The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-07-10

At San Francisco, the idealists We're
listened to and thenA coldly over
whelmed
Few men in recent years have sue
eeeded in kfndling the emotion to which
William Jennings Bryan set fire in the
Democratic convention. Hiram johnson
sat by admiring the reception that a
Callforia audience gave to a man who
made his appeal on a moral issue, but
cruel and unrelenting political expedi-
ency sent Bryan to defeat within a few
minutes after the} delegates and the
galleries had ceased clieefing him. They
accepted his doctrine but not his frank
suggestion that.fthe convention go on
record ps' it had eIheered..
. William Jennings Bryan is grieved
and hlfmiliated. His friends see the
nged commoner disappointed not be-
II ilse he WASH t selected for, the presi-
-a@, ", as so many people have insisted
~ + his ambition, but ,dgwmcast because
sin he hour of his greatest Triumph
tbH m ifcation of the prohibition
-alserphne1t-his own party turned a
deaf car to as sincere and forceful
lea as was ever made on public
=: torn.
Tie rmorv of Bryan fighting for a
dry rlanl; IN the Democratic platform
will ahays b. the dramatic episode
of the convention. He stood there like
a cru 81 OF ring his life to cause,
pleading u h he dry states not to be
deceived ~ thr leaders from the wet
states. Eut hey didn't heed his ad-
vice. They lodged the issue and the
wet states nominated candidate
whom Bryan bolitvoq is wet.
Bryan win not bolt the party He
will probably not make any speeches
against Cox for he latter will sooner
or later make it clear that any revival
of the wet and dry Issue rests with
congress-. Bryan, however. plans to
fight for a dry congress. In all hkeli-
hood he VIII enter the districts of Re
publicans and Democrats alike who
come out for any increase in the alco-
holic content of beverages
On the treaty issue, Bryan made the
mistake of lugging in his own amend
ments. lie tried to get a plank in the
platform proposing an amendment to
the constitution so that majority vote
instead of two-thirds could end war.
He would have been twice as dangerous
TO the convention if he had suggested
that the 81 Democratic senators who
voted with the majority on reservations
TO the peace treaty be endorsed As it
was he fell victim to the effective sa-
tire and keen retorts of Senator Carter
Glass of Virginia who distinguished
himself in the debate on platform and
showed a set of oratorical teeth that
viii bite hard into Republican argument
even though this is his first term in the
senate.
Glass was looked upon by his delega-
ton as a possible dark horse in the
event that the deadlock could not be
him and the vocal interruptions by
John Joyce Of Norfolk county, Vir-
ginia, his musical exclamation awon-
derful.' as Glass struck away at, the
foes of the platform Constitutes a
species of favorite son adulation hardly
excelled
The Democratic platform was de-
bated in the open. The Republican
platform was. debated mostly behind !
closed doors. Each convention had
its own method. AS matter of fact. |
all debate, the prog
ress- worked out by a majority of the |
platform committee here in executive |
session was adopted by the main BODY |
of delegates by as big a vote as at |
Chicago The Democrats, however, did |
put on a better show-William Jen-
nings Bryan, Bourke Cockrane of New
York, Carter Glass and cambridge |
Colby-an oratorieal feast extraordi- |
nary and all in one day
Also, the Republicans listened atten.
lively to Samuel Gompers, and gave
him very little of what he wanted in
the platform. That was exactly the /
treatment which the Republican dele
gates liked. The Democrats gave Com /
pers most everything he wanted and /
that was popular with the Democrats
here. Each convention had its own
ideas of what sort of an appeal the
platform should make-the Republi
cans catered to the business folk; the
Democrats to the laboring man. 1t
took just as long to read the Republi-
can platform at Chicago as it did the /
Democratic platform here and the del /
agates in both conventions seemed
about equally dazed and bored bv the
flow of political vocabulary conspired
in by 80 men after all night and day
sessions. But newspaper correspond /
ents who attend the proceedings of /
congress from year to wear fthouobt
both the Republican and Democratic
platform committees displayed wonder
full powers of concentration and
evolved in two or three DAYS what If
would take 80 senator's months to agree
upon If instead of the impotence of
waiting convention they faced only the
ndulgent patience of waiting pub
ic
The STRAIGHT limo 10 a., rl,. 4. 5 |