Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1912 — HOW WILSON WON BUTTLE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOW WILSON WON BUTTLE

Story of the Big Demoj. cratic Fight in Bal- [• timore. BRYAN VS. MURPHY .Convention a Mighty Struggle ! Between Those Titans of Politics. .;■ : . ; ' COMMONER ALWAYS TO FRONT His Sensational Attack on Plutocrats and Tammany, and Stanchfield’s Bitter Reply—How Champ Clark's Forces Failed to Prevent the Nomination of the Governor of New Jersey—Delegates Wearied and Exasperated by the Week-Long Contest. FOR PRESIDENT. WOODROW WILSON FOR VICE-PRESIDENT. THOMAS R. MARSHALL

By W. A. PATTERSON.

Convention Hall, Baltimore.—The blase individual without an admission ticket will tell you he w'ould not go If he had a ticket, “as all national convention* are alike.” It has been my privilege to attend a few national including the recent Republican gathering at Chicago, and the meeting of the Democrats at Baltimore, and I can assure you the convention held here, which nominated Woodrow Wilson for president, and Thomas R. Marshall for vice-president, was different. Writers, like delegates, receive instructions, and writers, like delegates, may not safely disregard these instructions. I am going to try not to disregard mine, which were to the effect that I write, ndfc a political news '‘story” filled with opinions for or against principles or factions or individuals, but a “human interest story;” that side of the big meeting of Democrats which the “people at home" would have seen had they been permitted to attend, without regard to the faults or virtues of the contending sides, or the right or wrong of the different factions. The Baltimore convention was one Of those great gatherings which one may witness but once in a lifetime if at all; the kind of a political gathering whose like has never before been witnessed in this or any other country. It was a battle of political Titans — two men—William Jennings Bryan, three times the standard-bearer of the party, and Charles F. Murphy, the recognized leader of Tammany, probably the most remarkable political organization this country has ever known. No sooner had Cardinal Gibbons, clad in the rich robes of his churchly office, pronounced the final words of the opening invocation on Tuesday noon than the battle was on, Mr. Bryan’s nomination of Senator Kern for the temporary chairmanship In opposition to Judge Parker, the choice of the national committee, was but a feint. When Mr. Kern, taking the speaker’s platform, pleaded for Democratic harmony, and proposed to Judge Parker that they both retire in favor of any one of half a dozen men whom he named, Mr. Bryan scored his first tally, He had the Opposition oo the defnsive for a time at least. When Judge Parker declined to respond to Senator Kern’s proposition the senator retired and named i Mr. Bryan for temporary chairman, a move that was wildly welcomed by the New York delegation, as Mr, Murphy was more than willing to try conclusions With the Commoner on a direct issue. The surprise of the day was the throwing the Clark* strength to Parker, and it was that incident, happening within an hour after Chairman Mack's gavel had called the convention to order, that produced the deadlock w;hen the balloting for the nominee began early Friday morning. It resulted in the defeat of Mr. Bryan by a vote of 579 for Parker to 510 for Bryan, The defeat of Colonel Bryan for the temporary chairmanship was a momentous event for the DenjuocratJte party, and the leaders and the rank and file of the party knew it when occurred, It was no longer a contest between candidates. It was war to the bitter end between Mr. Bryan and Mr, Murphy. Both had accepted gage of battle, and there would be no compromise. The change in the party align npent brought many iff $9

