Omaha daily bee., 1910-05-29

of the Alaskan boundary dispute and gem
eral handling of domestic questions COM
mended.
At the Democratic Convention.
The democratic convention met at st.
Louis, July 90, 1904. The republican meet
ing in Chicago had been marked by a
spirit of dissatisfaction, self-confidence,
self-certainty. Harmony was so complete
that the slight undertone expressive of
doubt as to whether Theodore Roosevelt
was quite safe and sane could not redeem
the cut and dried routine of the convention
from dullness.
In the ranks of the democratic party,
there was indecislon, disunion, uncertainty.
Bryan democrats, Cleveland democrats,
Hill democrats, Hearst democrats, con-
sentative democrats, moderates extremists,
all had different views as to whom should
be the party candidates. But the con-
servatives were determined that it should
not be William Jennings Bryan.
William Randolph Hearst, millionaire
owner Of many sensational newspapers,
had expended much money in the fostering
of boom for himself as a presidential
candidate He had succeeded through
methods regarded as manlfestly unfair in
capturing the Illinois delegation. A dele
cation contesting the rights of his dele
gates supplied material for an exciting
fight on the convention floor, Joseph Win
gate Folk of Missouri George b. Mcclellan
of New York, Francis Marion Cockrell of
Missouri. General Nelson A. Miles of
Massachusetts, all were named as posi-
Bile dark horses, but the eastern wing of
the party had decided that Judge Alton
81 ooks Parker of New York would be the
best man to bring back to the party the
support Of those who had been alienated
by fear of what they considered the
populistic tendencies which had captured
the party organizations in 1896,
BryAn's Opposition TO Parker.
Bryan was opposed to Parker. In the
early spring he hired a hall in Chicago
and to an audience of more than $500
people denounced the New York platform
as dishonest, stlgmatized Parker as the
muzzled candidate of Wall street and
pronounced David Bennett Hin and August
Belmont as unworthy of the party. Never
theless when the convention met, it was
already decided that Parker would be the
presidential candidate and that SO far as
possible Organism should be checked.
The convention, composed of 1905 dele
gates, met July 6. John Sharp Williams
OF MISSISSIPPI was temporary CnalrmdnI
Champ Clark of Missouri, permanent chair
man. Permanent organization was delayed
by contesting delegations. Most important
of these was the Illinois contest. Bryan,
as a delegate from Nebraska, was given
membership on the committee on reso-
lutions. Despite the determination TO
eliminate him, he succeeded in bringing
about important changes in the platform
affecting the tariff, trust and financial
planks. A subcommittee of ten was APP
pointed TO prepare a platform based on
the instrument which John Sharp Williams
had drafted as tentative platform. So
confident we're political managers that this
report of the subcommittee would be ac
cepted that copies of it were given to the
Associated Press to send out TO the news
papers. After it was presented to the full
committee a day and a night was spent
in overhauling IL so that the committee
could not make its report until early on
the morning OF July 3.
Test Vote.
An important factor in this rehauling
was the man from Nebraska. While the
resolutions committee was in session, Bryan
was called 10 the floor OF the convention
hall to defend the minority report seating
the Harrison delegates from Illinois. These