The Washington times., 1924-07-07

The narrator Is John b. St0H
eiOkty-OMe years old, "poIittcGl
sage Of Indiana" and d member
of the staff Of the South Bend
Tribune.
BY JOHN b. STOLL.
written for international News Service
NEW YORK, July 7.-Fifty-si.
years ago q great convention IN
New York thrust q presidential
nomination upon Horace Seymour
despite his emphatic protestation
Your candidate cannot be.
It was the first Democratic con.
vention after the war. Twenty
one ballots were cast and then the
issiie was decided by coup d'etat.
The Democratic voting element
had for this or that reason been
divided into various groups. OF the
active aspirants for the presidential
nomination George II. Pendleton-
Gentlemen George" az he was
proudly called by admirers-was
easily in the lead. AS q pleasing
public speaker he stood In high
favor. He was not averse to In.
jecting little demagogy into his
campaigning. In order to make
himself the exponent OF what was
called q most righteous cause, he
chanpioned the proposition of pay.
ing the bonds issued during the Re
beilion with greenbacEs. The doc.
trine easily found many adherents.
Both Parties Wanted Grant.
There Ia little doubt that II the
Republicans had not chosen
Ulysses s. Grant as their standard
bearer for 1868 the Democrats
would assuredly have named that
brilliant warrior as their nominee.
There was q sharp contest between
Democrats and Republicans as to
which party should have for its
leader General Grant. who up to
that time had voted for only one
James Buchanan. in 1855.
A formidable element favored thu
nomination Of Chief Justice Salmon
p. Chase, originally o Democrat
temporarily a Republican on til
slavery question. fundamentally /
believer in Jeffersonian Democracy
They seemed to have forgotten tina
in his teachings Of Democracy
Samuel ]. Tilden had placed q bar
on any judicial officer seeking nomi
nation to a political office.
Chase Move Planned.
The movement to nominate Chas'
had been skillfully planned. When
It became apparent that Pendleton'
chances had completely withered
his name was withdrawn. The high
est point reached was 1864 votes
General Winfield Scott Hancock an;
Thomas A. Hendricks had gainet
steadily until the twenty4first balio
was passed.
General Horatio Seymour wa
permanent chairman OF the conven
ton. which was called in Tamman.
Hall, on Fourteenth street, July 4.
Formally placed in nomination 10
the Presidency was Pendleton, An
drew Johnson, Of Tennessee; Genera
| Winfield Scott Hancock. of Pennsyl
vania; Sanford q. Church, of New
York; Asa Packer, Of Pennsylvania
Joel Parker, Of New Jersey; jaime
e. English, of Connecticut, ant
James r. Doolittle, Of Wisconsin.
Though not formally placed II
nomination, Thomas A. Hendricks
received IA votes from the very
beginning and kept on gaining tc
the last.
After Twenty-first Ballot.
After the twenty-first ballot had
been tabulated the impression pre-
vailed among number Of delegates
that the following ballot would re-
suit in the nomination Of either Han
cock or Hendricks. But something
was going on within two circles OF
manipulating spirits. One OF these
circles had In contemplation the
nomination of Chief Justice Chase
the other, guided by the genius OF
Samuel J. Tilden, had satisfied itself
that this was the psychological mo
ment to spring upon the tired-out
balloters the magic name Of Horatio
Seymour.
Called away from the chair to
confer on some important matters,
Seymour's absence was deemed an
opportune moment to enact a coup
d'etat. An orator Of engaging voice
gained recognition by the temporary
chairman ana pointed out Demo
cratic duty and responsibility. His
eloquence and logic soon won the
hearts Of his hearers. In terms
both pathetic and persuasive, the
orator moved that Horatio Seymour
he declared the unanimous choice
of the convention for President Of
the United States.
Delegates Go wild.
No pen, however, gifted it's holder
has ever succeeded in describing
adequately the scene that followed
the offering of this momentous
proposition. Forgetting whatever
preferences they may have cher
ished In their hearts, the delegates
arose en- masse and joined in I
booming shout of approval. Long
minutes and vigorous appeals for
order were required before the
deafening uproar could be subduec
so as to enable the returned presid
ing officer to make himelf heard.
Deeply affected by what had
transpired, General Seymour finally
succeeded In getting q hearing
Deprecating what had occurred dur
ing his absence, he implored his
hearers to reconsider their actor
and proceed to place in nomination
q standard bearer physically capable
Of engaging in q vigorous cam
paign. But the convention would