The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 2, 1896, Page 1

" VOLUME LXXX.—NO. 32, PRICE FIVE CENT HIDING UNDER A SILVER PLANK Democrats May Ignore the| Tariff Issue in Their Platform. { FLEE FROM THE FREE- TRADE HULEK. Party'Leaders Foresee Defeat if a Protective Policy is Assailed. BLAND LEADS IN THE RACE AT CHICAGO. | Vice - President Stevenson Arrives, | and Admits That He Seeks | the Nomination. #The Call’s” Headquarters, The Auditorium, | Chicago, 1L, July 1 Governor Johann Proudhon Altgeld has mounted the Democracy, and is jab- | bing his brass spurs into the quivering | sides of the superannuated steed. Thus far he is the boss of the National Democ- Governor of that State for the furtherance of his own ambitious designs. No one has yet come to the front to dis- pute the supremacy in Democratic coun- cils of this colleague of Herr Most, this | pardoner of bomb-throwing anarchists. ‘When one looks deever into the matter he will see that under present conditions there is no reason why any good Demo- crat should dispute the claims of Johann Proudhon Altgeld to act as the drum- major for this brass band of Democratic office-seekers. Altgeld is satisfactory be- cause he can do the business, the aforesaid business being the capture of the Federal offices by the Democratic office brigade, and that,is sufficient. That is the Lake of Como which delights them in their politi- cal dreams, and they cannot see that itis beneath the dignity of the Governor of the | State of Missouri and the Justice of a State Supreme Uourt to logroll in the interests of certain candidates when the Governor of the great State of Illinois, which gave to the Nation an Abraham Lincoln, is do- ing the same thing, For about the first time in its history, the National Democratic party stands without a vrinciple. The tariff for revenue only was the corner post of all of its plat- forms, but now that important issue 1s to be consigned to the political junk shops and the battle for office is to be made upon the silver issue, whicu, until now, had not been recognized as a principle of the Demo- cratic party. That principle has been taken up simply for the purpose of obtain- ing the votes of the silver States and of the adherents of silver coinage throughout the rest of the Union. The tariff issue, which has been the prominent battle cry of the Democracy, and which has been the racy. He and Governor Stome of Mis- souri were log-rolling for Bland to-day. | The tarriff wili not be an issue with | the Democracy st this campaign. It| will be dropped and the fight will be | made on silver as the only and all im- | portant plank. Semator Cockrell of | Missouri told me to-day that he did not know whether & tariff-for-revenue-only | plank would be put into the platform at | all, but he thought that the Democracy | might shed a few tears through the cracks in the platform for the poor Cubans. He added that the tariff ques- tion had been settled for the next four years, by which he meant that the De- mocracy would win on free coinage, and that the Wilson bill would remain in operation for that period. Leacing Democrats decline to discuss the tariff proposition, and when tapped a stream of silver issues from their lips. Ex-Secretary Whitney is expected here to-morrow, and Hill of New York the day after There is no change in the condition of things. Governor Matthews of Indiana is being presented by his | friends as a candidate for the Presidency. The duy is hot, and silver Democrats for Vag fissctisne have made » crowd in the | lobby of the Palmer House, frothing at | the mouth on the initial question. 1t looks now as though nothing would | beat Bland for the nomination. He goes | into Chicago as McKinley went into St. Louis, with the old guard around him. Vice-President Stevenson arrived to- day, and admitted that he was a candi- | date for the Presidency. JOHN PAUL COSGRAVE. IGNORING THE TARIFF. Democrats Builld Theilr Hope of Success Upon the White Metali Issue. CHICAGO, ILy., July 1.