The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-06-21
OHIO DEMOCRATS
open CONVENTION
OF WHEREAsES
Certain That Governor Har.
mon Will Be Renominated
Interest Lax.
CONTEST Between HARMON on !.
BRYAN ON SENATE ENDORSEMENT

/ BRYAN ON SENATE endorsements
Platform VIII Endorse Tariff for
Revenue Only, Such Is Was the
Plea in the Last Administration Of
Grover Cleveland.
Dayton, Ohio, June 21.-A presi-
Dental endorsement FOR. Governor
Harmon will be a part Of the plat
form laid before the state Democratic
convention which opens here today.
This has been definitely decided upon
by the Democratic leaders. Governor
Harmon, although aware Of this pur-
pose, has shown 30 far no intention
Of opposing them. He has declined
to misuse his presidential boom in
any way.
Two issues Of premier importance
have presented themselves to the
delegates. The first is the attitude
of William Jennings Bryan, who has
declared himself for endorsement by
the convention of candidate to sue
coed Senator Chas. Dick. The sec
ond is the nomination for lieutenant
governor.
Interest is peculiarly lax. Somehow
everybody knows Governor Harmon
will be renominated, and after that
nobody seems to care much what
happens. This is because there is no
tactional fight on the surface to keep
the people guesDing-no clever politi-
cal plays to watch just for the pleas
ure attached to seeing who can out
maneuver somebody else. Just the
same. there are clever plays being
made and under the surface there is
real contest for control.
Meetings Of district delegations will
be stormy. The control Of the CEN
trail committee is at stake. People
generally are not interested, for they
know that whoever controls the COM
,mittee 1t will be employed in the in
teTest of Governor Harmon this year.
Beyond that the avsfxSe citizen does
not inquire. One campaign at . time
10 usually too much for him. OF the
future he has scarcely thought.
: Like the Circus Man.
But wise old heads like those on the
shoulders Of William L. Finley. and
Harvey G. CARRIER know something
about the feeting character Of the
years. They know Governor Harmon
is only an incident. Like the man
selling lemonade at the circus he is
here today and away tomorrow, It is
when he is away that the battle waged
ut Dayton will count. It Is after he
has retired to private life or to the
presidency or wherever he is going
that the work at Dayton will be seri-
ously inspected and the discovery
made that, while the influence Of the
two men who built the Democratic
organization and kept 1t alive for so
many years has not been potent in
the shaping Of the policies of the
only Democratic administration tho
state has had for a decade and half,
they retain hold Of the machinery
and in other years will make their
power felt
In many respects the coming con-
vention is at once the most important
md the most peculiar the Democrats
Mt Ohio have ever held. Five years
ago they nominated John M Pattison
pn the crest of temperance wave.
It was q bitter convention. Nearly
half the delegates believed the nomiu-
ltion of Pattison was a grave mis-
take. But he won by a majority Of
$4,000. Three years later, in a con-
vention in which names we're called
and bitterness engendered, Judson
Harmon was nominated. He was
nominated over the protest of Tom L.
Johnson and nearly half Of the dele
gates, with charges being made that
he was the candidate of q liquor ring
and Of the Wall street interests. But
Harmon won and did 1t rather easily,
though by less than half the majority
by which Pattison was swept into
Office.
Why Things Are Clo6ded.
Wednesday Judson Harmon will be
nominated again. this time by accla-
nation. Those who opposed him are
two years ago are more llkewarm
than those who we're against him at
that time. 1t presents condition
that leaves not a single open protest
against his nomination. That 10 why
other matters are 80 clouded. For
some reason a majority Of the dele
gates have refused to pledge them
selves to various candidates for other
Offices that have been exploited. Ev-
orybody expects Governor Harmon to
boss the convention. He has said he
will keep his hands of, but the dele
gates do not believe It. They know
he will be in Dayton. They know he
is going early enough to he on the.
ground to decide any knotty problem
that may come up in the prelimin.
aries. They expect him to indicate
his preferences. They expect him to
do some eliminating as to candidates
that may not seem to him to be suited
to the special purpose in view this
year. Hence no nomination but that
CT the governor himself ia settled
definitely. 1t Is known which candi-
oates are strongcst-which appeal
r-ost 10 the Democratic fancy-but it
iS not known Just whom the governor
tsyors. Hence IL 1t hecomes auparent