Omaha daily bee., 1916-06-17
DEMOCRATS VOTE
SUFFRAGE PLANK
Bourbon Convention Adjourns After
Bitter Fight Over Question Of
Franchise for Women.
WILSON GETS WHAT HE WANTS
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WILSON GETS WHAT HE WANTS
Continued From Page One

states on how to conduct their
celebrates.
Anti-suffrage delegates on the floor
piled the governor with questions
which brought out in the answer
fresh arguments against the admin
stration plank and when Ferguson
had finished, the convention was in
confusion and the tone of the uproar
in the delegate sections was indica-
of the administration plank.
tive OF sympathy with the opponents
Senator Stone Under Fire.
When Senator Stone took the
speakers place to defend the plank,
he was bombarded with a running
fire of questions and argument from
delegates on the floor which even
tually exhausted the time allotted to
him without permitting him to speak
ten successive minutes.
Anti-suffrage delegates loudly chal-
lenged his references to Ferguson's
statements with cries of that's not
what he said" and that's not fair"
Many delegates openly took the posi-
ton that the question was becoming
much confused by the manner OF its
presentation. Finally Senator Stone
yielded to Senator Pittman Of
Nevada, one OF the suffrage cham
pions.
The crowd wanted to howl Pitt
mon down and shouted vote, vote"
Eyes ! know you want to vote"
Pittman cried at his opponents.
"You'd rather do anything else than
hear the truth.
"Are you men who are willing to
hear women denounced, afraid to hear
a man say something in their behalfl
/ want to appeal to you to give your
sisters and daughters and mothers
the right to vote"
Furnishes Speech.
whats that got to do with this"
chorused the delegates.
Finally, ignoring lesser outbreaks
and shouting above the din and con-
fusion, Pittman managed to get
through with his speech.
1t remained for Senator Walsh to
save the administration plank. In an
imprisoned speech he swept aside
the smaller questions which had been
injected into the fight, told the dele
gates that President Wilson himself
knew the plank was in the platform
and considered it essential there for
party victory. =,
what ever your opinions may be-"
he said, I'VE shall never be anything
but q discordant and diveded party
unless we surrender some of our con-
yictions to the wisdom OF q majority.
Here, you are confronted, as one
of our famous leaders said with a
condition, not q theory. The twelve
suffrage states represent ninety-one
votes in the electoral college. Every
political party has made this declara-
ton in some form or other. II be-
comes 4 simple question OF whether
you will incur the enmity OF these
women. There Is no possibility Of
losing . single vote IL you adopt this
majority plank because every other
party has done the sane"
Walsh Explains.
Il ask YOU" he cried, III you're
going to put resolution in here that
Is q lie. You can't adopt this min
ority report without stultifying your
selves"
Senator Walsh then explained that
the president knew about the suffrage
ct.rL .,d aAdad.
"He believes it vital to his success
that it stay there. ! ask you who Is
there here who is wiser or more
patriotic than he!"
While the fight had been going on
a thunderstorm burst and when the
row down on the convention floor
was at its height, the storm reached
] its climax. The booming Of the
thunder mixed with the roaring shouts
on the floor and the clatter caused by
the rain on the roof almost drowned
out the speakers. The storm cleared
just as Senator Walsh finished speak
ing, and the closing words Of his plea
for the administration plank swept
at change of sentiment over the crowd
as welcome to the suffragists as the
wave Of cool refreshing air that
poured down into the hot, reeking
coliseum.
Calls for Vote.
There were renwed cries Of vote,
vote" but they we're not shouts for
the defeat Of the plank. As the clerks
called the roll of states the votes top.
Piled into the column supporting the
plank as the committee had written ii
so fast that the defeat Of the substi.
tute was assured before the call had
gone dozen states. At the close
of the roll call, the whole platform, as
written, was adopted and after dispos.
ing OF some formalities the conven,
Ainn a A;a,.rrAd n;.A III. - LII 49, n