Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-10-08
Bailey ON Conventions,

1t is surprising that so smart man
as Senator Bailey of Texas should
have permitted his great mental ma
chine to get so far beyond his control
as to utter the following libel on ma
tional conventions:
You go to one and witness it's pro-
ceedings. 1t generally assemblies in
midsummer; it is hot, it is dusty. ana
| if you ever saw body of men assem-
bic in the heat and dust you know
what hurry they soon fall in. All
the delegates are mad, most of them
are in hurry and some of them are
drunk; and yet they want to prescribe
| how | shall redeem my oath to do my
duty faithfully as God has given me -
see it. Are they qualified to do it?
| (Voice from the audience. NO.
The subcommittee reports Ga plat
form) to the full committee, the full
committee reports to the convention,
and the convention orders the pre-
vious question nine times out of ten,
and it passes without one delegate il
| a hundred knowing what it contains.
And yet they insult your intelli-
gence by telling you that such work IS
NllC WI VI your agents w men IIsrN
try to have a debate in national con-
vention nobody hears what is said; of
l 200 people there is not dozen dele
gates with a voice sufficient to reach
one-half of the delegation, and then
the men who have the voice do not al
ways possess the information. and it
is simple absurdity to talk about a
platform adopted by the political con
vention expressing the judgment of the
Ipeople"
National conventions have made
mistakes. They have their faults.
But, as the New York Tribune says,
the above statements of Bailey are
1.-THE eXaggeratiOn of a buOyant imay-
ination." The Tribune cites illustrI-
tions 10 prove the fallacious character
of Bailey's attack. Among other
things it says:
Mr. Bailey should be able to recall
the discussion in the democratic cou-
vention of 1892. when Colonel Watter-
son, representing minority of the
committee on resolutions, defeated
Senator Villas, representing the mt
jOrity, and hal the tariff plank amend
ed in a manner highly distasteful 10
the Cleveland managers.
1T is a porversion of the history o.
parties in this country to maintain
that national conventions have not IL
general exercised full authority III
framing party policies and have not
exercised that authority deliberately
and intclligcntly. A convention may
sometimes seem 70 hasty observer TO
be body of men all hot all mad. all
hurried and some drunk But when a
contest over live question of policy
arises that convention will be seen 10
be alive with interest, energy and de-
termination. Such a transition from
apparent ennui and listlessness to in
tense nervous activity is a character
istic of all American assemblages. It
is a part of our Americanism
Senator Bailey is evidently suffer
ing torment under the criticism of w.
J. Bryan for defying the authority of
the democratic national convention
Bailey is not justifying his actions,
but has. by his libel upon national con-
ventiOns, strengthened the just cause
of Bryan's criticisms and opposition.
Bailey's neglect of his obligation 10
the democratic national convention
was bad. but his denunciation of all
national conventions is worse.