man. among them the swinging of Theodore A. Bell of California, temporary chairman of the Denver convention of four years ago to the Murphy forces. Mr. Bell led the opposition to Bryan, and did not hesitate in demanding that the Nebraskan, to whom the Democracy had given three opportunities, now step aside and permit other leaders to shape the course of the party. After the vote ex-Govemor Pattlson of Ohio expressed the feelings of many of the old leaders who had that day voted against Bryan, when he said: “The defeat of Mr. Bryan, necessary though It was, was an occasion for tears rather than cheerß. He has been and is a great man, but he has had his opportunity, and must now step aside.” That Tuesday night following the defeat of Mr. Bryan will ever remain a • memorable one in Democratic history. The great question of that night was: “Is it to be a bolt?” Among the leaders for the various candidates, the Clark forces instantly realized that If the speaker was to win he must do so in spite of Mr. Bryan’s opposition. The Wilson leaders knew t£ey would have Bryan’s support, but would it suffice? Leaders of other candidates were wondering what form the alignment would take when the deadlock between Clark and Wilson should be broken. Mr. Bryan was named as a member of the committee on resolutions, but refused the chairmanship of the committee. The reason for his refusal was explained on Thursday night, when, after the permanent organization had been completed and Ollie James of Kentucky had delivered his address as permanent chairman, Mr. Bryan stepped to the front of the speaker’s platform and asked unanimous consent for the presentation of a resolution. But the convention was not willing to take Mr. Bryan on faith, and cries of “No! No!” “Read it! Read the resolution!” arose from all parts of the great hall. Mr. Bryan, raising his voice so that it filled the hall, and could be heard despite the uproar, read: “Resolved, That we hereby declare ourselves against the nomination of ady candidate representing or under the domination of 'J. Pierpont Morgan, Thomas F. Ryan, August Belmont or any other member of the favored or privilege seeking class. Also that we ask any delegate representing such an interest be requested to withdraw.” It is impossible for words to express the uproar and turmoil of th,e moment. .Cheers, groans, catcalls, hisses were mingled in one deafening road. Mr. Bryan had again put the opposition on the defensive. “Mr. Chairman! Mr. Chairman!” came the demands for recognition from all portions of the hall, and Congressman Brice of Virginia was recognized and invited to the speaker’s stand. When a semblance of order had been restored, and before Mr. Brice had had an opportunity to speak, Mr. Bryan announced that if New York and Virginia woijld take »i poll ot their delegations, and if a majority 01 the delegates of each state voted in favor of Belmont and Ryan, he would withdraw the last paragraph of his resolution. “No! No!” came the cries from the delegations of the two states. Raising his voice so as to be heard above the uproar, Mr. Bryan stated tbat two delegates from Virginia had asked that such part of the last paragraph as applied to Virginia be withdrawn, and he would do so, and if one delegate from New York would make the same request for that state he would withdraw the last paragraph entirely. Again came the cries of “No! No!” accompanied by groans and hisses. The convention at that moment was against Mr. Bryan and his resolution as originally read would have been voted down, had the opportunity been offered. Brice succeeded in getting attention and in the name of the Virginia delegation offered defiance to the Commoner, stating that no member of the

the Virginia delegation had asked for the withdrawal of any part of the resolution; that Virginia was entirely competent to handle its Internal affaire, and would recognize no right of Mr. Bryan to meddle with her. New York’s policy of silence, a policy which was maintained throughout the convention, remained unbroken throughout the turmoil, which lasted for an hour. Before the vote which had been asked for on the suspension of the

rules could he taken Mr, Bryan witndrew the last • paragraph of his resolution, and the resolution was then passed practically unanimously. The dramatic incident, probably the most dramatic that has ever occurred in a national political convention, had hut servfed to widen the breach between the Bryan and Murphy forces, .If that were possible. From the first to the ninth ballot

New York voted “90 for Harmon,” and Nebraska voted Almost solidly for Clark, as Instructed by the state convention, Mr. Bryan, as a Nebraska delegate-at-large, following the instructions up to and including the fourteenth ballot. On the tenth ballot New York switched to “90 for Clark,” causing a Clark demonstration. The balloting continued without serious interruption until Nebraska was called on the fiftenth, when Mr. Bryan arose from his seat on the floor and asked permission to explain a change in his vote. "No! No!” came the cries, and Congressman Sulzer of New York, who was presiding, ruled the Nebraskan out of order, and instructed him to vote without an explanation. “Despite my instructions, I will not vote for Clark so long as New York votes for him,” yelled Mr. Bryan, and pandemonium was again loose In the great convention. The unanimous consent which Mr. Bryan had asked was finally granted at the request of Senator ®one of Missouri. Prom the platform !£>, Bryan read a typewritten statetffent, saying he did so for the reason that he did not want to be misquoted. It was a scathing arraignment of Murphy and the Interests Bryan claims Murphy represents, and another effort to read Tammany out of the Democratic party. He referred to his resolution which the convention had passed on Thursday night, and said no candidate the party might nominate With the assistance of the New York delegation voting as a unit under the direction of Murphy would be in a position to carry out the promises of that resolution. The reading of his statement was Interrupted time after time before it was completed, and when completed a hundred or more delegates were on the floor clamoring for recognition. “Will you support the nominee o!' tills convention?” yelled one delegate. “I do not expect to bolt,” parried Mr. Bryan. Another succeeded in asking a long hypothetical question, which Bryan

