Imperial Valley press., 1924-07-10
Choosing Bryan
AS Mate Seems
to Satisfy All
Continued. from mage y

governor was forced by y coterie of ,
Democratic leaders, after he had F..
been selected, personally, by DAVIS (
as his running mate. II came on .
the first ballot, furnishing curl 7
Gus anti.elimax to the fierce battle /.
over the presidential nomination,
which ended in compromise on the T.
l03rd ballot late yesterday after
noon.
Selection of Bryan WAS made only
after the Democrats had been twice
turned down by prospective candl-
dates for the vice presidency. Sen
aicr Walsh of Montana, Davis first
choice, in letter to the convention,
formally refused the offer. stating
he could best serve his party by
rimning for reelection in the sen
ate. The name of Edwin 7. Merid-
it'll of Iowa, was withdrawn after
he had refused to run with Davis
on the ground that he was too con
servative to appeal to the agrlcul'
tural west.
Davis was unwilling to accept any
of the nine candidates who had been
nominated formally. \ recess of
one hour was killed at midnight
while Davis went into conference
with leaders at the historic Demo
cratic rendezvous, the Manhattan
Club. across the street from Madison
Square Garden. While Bryan was
finally hit upon, Chairman Cordell
Hull, Tom Taggart, Senator Pat
Harrison and other leaders, bare
headed, rush back to the garden to
get Bryan s acceptance. He met
them at the door and speedily gave
his consent. 1t was necessary to
place him in nomination and Harry
B. Fleharty was rounded up to name
him. Bryan himself told his sponsor
to make his speech short and
snappy. - Fleharty complied and
the balloting began.
Many Had Gone Home
Worn out by two weeks of bick-
ering and strife and three hours of
oratorv during the fore part of the
evening, many of the delegates had
departed for home. The galleries
were all but deserted. Less than
500 spectators remained of the vast
crowd that .iammed the, galleries to
give Governor Al Smith of New
York, their hero, a thunderOus ova-
tion, and Davis, who appeared by
invitation, cordial welcome. Most
of the delegates seats were filled
bN "ringers.
Chairman Walsh turned the gavel
over to Representative Barkley of
Kentucky, who had great difficulty |
in controlling the crowd after the |
baIloting got under way. But the
din that marked the earlier sessions i
was gone. Voices rang out clear /
and sharp in the huge hall.
Humorists made the balloting |
more difficult. They voted for men |
and women whose names were un-
familiar to the tally clerks.
Bryan got away slowly until the
word was passed that he was Davis
choice.
After casting half of the Illinois /
voterfor Mayor Hylan of New York,
as a compliment, George f. Bren-
nan, of Illinois led the switching
which ended in NBryan amasSing Il
otal of 739 votes, more than the
necessary two thirds. He was fol
owed by Franklin d. Roosevelt, who
asst New York's 90 votes solidly
or Bryan. Then Mayor Frank
Hague of Jersey City whipped his
delegation into the line and the
andslide was on.
George L. Berry of Tennessee, the
candidate, was off
o a running start. He finished with
.04 when the switching ended. But
he SoldierLabOr crowd, aided by a
-owdy bunch that the police finally
elected from the hall, kept up a
constant cry for Berry. Although
Colonel Alvin NJ. Owsley, former /
of the American Legion,
was withdrawn by Texas, he finish
I'd with lG votes.
Bennett Clark, son of the late |
Speaker Champ Clark, of Missouri,
lad total of Al votes and Mrs. /
Leroy Springs of South Carolina IS.
others who stuck to the end were
GOV. Glvnn, Rhode Island, 10; Gov
.rnOr SilZer, New Jersey, s; former
A ambassador Gerard, 10; Mayor Hy-
am, 6; Newton ID. Baker, 7; Senator
Pittman, Nevada, 16; Jonathan NJ.
Davis. Kansas, 3. The rest of the !
votes were scattered.
Crowd in a Hurry
Several times before the necessary |
wo thirds was reached motions were
made to nominate Bryan by accla-
nation. These suggestions were
greeted by booes and hisses from
he Berry supporters. The crowd
vas restless and continually called
o .Barkley to announce when Bryan
lad enough votes. Most of the del
gates put on their hats and moved
Oward the exits.
During the switching that held
he hall in bedlam for half an hour,
William Jennings Bryan, sitting as
delegate from Florida, voted for
lis brothers. nomination.
Bryan's vote was greeted by an
of applause, followed by
,ooes, Kisses and cat calls. The
rowd made rush for the doors
,efOre the full list Of names could
,e read or the motion to adjourn the
onvention pat.
Barkley announced that perma-
tent Chairman Walsh was to make
he formal notification speech to
Davis and temporary Chairman
Pat Harrison would notify Bryan.
The band struck Home, Sweet
Iome' and the crowd trickled out
nto the night. The convention was