The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1912-07-08
BALLOT TWENTY-S|x
WITHOUT RESULTS
CLARK LOSES HEAVILY, WHILE
WILSON MAKES BIG GAINS At
SATURDAYS SESSION.
Democrats Forced to Take Recess
Over Sunday, Being Unable to
Agree Upon Presidential Candidate
J After Taking Twenty-sIx Ballots.


Baltimore twenty-six ballots
had been taken without selecting
presidential candidate, the Demo
cratic national convention at 11:05
Saturday night adjourned until Mon
day morning at II o'clock.
On each ballot on Saturday, Cover
nor Woodrow Wilson made gains,
while Speaker Champ Clark constant.
ly lost ground in the race.
When the convention adjourned
Saturday Speaker Clark was hurry.
ing to Baltimore from Washington in
response to an urgent call from his
campaign director. William Jennings
Bryan at the afternoon session had
attacked Clark and had said He would
vote for no man willing to accept
nomination at the hands OF Murphy
of Tammany Hail. It was the plan
convention and make answer. In
this way his managers hoped to boil
ster the falling vote.
The ballots on Saturday ran from
the thirteenth to the twenty sixth
Thirteen ballots had been taken on
Friday without result
On Saturday Wilson began at 1856
, and ended at 407, net gain during
the day of fifty one votes. Clark be
gan at 554h and fell to 4631a, a loss
of ninety-one votes.
The .anti-Cark leaders in the con-
vention called attention to the fac,
that they almost exactly Offset the
ninety votes given to Clark by, the
New York delegation. Breaks to Coy
ernor Wilson were coming from
many different delegations as the bal.
loting closed.
His managers believed that once
he had overtaken Speaker Clark the
switching of delegates would become
general.
The Clark forces plan to make a
desperate effort to win back some of
the delegates lost, and this work will
probably have the personal direction
of the speaker himself
The Wilson forces meantime ex-
pect to fight not only to hold their
gains Of Saturday, but to induce morc
to deseiY tho other candidates. 4
Senator Stone of Missouri made a
motion to eliminate the candidate re-
ceiving the least number of votes on
each succeeding ballot after the
twenty-seventh until only one-the
winner-was left in the race. There
was storm of objection and the sub
ject was pressed no further.
| The Harmon delegates from Ohio
threw their support to Speaker Clark
on several ballots, but they did not
materially help him toward the nee.
essary two-thirds because of the grad
ual inroads made by Wilson. They
then changed back to Harmon and re.
NAMED there until the last ballot OF
the evening.
The great bulk of the Massachu-
sets delegation deserted Clark Sat.
urday night and started Foss
boom. 1t created little excitement
!, The deadlock confronting the Dem
ocratic convention is the most re.
|
politics. No one in the convention
was able to recall another instance
in recent years in which it had re-.
quired anything like the number of
ballots to nominate that SO far have
been taken without result.
Having failed to nominate with the
week end, it was not expected the
delegates would hurry to a decision
on Monday, and it was predicted that
the fight might last several days. The
Clark people are still confident that
enough of their delegates will remain
steadfast to constitute the necessary
One-third to prevent nomination
Many of the delegates were hopeful
that an early decision might be
reached. but the two leading candi.
dates on Saturday were so rar shor,
of the 725 1-3 votes necessary to
nominate that the problem had seem
ed a most difficult one.
After the twenty first ballot the
Clark people. in something of a panic
sought to have a recess ordered.
The Wilson people. encouraged b,
their gains, fought the motion and de
feated it on roll call.
The confusion in the hall durinf
the voting was such that the clerks
became badly mixed up on their fig
ures and it variously was claimed
that a recess had been ordered an.
defeated until Chairman James or
dered recasting of the vote.
The afternoon session was marked
by another dramatic outburst from
Mr.. Bryan. Claiming the privilege
|