refused to answer unless it were more explicit. Another asked whether he considered a refusal to support a candidate receiving Murphy’s support the same as a refusal to supjxjrt for president a man nominated with Murphy’s support. “Does not the law make a difference,” replied Mr. Bryan, “between the lawyer who defends a criminal after the crime has been committed, and the man who assists in the commission of crime ” Mr. Bryan then announced his vote for Woodrow Wilson and retired to his seat in the Nebraska delegation; and he continued to cast his vote for Wilson throughout the night. Numerous efforts to break both the unit rule as applied to instructed delegations and the two-thirds rule as applied to the nomination were made previous to the Saturday night adjournment. The first of these applied to Ohio and was successful, the move adding ten votes to the Wilson strength. But the resolution that applied to Ohio did not cover other states, and the enforcing of the rule led to wrangles on every ballot. At the close of the twenty-fifth ballot late Saturday night Senator Stone of Missouri asked unanimous consent for the consideration of a motion providing that beginning with the twentyeighth ballot the lowest man should drop out of the race, and on the final ballot the candidate receiving the majority of the votes cast should be the party nominee. The Texas delegation offered immediate objection, and the long, tedious calling of the roll of states continued. With Monday came two important and interesting features. One was the apparent cracking of the deadlock in favor of Wilson. Despite the desperate endeavors of the Clark forces, the governor’s vote increased steadily on every ballot until, on the thirtyninth, It Btood at 501%. After the fortieth ballot the Wilson vote fell off to 494, his net gain over the first ballot being 87%. When Wilson was at the high water nj&rk on Monday, Clark had slumped to 422 but went up again to 430 before adjournment. At this time it seemed that the Illinois delegation held the key to the situation. The other big event of the day was the excoriation of Bryan by John B. Stanchfield of New York. This was Murphy’s first return blow, and it was a hard one. Praising the New York delegation, Stanchfield said: “It is by common consent the most representative delegation that ever came to a national convention from New York. If these be the 'puppets of wax’ that Mr. Bryan refers to, we say to that money-grabbing, officeseeking, publicity-hunting marplot of Nebraska ” Stanchfield could not conclude the sentence. It, was drowned In a burst of cheers. > While the speaker delivered this attack Bryan sat quietly in his seat. He watched Stanchfield closely and occasionally smiled. “I desire to say again, the vote of New York is vital to success,” continued Mr. Stanchfield. “And no man can go forth from this convention stigmatized and branded with the mark of Bryanism upon him and come within half a million votes of success. “When Mr. Bryan makes the statement that these delegates from New York are under the Influence of Morgan and Ryan and Belmont, the ‘plutocrats of this convention, he opiits one name. Outside of the three he has named, the richest and most powerful plutocrat on the floor is the gentleman from Nebraska himself.” All day the delegates were in fight-

lng mood, and onoe tnere was a senulne riot of which Bryan was the center. He resented as an insult the action of some Clark enthusiasts in i placing in front of the Commoner a banner bearing words of praise or Clark attributed to Bryan In 1910. Missouri, New Jersey and Nebraska delegates “mixed it up,*’ and even some press correspondents took a hand. Then the police separated the belligerents and later A, M. Dockery and Dave Francis sent apologies to Bryan, disclaiming for the Missouri delegation any connection with the banner. Tired and out of temper, the delegates assembled at noon Tuesday, determined to wind up matters quickly if possible On the first ballot of the day, tjie forty-third, Illinois switched over to Wilson and on the succeeding ballots the vote of the governor rapidly increased. After the fortyfifth Senator Bankhead arose and withdrew the name of Oscar Underwood. "That means Wilson,” said the for Clark. Then Governor Foss' name also was withdrawn, whereupon Senator Stone and exGovernOr Francis gave up hope for the speaker. They formally released the Clark delegates from their pledges, and it seemed all over but the shouting. But the Tammany bunch and some others were still stubborn and Fitzgerald of New York objected to the unanimous nomination of Wilson by acclamation. So further calling of the roll was necessary. Every strategy known in political generalship was tried to stampede the convention for the different candidates. No convention in the history of this country has seen such wild demonstrations as have been witnessed in this one at Baltimore. While Tuesday’s dramatic incident, arising over the selection of a temporary chairman, was the cause of almost unprecedented turmoil, there was nothing even bordering on a demonstration. It was Just plain fight—not enthusiasm. Even the speech of Temporary Chairman Parker did not arouse the response so characteristic, of Democratic conventions of the past, and the convention showed nothing but a fighting mood until after the incident of the Bryan resolution of Thursday evening and the beginning of the nominating speebes. Tho Clark and Wilson forces struggled valiantly to make the greater showing for their respective candidates. While ('lark was showing the greater voting strength, the lung power of the thousands of college hoys In 4 the Wilson following gave to him an advantage so far as continued effort at noise-making was concerned. The terrific din of Thursday night which was started by the Clark hosts when Senator Reed named the speaker for the Democratic nomination continued unabated for one and a quarter hours, and in it there seemed to be employed every noise-making Implement ever invented. Great as was the Clark demonstrution, however, It did not compare in noise with that led by the Princeton boys When Judge Westoott named the New Jersey executive. For more than one and a half hours the din continued. the lusty youngsters seeming to glory in their ability to keep it up. Of all of the demonstrations of Thursday night the most amusing was that started by a man in the press stand for Governor Baldwin, when the name of the Connecticut executive was entered in the race for the nomination. Realizing that the fourteen delegates from Connecticut could not successfully compete with the stronger following of the other candidates, the men in the press stand volunteered a noisy assistance which they continued for more khan twenty minutes and- which subsided only when the chair threatened to clear the press stand if the reporters did not stop. The many star writers in the press stand, men whoso reputations for genius are world wide, led the Baldwin demonstration, and intro-

