The Adair County news., 1914-07-22
Beckhams Self-Confessed Confusion Baltimore Fol-
lowed By Deliberate Misstatements To
Voters of Kentucky
READ THE OFFICIAL RECORD

4 State, declined to ask Ryan to step out,
but requested Bryan to withdraw the
second part of his resolution Mr.. Bryan
1 said he would give New York an oppor-
/ tunity, yielded the floor to the opposition,
1 and said he would reserve what time he
! had left to conclude the debate: The de
4 bate was for some time, and then MIR.
| Bryan concluded with the announcement
| that he would withdraw the second part
of the resolution, that part which de-
! manded 1.-The withdrawal from the con-
ventiOn of any delegate or delegates con-
! shutting or representing the above
named interests. And in his concluding
Il now withdraw the latter part of the
I resolution, for | do not intend that any
! member of this convention shall shield
! his negative vote against the principal
I part of the resolution by hiding behind
/ the latter part of il. ] intend that the
: men who think the first part of this resO-
call"
Resolution Again Read.
/ once more, to avoid any uncertainty,
! resolution be read in the shape MI
/ Bryan wanted it to go before the con-
vention. Senator James ordered it
read. and it was read by the secretary
/ of the convention. In reading it the
! secretary read the first part and left
/ off there. Thus it will be seen that the
parts. was read twice by Mr.. Bryan him
I self, and third reading of the first part
! was given by the clerk. Three times the
: convention heard the resolution read
/ In a speech delivered at Elizabethtown.
I KY. on March 16, 1914, when he an
nomination for United States Senator.
/ Mr.. Beckham said, in speaking Of the
Bryan resolution:
/ II was not in the convention hall when
( that resolution was introduced and read
/ and when l came in a wild scene of
tumult and disorder existed After / got
/ to the Kentucky delegation was told
/ that the resolution demanded the with
drawal from the convention OF certain
delegates. l was opposed to such sum-
mary and irregular method Of expelI 1g
! delegates, even though those delegates
were on the opposite side from my side
4 in the issues before the convention. In
the midst of the great confusion and
noise poll was taken among the Ken
/ lucky delegates, and, understanding that
. to be the effect of the resolution to expel
/ those delegates. I voted against it, and
am not ashamed OF that vote cast under
/ such conditions"
Now. as everybody knows who at
tended the Baltimore convention, the in
I PRODUCTION of the Bryan resolution and
, its consideration was the most dramatic
/ feature of the whole convention. The
convention assembled at s O'Clock that
night, and the business before il was the
nomination Of candidate for President
. Other preliminary business had been got
out of the way. The most important
work of the convention. the naming Of
the man to bear the Democratic stand
ard in a national campaign. was about
to be accomplished. The galleries were
filled to OVERLOOKING and nearly every
delegate was in his seat.
Where Was 8eckham?
Where was Mr.. Beckham? Even ad-
hitting that he was trifie tardy, it
must be remembered that the debate on
the Bryan resolution and the general
furry over it lasted for three hours. No
i body in Baltimore, even though he were
a mile from the convention hall, could
have failed to know twenty minutes aft
! er Bryan presented his resolution all
about what was going on. Every news
paper in Baltimore had an extra on the
streets within fifteen minutes after the
resolution was first read.
In every hotel. cigar store, theater.
cafe. drug store and saloon in the city
phones getting direct from the cOnven-
ton han reports on the terrific battle
that was being waged over the resOlu-
ton. Men three or four miles away from
4 the hall were reading the text Of the res
olutiOn, printed in gigantic type on the
front. page of the extras. The Bryan
men were praising the Nebraskan for
his holiness and courage in making a
stand to shake from the skirts of the
men were accusing the Great COmmOner
of trying to wreck the party.
And where was Mr.. Beckham during
all this time? Was he outside the city
limits of Baltimore, where he could not
hear the tumult that rocked the entire
it that, when he finally entered the con-
vention hall, he could not get clear and
accurate information on a situation that
any delegate in that han who had ears
was not pOssessed-of at least ten minutes
before the roll call on the resolution be-
gan?
Whom did Mr. Beckham ask for guild
ance, for information as to what was
being voted on? What member of the
kentucky delegation was it who misled
has not named the man who told him
that the convention was voting on the
proposition to expel delegates.
And why was Mr.. Beckham absent
from the session of the convention at
which the nominations were to be made?
1t was known that on that evening the
the nominee of the party would be
brought forward and that the ballotng
would begin.
Mr. Beckham says he was confused"
The United States Senate is a body in
which a man who becomes Confused
on a big question has no place.
Suppose, just suppose. that Mr.. Beck
ham should go to the Senate. And sup
pose an important question were being
voted on and the vote were close. And
suppose Mr.. Beckham should again be
absent from the scene at a crucial hour
And suppose he should rush into the
Senate chamber when the Democrats
We're v TSn S AND 1Rs tbs FANS
man he met and asked how he should
vote were Reed SmoOt. of Utah. or BOies
Penrose, of Pennsylvania. and one of
these should tell him to vote no" And
/ suppose Beckham, in his Confusion
| should vote no"
Would a vote 81 that sort harm him
with the Wall street interests or with
y the Knotts the Halys. or the Shackle-
fords any more than his vote against the
Bryan resolution at Baltimore harmed
him with the men Of that stripe through
out the couRtryf
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