—Johann Proud- hon Altgeid, booted and with spurs of | brass, has mounted the steed of Democracy, and the crack of his whip can now be heard in every State in the Union, as he jabs the brass points into the quivering flesh of his tired and superannuated steed. | As he ran the State Convention to suit} | himself, so he is running the National Democratic Convention, and no one thus | far among the leaders of the party has had the courage to say him nay. He has been | jobbing around all day with Governor Stone of Missouri, rounding up a delegate here, lassoing another delegate there, and driving other delegates into the corner of the corral in order that the redhot brand- ing-iron of Altgeld shall ornament their hides. He is making a fight in the inter- est of Dick Bland for President, and has thereby gained the confidence and sup- port of the Missouri delegation and of the m HOW THE DEMOCRATIC | stands in this attitude. watchword of the Republican party through all the campaignsin the past, will not be heard from the ranks of the Democ- racy this year. The Republicans will discuss this ques- tion during the campaign, and will to the end uphold the banner of protection to American industries, whether victorious or defeated. A principle which cannot survive defeatin one or two'or a dozen campaigns and a party which wiil aban- don principle merely because of defeat, are both unworthy of the respect of all gooa oitizens. The Democratic party to-day It has made an alliance with the silver men of the West and South simply for the sake of getting into power, and has abandoned al! the old principles with which its silver-tongued colonels were wont to make the welkin ring. Such of the leaders as are here to-day make no denial of the fact that the battle will be made on the silver plank, and that the tariff proposition which so vitally af- | fects the welfare of the laboring men and women of this Nation must wait for an- other four years. You cannot geta Dem- | ocrat here to talk with you on the tariff. 1f you ask him for his opinion upon any | { political subject a stream of silver forth- with issues from his lips and will not be | dammed unless you spell it with an “n.” Senator Cockrell of Missouri, who is| one of the big guns of the convention here, | to-day gave me the keynote to the tune which the Democracy is going to sing in the fall. The Senstor is an elderly per- | sonage of large frame, with a massive | head, a benevolent, fatherly face, a gray chin whisker and a suit of sober black. He might be mistaken for a farmer who had waxed wealthy in the production of corn and potatoes, or he might pass for a coun- try. judge learned in the law. When I| asked him to-day for an interview he be- gan to squirm. He was awfully busy talk- | | !ing politics with Tom, Dick and Harry, | and bad on the day before talked a whole | river of silver into the ear of a reporter for one of the New York papers. A look of anguish passed over his features when Iinformed him that it was not my pur- pose to question him concerning his opin- | ions upon the silver issue, because that | matter and the complexion of the conven- tion with regard to it had been already exploited, and that there was no more of news to be had on that subject. Then I asked him whether the Democracy was to have a strong plank in the platform re- affirming the devotion of the party to the time-honored principle of a tariff for reve- nue only. The Senator answered as 1 had | expected he would. | *‘There is onl7 one issue before the peo- | Pple,” he said, “and that is the free coinage | of silver. The tariff question has been practically settled for the next four years.” e B He proceeded -to-say how the people of the last wese for silver and Low the gold- men of the East were quaking in their boots at the prospect of Democratic &uc- cess. So far as the chances of the candi- dates for the Presidency were concerned he was of the opinion that Mr. Bland was in the lead, but with a conservatism most remarkable in a Missouri Democrat he added that he could not be sure of that fact, because all the delegates had not yet arrived and had not been canvassed with reference to their preferences for the Presi- dency. With reference to the platform to be adopted by the convention the Senator gave his opinion unat it would be short and sweet. He did not think that there would be much in it concerning the issue of the tariff. He was rather of the opin- ion that what there would be of the plat- form would be streaked with silver and that almost every plank in the important manifesto wounld bear or carrom upon the free-coinage proposition. The Senator was more pleased when [ asked whether there would be a plank expressing sympa- thy for the Cuban revoluticnists, and he replied that, in his judgmert, the plat- form might have something in it about the Cuban and other things. ‘‘Bat,” he added, “it will all be directed toward the silver issue.” Hedid not know whether the tariff would be mentioned at all. That is all the Benator will say on the political situation, outside of silver. He | would talk all day and late into the next morning on that pleasant theme, which sounds so mellifiuously in Democratic ears just at this time; but on the matter which concerns the vital interestsof the DELEGATES~ LEF: CAKLAND FOR CHICAGO YEQTERDAY. NATIONA L= DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION THE NEW BOSS OF THE DEMOCRACY READY TO ROUND UP DELEGATES. 