Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 July 1896 — BRYAN AND WATSON [ARTICLE]

BRYAN AND WATSON

These Are the Candidates of the People's Party. 1 1 t ■ WILD SCENE ENACTED I ■ ■ 1 . Nebraskan Carries the Convention with a Whoop. “Boy Orator of the Platte” Is Named for President by More than TwoThirds Majority at the Populist National Convention—His Refusal to Hun Without Sewall for a Mate Is Ignored—Great Confusion Attends the Calling of the Roll. 1 W. J. Bryan was nominated at St. Louis' Saturday afternoon by the Populists as their candidate for President of the United States. . < h| ,' ' . x Only two other candidates were nominated to contest the field against Bryan. On? was JSeymour F. Norton, a lawyer ( from Chicago, and the other was Gen. Coxey. The general’s name was ’withdrawn before the balloting was begun. Eugene V. Debs would have been a candidate had be not sent a message to' the convention declining to accept the nomination. The voting was all one way, and when the result was announced bedlam broke 1 loose and pandemonium reigned for fifteen or twenty minutes. The Texas, Arkansas and Maine middle-of-the-road men, with-their guidons together, took no part in the demonstration.' At the first session Friday the antiKe wall people moved to change the rules and make tile nomination of candidate for Vice-President the first order of business, preceding the nomination for President. It witls generally understood this was a test vote on the Sewall proposition, and on it the anti-Sewa'll people were victorious by 100 majority. The convention met for its evening session at 6:3(1 o'clock and speeches nominating- candidates—fur Vice-President were declared to be i". order. Half a 1 d ozen candidates wete put up. Thomas E. Watson of Georgia had the greatest number of friends. No fewer than two dozen speeches were made in Jiis behalf. The other candidates named were Sewall, - Skinner ofNorth Carolina, Bu rki ttof _ Mississippi, Mimms of Tennessee and Even Page of Virginia. All the candidates save Sewall were from the South, there being a tacit *undot-stailiiing dpat a straight-out Populist from that section should be placed upon the ticket. When the roll whs called Arkansas started off with twenty-five votes for Watson. Mr. Patterson.of Colorado cast the forty-five votes of his State for Sewall amid a round of applause from the Bryan men. Indiana gave her thirty votes to Watson. Kansas gave Sewall eighty-two of her ninety-five' votes. Louisiana gave the bulk of her vote to Watson, Maryland divided her vote between Sewall and Watson. North Carolina east her itinetyfive votes for Skinner, Tennessee voted for Mimms and Texas for Burkitt. This split up the large delegations. Before the roll call was completed, however, Texas changed her vote to Watson and there were, other changes in favor of the Georgian. Col. Burkitt of Mississippi went to the stand and 'withdrew his name. Then-Mimms. withdrew., in Watson ’s favor. The Georgian already had votes enough to nominate, but the vote of Tennessee was finally transferred to his column. Some one made the motion to make the nomination unanimous and it was carried with a whoop. Senator Allen called the convention to order at'll:3s ■b*<’lT>ek Saturday morning. After the invocation the chairman announced That the first thing in order was the selection of members of the national committee and the committees to notify the candidates for President and VicePresident. Several resolutions were presented and referred without reading or debate. Weaver Names Bryan. The chairman then called for the nominations of President and Vice-President, and Judge Green of Nebraska took the stage to place Mr. Bryan in nomination. A Texas delegate interrup.ed with a point of order that the States must be called in alphabetical .order toy nominations. Judge Green was driven off the stage by the Texan’s point of order. When Alabama was called Gov. Kolb yielded to Gen. Weaver of lowa, but Col. Gaither of Alabama got to the platform first and interjected a speech about joining the cotton fields of the South with the wheat fields of the West. At the conclusion of his remarks Gen. Weaver came forward and formally plated Mr. Bryan in nomination. Gen. Weaver in his opening remarks asked the convention not to applaud, and the delegates "listened to him without much demonstration. But when he concluded by naming “that splendid young statesman, Williajn J. Bryan,” the convention broke loose. Cheer followed cheer. The delegates jumped to their chairs, and flags, handkerchiefs, coats,' hats and State guidons were waved in Wild confusion. The enthusiasm that followed Gen. Weaver’s speech was something terrific. Miss Minerva Roberts led the cheering in the Colorado delegation. While the demonstration was at its height thousands of copies of the ‘‘Bryan Silver March” were flung high in air and fell in clouds on the frantic delegates. , .When quiet was restored Gen. Field of Virginia, who was Gen. Weaver’s running mate in 1892, hobbled forward on his crutch, and. after a brief speech, moved to suspend the rules and make Bryan’s nomination unanimous. The convention rose almost en masse and cheered, but above the chortis.of cheers came the sharp cries of the Texas men. “No,” “ito,” they yelled. Chairman Allen declared the motion carried, but, yielding to the protest, decided to allow a call of States on the motion. The Texas men wildly protested. The Nebraskan haying assorted that he positively would not accept the nomination if Sewall was rejected, Robert .Schilling of Wisconsin attempted to secure a recess until Bryan could be heard from, but he was nowled down. The greatest confusion prevailed, and Bryan’s nomination was seconded by orators from nearly every State, and at last, after six hours of speech-making, the roll call on the ballot was reached. When Alabama, the first Stgte, was called she divided her vote between Bryan and Norton. Arkansas gave her twentyfive votes for Bryan; Colorado, Connecticut and Delaware voted solidly for Bryan. Georgia gave five of her sixty-one votes for Norton of Illinois. As the roll call proceeded it became apparent that Bryan would be nominated before it was completed. At its conclusion the tally clerks had figured the totals, and without further deftry Chairman Allen announced the official vote as: Bryan. 1,042; Norton, 21-; Donnelly, 1. It was then 4:22. Someone made a motion to adjourn. The chairman put the motion and declared the conventiA>n adjourned sine die.