The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-07-14

IdiCdD urOVe up, the driver hur-
rtedly opened the door. and three men
emerging from the dense crowd in the
entrance lobby, quickly stepped into
the cab and were as quickly driven
away. One Of them was Senator
OGorman, another I did not recognize.
and the third was w. ]. Bryan. AS
Mr.. Bryan was recognized, a cheer
went up, Judge Harris (Who had the
DAY before voted against him for tenn
porary chairman) shouted, "Hurraa
Tor Bryan" the man from Nebra ska
turned as the cab drove away, took off
MS hat, bowed and smiled at the
crowd, and Judge Harris remarked:
He Is great man. I do not agree
with him in all of his policies. but he
is great man, a great man. and
dent"
The next day when Bryan introduced
ms resolution which, for all practical
purposes, disfranchised Ryan. Belmont.
and Murphy in the further proceedings
1 or the convention, Judge Harris shout
ed from his seat in the Florida dele
cation: What do you mean, sir?
Are you trying to split the Democratic
party? Sit down, sit down. And to
think that only yesterday I hurrahed
for that mani" Judge Harris's atti-
tude was a fair illustration of the
varying moods which possessed many
OF the delegates whenever this re-
markable man from the West appeared
upon the scene. He was the object
always, OF opposition or applause, jeers
or cheers, deepest disgust and distrust
or magnificent faith and confidence.
On occasions, the convention liked him;
again its anger burned to a white
heat that almost consumed reason it
self.
To say that Bryan absolutely con-
t-olled and dominated the convention
would perhaps not be altogether true
But to say that the convention result
In all but few non essentials, was as
he willed and wished it, would be the
exact truth. He lost out for tempo
rary chairman, as he expected to do;
and the nominee for vice president Is
not the one he would have chosen.
But in the permanent organization of
the convention in the nomination of
the candidate for president, in the
framing Of the platform, and in the
absolute disbarment of the Special In
terest representatives from participa-
ton In any of these things, Mr.. Bryan
could not have had it more to his
liking had he been delegated alone to
do the work
Mr.. Bryan's first appearance before
hhe convention was when Chairman
Mack announced that the national
committee had instructed him to pre-
sent the name Of Alton B. Parker for
temporary chairman. Rising from his
seat on the rear of the speakers stand
which he had reached unobserved by
the convention, his bald head sudden
iy appeared behind Cardinal Gibbons,
and the three times leader Of the ma
tional Democracy stood looking out
over a sea of 10000 people that stimuli
taneously sent up roar Of applause
and disapproval, that seemed to shake
the very structure Of the convention
hall. Everyone knew that Bryan was
to oppose the election Of Parker, but
no one knew just how he intended to
do 1t.
The chief purpose of a temporary
chairman is to sound the keynote" Of
the coming contest. The selection of Il
temporary chairman is usually made
with the idea of indicating, by his Sc
lection, the trend of sentiment, the line
Of policy that will dominate the cam
paign. The party being overwhelm-
ingly Progressive, the leading candi-
dates having secured their delegates
on the ground that they stood for Pro-
gressive policies, II was but natural to
assume that the man selected to sound
the keynote of a Progressive campaign
should himself be a known and ap-
proved exponent Of the policies upon
which that campaign was to be fought.
but a TnOTlDQnu national
tee, elected four years previous, many
Of the members of which had failed of
reelection because of their Reaction
airy tendencies, saw At, as their last
act and in their dying gasp, to insult
the party Of Progressive Democracy by
selecting for temporary chairman a
, man who. OF ell men. appealed least
TO the desires of those millions of
voters whose support is necessary for
success this fall.
Mr.. Bryan had previouly appealed to
the leading candidates to join in de-
handing for temporary chairman a
man who represented the present sem
timent Of the party. With the single
exception of Woodrow Wilson those
candidates straddled the issue, VIII
son put himself on record with the
Progressives. And therein, beyond
question, lies the reason for his present
position as the candidate of a Pro-
gressive party. In his appeal to the
convention to resist the influence or
Wall street, Mr.. Bryan said:
You have seen the Republican par.
ty at Chicago controlled by the money
interests of this country Yet in
fluenSes here are more brazenly at
work than they were at the Repub-
lican conventions call upon you TO
say to the American people that the
Democratic party cannot be frightened
by the power of your Ryans and can
not be bought with the money OF your
BeImonts."
He then nominated Senator Kern for
Temporary chairman and the fight was
bn. Kern thereupon put proposition
up to Judge Parker that was as suotle
as II was sudden. He proposed, In the
interest of harmony, that both with
draw and agree upon a man mutually
satisfactory. The proposition was a
masterpiece Of political strategy. II
harmony was desired by the interests
behind Judge Parker, 1t opened the
way for harmony. If there was to be
discord It put the burden upon Judge
Parker and his friends.
Kern's proposition was direct ana
explicit Parker sat silent. Kern re-
peateG his proposal. He waited amid
dense silence, for Parker to answer.
Parker did not move. Then Kern sud
denly announced that If this fight was
necessary, the man to lead 1t was VIM.
J. Bryan himself.
The words were hardly out of his
mouth when Bryan appeared and in
voice and attitude that spoke defiance