Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1916-06-23

IL :S2, and started things going by d.
rectirg the band to play America"
AS the strains of the national hymn
burst forth every man, woman and
child sprang up with cheer, and
every one of them waved an American
flag. The sight was truly inspiring,
even to the most blase. The band at
once swung into 1.-THE Star Spangled
Banner" and another chorus Of cheers
swept the hall. Ten thousand of the
flags had been distributed free in the
Coliseum. and that was but one way
In which Americanism was emphasized
by the people running the convention.
Another was the red, white and blue
shield that hung In front of the speak
ers' stand and that bore the inscrip-
ton, America First" That Ameri-
canism is not an Issue to be monopo-
lied by any one party was made ex-
ceedingly plain at every turn, and fire.
quent references to 1t were made by the
various speakers.
A touch of that Democratic infor-
mality came while Rev. Or. James w.
Lee, presiding elder of the st. Louis
district of the Methodist Episcopal
Church South, was delivering the In
vocation at the opening session. Some
thing he said met the especial APPROX
al Of man in the body of the hall,
and he shouted: GOOD old boy. You
said something then" A ripple of
laughter. not irreverent ran through
the asseinblage.
Stirred by Chairman Glynn.
The same freedom from restraint
was shown while Martin HI. Glynn, for
mer governor of New York, sounded
the keynote of the campaign. Not
impressive In appearance, Mr.. Glynn
is so eloquent and finished an orator
that he quickly caught the undivided
attention of the throng. and held It
to the finish. His spirited periods
called forth repeated cheers and when
he showed symptoms of stopping he
was urged over and over again to
give. us some MORE"
At one part of his address ne was
setting forth frequent instances when
the United States was threatened with
war, and each time he cried: But
we didn't go to war;"
'What did we do?" shouted voice
in the gallery the second time, and
thereafter that query was taken up by
hundreds, and Mr.. Glynn responded
by telling how the diplomacy Of wise
president had warded Off the resort
to arms. 1t made his point more tell
ing, and he was quick to take adj
vantage of II.
A little later, as the temporary
chairman was in the midst of one of
his most spirited passages, donkey
outside the Coliseum set up such
tremendous braying that Mr.. Glynn
was forced good naturedly to wait for
1t to finish, while the crowd laughed
itself into Mysteries.
There was no doubt that such of the
Democratic party as was at the con-
vention was enjoying itself.
Flag Starts Them Marching
One of Glynn's tributes to the Stars
and Stripes started the crowd going
again. Col. John l. Martin. sergeant
at arms and official whooper-up, waved
his arms wildly but unnecessarily. AL
ready the people were on their feet
and a big Texas banner was carried
to the stand. This Glynn took and
waved around. and several of the dele
cations, led by the Texans. began a
march through the aisles.
At one point where Glynn was de-
voting himself to peace and neutral
ity, the crowd roared its approval,
and w. ]. Bryan, in the press stand,
arose and waved small flag. An ova-
ton for him ensued and man shout
ed: "Yes, and those views are the
same as Bryan's." The Nebraskan pa
cifist smiled his approval
Once Glynn said: "a great many
people seem to think that the noisiest
man in the land Is the best patriot"
"Name him." shouted many, but the
speaker refrained.
When the keynote speech was ended,
the convention adjourned until Thurs
day morning, as a tribute to the MEM
DRY of the late Thomas ]. Pence, for
mer secretary Of the national COM
mittee.
Next Came Ollie James.
When the second day came around
there seemed so much time to kill that
no one was in hurry, and the con-
vention was very late in coming to
order. Music by. the band, and also
by vocalist who fiatted and sharped
all notes with perfect neutrality, and
more cheers for Bryan as he entered
the press section. Then Mr.. Glynn
announced the selection Of Senator Oh
lie James as permanent chairman. This
wasn't any surprise to the crowd but
the shouts Of glee. led by the sena-
tors fellow Kentuckians, were as loud
as If 1t were. BY the way, 1t seemed
ridiculous that man as large as Mr..
James should have but one-half vote