The San Francisco call., 1908-07-11
NFBRASKAN PICKS
HIS RUNNING MATE
He Orders Kern's Selection as
Reward for Faithful
Services
Ants Fall in Line and Lack of
Enthusiasm Shows In
difference
By George Van Smith

( DENVER, July 1O.-The nomination
of John w Kern of Indiana for vice
president by reclamation was the last
/ Of Bryan's orders performed by his
national convention, which adjourned
at 4:30 o'clock this afternoon.
! No single incident of the convention
, of 1908, save that of the ousting of the
Guffey Pennsylvania delegation, more
strongly indicated the commoners alb
solute control of the convention than
I did the nomination of John w. Kern
! Of Indiana for the vice presidency.
Bryan's domination of the vice presi-
Dental situation today was on all fours
with the methods displayed in GUST
ing the Pennsylvania delegates, who
would have elected Guffey TO the na-
tional committee, and the cOmmoner's S
order to keep Johnson's name out Of
the vice presidential list, which was de-
livered TO former National Committee
man Thomas D. O'Brien last week.
The delegation leaders discovered this
morning that they were to nominate
Kern. There was no absolute ban upon
The presentation of the names Of
Towne, Mcneil or Howell, which en-
abled Towne to make a characteristic
and richly embellished declaration of
joyous surrender. Howell and Mcneil
were withdrawn by their representa-
tiVes, but J. Hoke Tyler of Virginia,
who had not been apprised of the or
/ ders, narrowly escaped nominating
Conrad of Montana.
MAKE HIM RESPONSIBLE
/ The attitude of New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Illinois, Maryland and Delaware
/ toward the vice presidency was eX-
actly the attitude OF a formidable ele-
ment on the resolutions committee.
They recognized Bryan's control of the
situation, so far as his nomination was
concerned, and they adopted the New
York idea.
Let him have everything he asks for
and place the responsibility for another
] defeat on Bryan instead of on US"
That was the mild version of the
anti -Bryanites' position, framed for
public consumption. know that there
would have been serious opposition TO
! several Of the platform planks if it
were not that some of the committee
men. who expected only defeat for the
! ticket, rather preferred that Bryan
should have anything in the platform
which would tend TO make his defeat
more decisive.
The nomination of Kern bid fair to
make something like a fight in In
diana, but it failed utterly to rouse any
/ genuine enthusiasm. either among the
/ delegates themselves or the thousands
! of democrats in attendance on the con-
/ kenLlOn. Inc nomination OF sherman
for the vice presidency by the repub-
lican convention served as a balm to
the factions in the republican party
which had resisted the power Of the
steam roller. In naming Sherman they
/ had won something like a victory.
I They had not defeated Roosevelt since
/ Sherman was a Roosevelt man, but
they had picked and nominated a can
didate of their own choice. even if he
were only their second choice, and
their enthusiasm was promptly reha-
! bilitated.
/ ORDERED AS REWARD
Representative democracy had no
voice in the selection of its vice presi-
Dental candidate. It did not expect a
: voice. Kern's nomination was ordered
as a sort of a reward for faithful serv-
( ices rendered, and those orders were
/ obeyed.
! The national democratic convention
has finished the work it was permitted
/ to do There is no counterpart of the
/ Chicago post convention spirit exhib-
/ tied in Denver tonight. Delegates who
are prepared to admit that disaster
awaits their ticket in November are
nearly as numerous as those who, with
none too much confidence, insist that
Bryan viii sweep the country. And
underlying all this IS strongly
marked sentiment that the conven-
tion's absolute subserviency to Bryan
VIII be compensated for by his elimina-
/ tion from the dominant councils Of the
1 party.