duced into it all the elements of a first-class vaudeville show or a Gridiron club dinner. It was the one really spontaneous and amusing demonstration of the long week. “Alfalfa Bill” Murry, a Wilson delegate from Oklahoma, was the acknowledged leader of the Wilson “demonstrators” among the delegations. Any time “Alfalfa Bill” wanted to start something he would raise his touselled head, wave his long arms as the north gallery where a group of Princeton boyß had seats, and let out * WU4 wesj, f§3r Jt never failed to

produce results. It was such a move that started the demonstration on Sad urday night when on the twenty* fourth ballot the New Jersey ex ecu tire passed the four hundred mark. Of the many visitors to the conveu tion none created more interest thaa Mrs. 'William H. Taft, when on Thur® day afternoon and evening she occu pied a seat in the box immediately back of the speaker’s stand. Shf was the guest of Mrs. Norman Hi Mack. Mrs. Taft entered the convention hall Just before Temporary Chairman Parker surrendered the gavel to Pet* manent Chairman James. The crowd watched the first lady of the land with eager interest as she listened to tha denunciation of her distinguished hu» hand and the arraignment of his ad* ministration contained in the speech of the permanent chairman. But il they expected any evidences of displeasure on the part of Mrs. Taft they were disappointed, for she ohly arni Is 4

at each telling point, and at the conclusion of the address applauded vigorously. She did not applaud, or even smile, when Mr. James turned his attention from President Taft ter Colonel Roosevelt and included the latter in his arraignment and among thosa to whom the Democratic party was unalterably opposed. As Mrs. Taft entered the box with Mrs. Mack a gray-haired southerner near enough to distinguish her started an ovation for her. When pleasantly chided for his actions by ® younger acquaintance he replied: “The first lady of this land, or any lady, Is entitled to the courtesy of every gentleman, and I would hav® you know, sir, that the Democrats of th® South are gentlemen.” Mr. Bryan and his followers mad® political capital from the appearance in the convention of Ryan and Belmont. They acted as a red rag to a bull on the cohorts. Belmont occupied a conspicuous place in th® first row in the box Immediately back of the speaker, while Ryan, though occupying a seat with the Virginia delegation ordinarily, was on the speaker’s stand a number of times. Ryan wore a plain business suit, and so far as clothing was concerned could not have been distinguished from any ol the other delegates. Belmont attended most of the evening sessions dressed in evening clothes, the broad expanse of his white shirt front making him easily distinguishable from others around him. Bryan, when not on the stand, occupied a seat with the Nebraska delegation immediately In front of th® speaker and facing Belmont. During the sessions as the delegates would flock around the Nebraskan seeking his advice or counsel, or upbraiding him for his opposition, he would point his finger at Belmont to emphasize his points, and his action would nearly always result in an uproar. On Thursday night, at the close ot Benator Reed’s speech naming Clark, the speaker’s beautiful daughter stepped onto a chair in the gallery, and with a big American flag wrapped around her, and another in each hand, led the cheering for her father. She was the only woman who figured com spicuously in the demonstrations. Baltimore is by no means a convention city. It is a city of homes with limited hotel accommodations, which made the housing of the big crowd a hard problem to solve. This shortage of hotel accommodations was met by appealing to the people oi the city to open their homes to the visitors. . Th® committee in charge established a room-renting agency where those willing to acocmmodate the Democratic guests could list their rooms. The following is a sample of what was offered: “I should like you to rent one of my rooms for me,” said an smiable-lcok-ing elderly lady in weeds. “It is a large room and It is furnished with antique mahogany furniture. The bureau belonged to my great grandmother. It s a Sheraton, and you know how few Sheraton bureaus there ar® left In this country. If you could just send some western senator, or governor, or even a congressman to look at It, I know they would, take it right away, and it would be such a treat for them to live, even for Just a few days, In a room furnished with old mahogany. My husband traveled in the west once, and he told me all the furniture was Just made of pine. He did not seem to like the west at all. You will be sure to send me a western governor or senator,” she repeated as she moved away to give place to another woman with rooms to rent.