7wool, she wine and €, {nd-truit vyo- ducers of Califoruia snd (ther States, b was as dumb as a boiled oyster. That the case with all of them now—not the oysters, but the Democratic leaders here. They are like the policeman with the sil- ver dollar over his eye; they can't see any- thing else but the silver. I could not help thinking how very Democratic the Senator was when he ex- pressed his approval of a vlank sympa- thizing with the revolutionists in Cuba, while at the same time he hud not a tearto spare ora word of sympathy to bestow upon the starvins men, women and chil- jdren in the great cities of the United Statgg who are unabie to buy bread be- cause the Democratic system of tariff, as exempilfied in the Wilson bill, has pre- vented them from obteining employment for any wages at all; whereas, under the beneficent workings of the Republican sys- tem of protection, there would be plenty of work for them at fair wages. But a Democratic National Convention is not the place to speak of starving peo- ple. There is too much else that needs attention. There are candidates to be nominated; there are combinations to be made whereby the party may be enabled to take possession of the offices of the country, and with them to reward her faithful sons. How can we Democrats here pay any sttention to ruined wool and fruit raisers when we are going.to have here next Monday 5000 or 6000 uniformed Biand Leaguers, with a dozen or two brass bands playing *Dixie,” the ‘‘Star-span- gled Banner,” ““America’” and “McGinty"” ? How can we pay any attention to the barefooted and barelegged boys and girls and women in msny of our large cities, when on next Sunday between fifteen and twenty special trains filled with men wearing Bland’s uniform will leave Mis- souri, shouting, singing and cheering all the way to Chicago, to give us an object lesson on the fact that Bland and silver are the only issues worthy of considera- tion by the Democratic National Conven- tion? How can we find time to think about depression in business, of the falling off in the money received for exports, of the tens of thousands of men and women tramping the inhospitable sidewalks of the big cities or skulking slong the hedges on the county roads when the Flambeau Club from Topeka, Kans., armed with coal- oil torches, is coming here in three special trains to set the streets on fire for “'Silver Dicx’’? 0. W. Powers, a delegate from Utah, is another silver enthusiast. He told me to-day that Colonel Isaac Trumbo made a serious mistakz when he neglected the opportunity of walking out of the Repub- lican National Convention in St. Louis when Teller, Cannon and the rest bolted the Republican party. . “Ah!that was a serious mistake,” added Mr. Powers, very regretfully. “If he had done it his people would have stood by him to the last, but his action in remain- ing & member of the Republican party has cast distrust and suspicion upon his mo- tives. He is a splendid rustler and we had always thought him to be sincere in his work, but—'' and here Delegate Powers shook his head in a very melancholy manner. The first sign of animation in things political observable to-day was the still hunt from hotel to hotel and from room to room by Governor Altgeld of Illinois and Governor Stone of Missouri. - The second was a conference between two representa- tives of the two opposing factions, and the third was the formation of a crowd of men in the lobby of the Palmer House, listen- ing to a heated and unmannerly discussion on the subject of finance by two men, who appeared to know as much about the sub- ject as the little, pinch-faced, stunted 10- -year-ofd gitls who are wearing their lives away inf the big department stores of Chi- cago. “Suppose,” said one, “you had $2500 in the bank in gold ?” ““Well,” interrupted the other, with a gratified smile, ‘“‘we’ll suppose it. of course.” The crowd laughed derisively and the first speaker continued: ‘‘Suppose you went to draw that money out and sup- pose they wanted to pay you in sil—" “‘And the bank busted,”’ remarked the man who was supposed to have but $2500 in the bank. The crowd lavghed agan, while the first speaker, very angry and very much in earnest, resumed the suppo- sition and the crowd grew so big that the pale-faced, sweltering women passing by the hotel entrance, stopped to look in. They thoaght it was a murder. That was the last I heard of the discussion. JonN PAUL CoSGRAVE. EXIT THE GOLD MEN. Several Members of the Natlonal Committee Scheduled for a Knifing, CHICAGO, ILL., July 1L.