, any more than
the present national democratic COM
mittee has right to carry on a
campaign as committe in favor of
any candidate for president We
understand that the Minnesota
member of the democratic national
committee is engaged in doing what
he can in direct opposition to the
Minnesota state committee. The
democratic voters of Minnesota are not
bound by the actions of either. 80
We are interested only to the excent
that the democratic convention at
Denver shall represent the sentiment
of the democratic voters of the United
States. The voters are the ones to
deliberate, not the delegates in con-
ventions: We want so far as we are
able, to have the democratic conven-
ton at Denver do what the democratic
voters of the country want it to do.
The time has gone by in this country
when so called leaders can place them
selves in position to: do the thinking
for. the voters. IF the democrats of
Minnesota want to send % men to
Denver to oppose the nomination of MIR.
Bryan, they should do so deliberately
and instruct the delegates to carry out
the results of their deliberations :.
What is the program of the Mime
sofa democratic committee, with head
quarters at Chicago, ILL., ? It is found
in these words: "Don't forget that
there is still time to see that enough
delegates are elected to the Denver con-
vention to make that deliberative
democratic body What is meant
by ''enough delegates?'' It means
enough delegates to prevent the
nomination of the man who it is con-
coded, will have a large majority of
the delegates. Was there ever a more
dishonest and undemocratic program
proposed? On what ground could we
Justify ourselves, ev if we were
opp sed to the nomination of Mr..
Bryan, in taking a position with a
small minority Of the party to prevent
the expressed wish of the great
majority. Was ever a candidacy based
on more peurile and bootless pro-
gram than is the present campaign
against the nomination of Mr.. Bryan?
And that is just exactly what it is.
1t is not a campaign in favor of
anybody. No one claims that any one
man will have even the small
minority, but the whole plan is to
get enough delegates to prevent Mr..
q
Never but once in the history of the
democratic party has a candidate had
a majority CT the delegates at the
national convention and failed to get
the necessary two-thlrds to nominate
him, and that one time was in 1860,
and it resulted IN the Civil war. Do
the farseeing politicians, who are
directing the opposition to Mr.. Bryan,
believe that they can sit in the con-
vention at Denver and justify them
selves before the people, in refusing
to nominate the man who they even
now concede will have large
majority of the delegates? Does the
Minnesota democratic committee,
which has gone beyond it's own
jurisdiction to evangelize the country,
think that they can inaugurate plan
which has never before worked in a
democratic convention? In 1876
Tilden had 403 votes on the first
ballot, while it took 493 to nominate
him. On the next ballot he easily
received the two-t thirds. In 1884
Cleveland had 1872 on the first ballot,
while it took 547 to nominate him.
He got 683 on the second. In 1896 no
one had majority on the first ballot.
In 1904 Parker had only 65S on the
first ballot, while it took 667 to
nominate him, but enough votes i'm
mediately changed to make a second
ballot unnecessary.
The program of the anti-Bryan men
seems to be about this They hope
that Bryan will not have more than
$50 votes, and they think this means
his defeat. They have a great deal
more courage now than they will h We
at Denver, if any of them succeed in
getting there. We are willing to aid
in making this campaign a delibera-
tive one, but we want the voters to do
the celebrating.
The New York World carried New