New-York tribune., 1920-06-06

cwo-thtrds majority. Whether he haA
actually such majority or not, his
calm display Of confidence put him
in the way Of securing 1t.
The opponents Of Cleveland
couldn't defeat him, but they were
strong enough to make some trou.
bic for him in tho convention.
The Cleveland managers wanted to
have a moderate tariff declaration.
They adopted in part the Democrat
ic plank Of 1884, the year when
Cleveland was first elected. They
expected to escape the criticism Of
the radical free trade element by
saying that the 1884 compromise
was written by William r. Morrison.
Compromise Attacked
But when this ancient compromise
was presented it was bitterly at
tackled. A substitute was offered by
Lawrence T. Neal, Of Ohio, on be-
half Of a minority Of the Resolu-
tions Committee. It read:
I'VE denouncs Republican protee-
tion as . fraud. A robbery Of the
great majority FOR the benefit Of the
few. We declare IL 70 bs . funda-
mental principle Of the Democratic
party that the Federal government
has no constitutional power to inn
pose and 70 collect tariff duties. az
cspt for the purpose Of revenue only.
and We demond that tho collection
Of such taxes shsll bs limited to the
necessities Of tho government whom
honestly and economically admins
tered"
Senator Villas, Of Wisconsin, and
other Administration men defended
the majority plank. But it was re-
jected for the Neal plank by vote
Of 564 to 342. Encouraged by this
display of insurgency, Governor Pat
terson, Of Colorado, tried to get a
free silver coinage plank into the
platform. But the convention wasn't
willing to face the free and unlimited
silver coinage issue. It~howled Pat
terson down.
'CrOver, Crover''
Under the Whitney-Harrity guild
ance the convention, in fact, more
and more ignored the vital differences
between the Eastern Democracy and
the Western and Southern Democ-
racy which were to split the party
within the next four years. The up
permost thought Of the delegates was
not clarifcation of Democratic
policies, but return to power for
the sake Of return to power. The
inner spirit Of the 1892 convention
was expressed in the song which
Harrity brought to Chicago and
which so many Of the delegates
chanted:
Grover, Grover,
-Four more years Of Grover.
Out they 60.
In we go,
Then we'll be in clover"
Democratic conventions are no
torious for their disorder. The con-
vention of 1892 broke all records in
this respect. 1t was held in a So
called "wigwam" on the lake front,
near the hotel and business district.
The building was grotesquely unfit
for such a gathering. The night
when Cleveland was nominated rain
seeped steadily through the roof.
Umbrellas were raised everywhere.
In the press section it was almost
impossible to write. Isaac H. Brom-
ley said in dispatch to The Tribune
that Cleveland was renominated
under the umbrella" William L.
Wilson, soon to be the father of the
famous Wilson tariff act, was the
permanent chairman. He had a
weak voice and frail physique. He
never even pretended to keep order.
The galleries were rebellious. When
they couldn't hear a speaker or
didn't want to listen to him they
cheered him down. More ironical
applause was indulged in at this con-
vention, perhaps, than at any before
or since.
Ignored Tammany
The convention showed great con-
tempt for Hill and Tammany. Yet
The most striking success-the only
real oratorical success made in the
convention Of 1892-was made by a
Tammany delegate, Bourke Cock
ran. Cochran had the house dead
against him when he began his cele.
brated attack on Cleveland. But his
courage and fervor and natural apti-
tude as speaker gradually conc,]-
lated the turbulent gallery mob. II
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