New-York tribune., 1908-07-10

Imagine thousand dele gates and Ike num-
Der of alternates wildly cheering candidate
whom 75 per cent of them are convinced cannot
he elected and az least 80 per cent of them do
not wish to succeed Imagine these men, in
spired by the high altit ude of Denver and Den
ver's abundant hospita tty shouting themselves
hoarse. waving flags and banners appauding
every ancient enuncisuion of Bourbon Democ
racy and almost none OF them believing in it.
II has fits amusing side but IL has its pathetic
side as well.
There is genuine earnestness, real man
agement except that which emanates from Lin
coin. five hundred miles away That is why the
committees 90 not anish their work, why night
sessions are rendered necessary. why things wait
and wait and wait for word from Bryan. There
is Frank Hitchcock the ground. no one
with head force enough TO make things go.
and the important affairs of the convention are
Entrusted TO a comparatively few verdant
neophytes. who fl nd keen enjoyment in their un-
accustomed responsibility and purpose TO enjoy
ii long Br Fan will permit.
Tammany. which. whatever else may be said
OF it, has bust hess sense and ability, has no
heart in this convention. expects and hopes that
the ticket Will be defeated in all but New York
County and is ready to subscribe TO the most
radical platform that might be framed and to
stand for the most impossible Fice-Presidentiai
candidate who might be selected Fear of the
stone crusher has prevented open revolt and
men who ch heerfully would have espoused the
cause of Gaifey and McCarren dare not assert
themselves or brave the opposition Of the great
Popust in their bailiwicks. So peanut
politics renders them mute. and they regard
the defeat Of the national ticket as inevitable
while they trust saving their own local Offices
or else. like Guffey, of Pennsylvania, and
Murphy Of New York they welcome the pros
pect OF Bryans overwhelming defeat.
There is some belief that the attack the
President which Chairman Clayton made at the
earlier session to-day will result in bringing Mr.
Roosevelt into the campaign. and timorous Dem
ocrats regret that the Alabamian gave the Chief
Executive so good an excuse for delivering to
the Bryan ticket severe blow as he did TO
the Parker ticket four years ago. The view that
the President viii dignity Clayton's remarks by
answering them is not entertained, however. by
the few Republicans in Denver, most of whom
take tfse view of Senator Burrows, that Clayton
simply voiced the same sort of sentiment his
party has been proclaiming ever since the war
opposition to the powers that be and reck-
less e.xtravaeance of denunciation wholly disas-
sociated with any foundation for the charges
preferred.
The dire need of the Democrats for an issue
and the radically diverse views within the party
are well illustrated by the character of the
speeches delivered in the convention. To-day
attack on President Roosevelt and the Roosevelt
policies Yesterday Temporary Chairman Bell
devoted himself to praising the Roosevelt pol
icies and charging the President with having
stolen them all from Bryan. And again to-day.
soon after Clayton had finished speaking, Ray
n1ond Robins. of Illinois. gave high praise to
the policies of the President, and declared that
as they had made Roosevelt famous so would
they make their originator. Mr. Bryan, even
more so.
There was one person in the Auditorium
whose Indignation at Chairman Clayton's un-
founded charges was noticeable. She was Mrs.
Longwerth, daughter of the President. Mrs.
Ionswortf's cheeks fairly burned her indig
nation increased, and it not until her hus-
band. with kindly smile, made some soothing
remark that she the humor of the situa-
tion, and her anger gave way to smiles not
unmixed with contempt.
Colonel Bryan halted the work of the Demo
cratic National Convention again to-day TO give
himself more time for his confidence game with
Samuel Gompers 8ompers and Mitchell have
told the Bryan people in many words that if
they do not give the American Federation of
Labor what it asks they will live for another
four years on political snowballs less nutritious
than those furnished by the Moffat railroad peo-
pie in carload lots from the top Of the Rockies.
BRYAN wishes to write the contract with Com
pers and Company. but unfortunately for the
delegates paying large prices at the hotels and
who wish to go home, there some members
Of the committee on resolutions who have been
bitten by the octopus-men who love hard dol
lars. automobiles and steady high wages-and
their faces are as flint toward the Gompers-
BRYAN alliance. It due to their obstructive
: tactics that the platform committee not
able TO report 10 the convention at the session
called for II O'Clock this morning
And it happened that while the platform
makers we're wrestling with the ant-injunction
problem the delegates were corralled in the
warm convention hall listening to a dreary
speech by Representative Henry D. Clayton. of
ence
Built on the lines of q Percheron, with a YER
satility in his oratory like that Of q hot frank
furter man at Coney Island inbued with the
Bourbon idea that he was sure to be Democratic
If he roasted the Republicans and their Presi-
dent Mr. Clayton pounded the big bass drum
OF Democracy until in every ten delegates
fell off into a needed snooze
There other features of the days ses-
sion less tiresome and equally harmless There
the time when in spirit the convention was
a-maying with Permanent Chairman Clayton.
Five little girls. dressed in short skirts in the
national oolors. brought Mr.. Clayton two large
bunches Of American Beauty roses. He took
the roses just after being introduced and he
thought that was all there was to It. But there
were the little girls waiting for something
when Mr.. Clayton is not pounding the drum of
Democratic doctrine he is q gallant knight. He
bounced one little girl into the air, caught her
and gave her resounding kiss. That may be
better than platforms and planks The dele
he6 Mr.