Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-23
NATIONAL CONVENTIONS.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.
XIX-IN 1888 AND 1892.
XX-McKINLEY AND BRYAN.

; ]. Haskin. HI
alarmed by the Cleveland furore that he
refused to fight. Cleveland was nomi-
mated on the first ballot, easily winning
more than the necessary two-thirds. Men
went away from the convention swearing
/ to knife the ticket, but Cleveland and
/ Stevenson were destined to triumph and
| Cleveland to share with Andrew Jackson
the honor of ha.ing received in three con-
secutve elections the popular majority in
| the vote for President.
Harrison had displeased QUAY who had
nominated him, in the matter of patron
age He did not please many Of the "old
guard anywhere. The disaster OF the
congressional elections of 1880 had dis
heartened the party. But the opposition
could not unite on anybody. Blaine re-
| signed from Harrisons cabinet to make
| his fifth and last trail for the presidency,
| but it was too late.
The convention was held at Minneapolis
William Mckinley was the permanent
| chairman. and il he had said the word he
might have taken the nomination away
from Harrison. But he resisted every eff
| fort to draft him into losing battle.
| Harrison was nominated on the first bal
| lot. receiving 30 votes. Blaine and Nc
kinley each received Isl. Thomas B.
/ Reed. 4, and Robert T. Lincoln 1.
| The result of the campaign was an
| overwhelming democratic victory. Both
parties had ''straddled" the currency cues
ton. The democrats had committed them
selves to tariff reform. The republicans
stood for protection. But events that none
could foresee were about to change the
whole political situation and bring the
| republicans into power for a longer lease
| than even the civil war had given them.
In 1896 both democratic and republican
parties were disrupted by the currency
issue. and the
currency Issue no m n atoms of
Disrupts Parties. rae enmley 's .n e
Bryan by the democrats ended the era
| of normal politics. Mckinley was tri-
umphant after the most hotly contested
presidential campaign of our history, and
| frcm that day until the democrats won
the House Of Representatives in 1910 the
| republicans never lost a national election
fourteen years of undisputed dominance.
/ Yet the democrats stood by the action of
| their convention of that year, and, since
| then, Mr. Bryan has twice been their
choice for President. and he still is the
"pearless leader to the great masses of
| his party.
| The republican convention of 1895 named
| Mckinley. who was successful, but by far
| greater interest attaches to the demo-
| cratic convention that selected his un-
| successful rival The republicans met at
| st. Louis. June 16. Mark Hanna had been
| i'll charge of the pre-convention campaign
| for Mckinley and he had done his work
| so we'll that while a great ma jority of
| republicans leaders in Congress were for
| Thomas B. Reed. they had no hope. Nc
| kinley was named on the first ballot. re-
ceiving tGl votes against 81 for Reed, 81
| for Quay, - for Levi P. Norton 81 for
| Alison and for Don Cameron
| Before the nomination was made plat
| form had been adopted that contained a
| gold standard plank. forced upon the I'M
| willing Hanna by T. {. Plat II was the
| end of straddling the silver question. The
currency question had been a cross-cur-
| rent in politics for twenty years: now it
was the main issue and nothing could
prevent 1t.
| When the republican party took the
| gold side thirty-four delegates. led by
| Senator Teller of
Delegates Divide Colorado, Senator
On Silver Issue. ana Sana - r ran
non of ,-tah. walked out of the conven-
] ton into the democratic party The silver
question was soon eliminated as an issue
| in politics. but the boilers from the re-
! publican convention of 1855 nearly all
| remained democrats-Teller and Dubois
to serve for years in the Senate, and now
Dubois is the manager of Speaker Clark
| campaign for the democratic nomination
The democrats met at Chicago July 4.
The pre-convention fight had been excit-
ing, but the struggle for delegates had
been between gold men and silver men,
between Clevelandites and anti-Cleveland-
ties. rather than in the interest of any
particular aspirants for the nomination.
Grover Cleveland was President of the
United States and the titular leader of
the democratic party but his party had
repudiated him in more than two-thirds
of the country. He had been elected as
d tariff reformer. He found ready
made panic on his hands when he went
into office He was forced to sell bonds
to buy gold to keep up the Treasury
reserves. He called Congress in extraor-
binary session. not to revise the tariff,
put to repeal the silver purchasing clause
Of the Sherman act This he accomplish
, ed by the help of a majority of the re-
pubicans and minority of the demo-
Gratis. The last filibuster against the re-
peal in the House of Representatives
was vainly led by William Jennings
Bryan and Joseph Quincy Cannon, hav-
ing behind them twenty lone other silver
men-some democrats and some repub-
leans.
The Cleveland gold men came TO Chi
| cago knowing that they were in a minor
lty, but resolved TO
Gold Men Strive save ething
IT, c+ar, T;ao from the wreck if
possible They con-
| trolled the national committee. which was
still loyal to the repudiated administra-
| ton. The national committee heard the
contests from the states and made up
| the temporary roll. There were two
| rival delegations from Nebraska One
, was headedby Tobias Castor and repre-
sented the j. Sterling Morton or admin
| istration faction. The other was headed
| by Representative Bryan, who had just
come from reporting the st. Louis con-
vention for an Omaha newspaper tire
presented the silver wing of the party
| The national committee seated the Cas-
| tor delegation.
1t also selected David B. Hill of New
| York as temporary chairman by d vote of
| - to -. The minority selected Senator
| John w. Daniel of Virginia for tenn
porary chairman. William F. Harrity
chairman of the national committee, pre-
scented Hills name. Henry u. Clayton of
| Alabama the name of Daniel. Daniel was
chosen by vote of J56 to $40
| The convention then selected its COM
nfx,t,