—There was an attendance of thirty-five representative silver delegations at the adjourned meet- in, the Sherman House to-night of the National Bimetallic Committee. Senator Jones of Arkansas, on behalf of the com- mittee delegated to wait on the members of the, Nationa! Committee, reported the result of the conference. The Senator said they had been received courteously and had been informed that as the body they appeared before was only a part of the executive committee none of the questions presented as to temporary organization and contesting delegations could be passed on. The committee was requested to wait upon the full committee. After numerous speeches, moderate in tone but bristling with a quiet determina- tion to have their own way in spite of a National Committee of opposite monetary faith and purpose, the committee decided to continue the existence of the conference committee, with Senator Jones as chair- man. Beveral of the leaders spoke in favor of enlarging the scope and usefulness of the whole committee by making it a perma- nent convention organization, with the title of caucus, to which all silver dele- gates will be eligible to come. This propo- sition met with unanimous favor, and Senator Harris of Tennessee was chosen chairman of the committee. The meeting adjourned to Friday night or earlier at the call of the chairman. Among the newly arrived silver dele- gates who attended the meeting were ex- Senator Patrick Walsh of Augusta and Evan P. Howell of Atlanta, both of whom are delegates at large from their State. The Boies and Bland representatives from Iowa and Missouri, who are delegates, also attended. Governor Altgeld, who has been a tire- less and conspicuous worker in the silver cause since the delegates began to arrive, felt physically unequal to the task of keep- ing up the work, with next week’s pro- gramme in prospect, and left for his offi- cial home in Springfield to-night. He will return Sunday to renew the battle. Immediately after the meeting Senator Cockrell of Missouri was brought to his room and introduced by Senator Jones. The Governor appeared glad to meet the Missouri Senator and the three went into conference behind double-locked doors. The Bland campaign managers, who were waiting 1n the rotunda for somethingy talked as though it was a certainty that the forty-eight Illinois votes would be cast for Mr. Bland on the first lot. They accepted the conference with tor Cockrell as & favorable sign. There has been no sign of a Boies representa- tive being closeted with Governor Altgeld in his private room. Among the gold members of the Na- tional Committee who are being talged about in a way which indicates their re- tirement in favor of the ruling element are Messrs. Cable of Illinois, Sheerin of Indiana, Prather of Missouri and Richard- | son of Iowa. Senator Benjamin F. Tillman of South Carolina, who is a delegate at large, ar- | rived this evening with D. H. Tompkins of the same State and registered at the Sherman House. The fighting statesman announced his intention of entering into the thick of the fight to smother the gold men in the convention at every stage, but did not commit himself as to the candi- date of his choice. Boles Is Reticent. ‘WATERLOO, Iowa, July 1.—Governor Boies’ attention was called this evening to TELLER OR NO' FUSION, Populists Want None of Boies or Bland or Matthews. WOULD SEARE PARTY SPOILS. Taubeneck Says They’ll Meet Democrats Half Way, but no Farther. UTTERS A TIMELY WARNING TO DELEGATES. The Chicago Nominee Must Be a Man on Whom Silver Forces Can Unite. 8T. LOUIS, Mo., July L—Chairman Taubeneck of the People’s Party National Committee, when seen this morning re- garding a published statement that Mr. Bland would be acceptable to the Populists if the Democrats nominated him for Presi- dent at Chicago, said to a United Press representative: “I made no such statement, nor will the People’s party indorse Mr. Bland if he is nominated at the Chicago Convention. The People's party has more voters who will stand up and be counted for free silver than any other party in existence. The People’s party is the only party which has honestly contended for the remonetiz- ation of silver at 16 to 1, and it is the only party in existence whose members are united for this demand. The People's party, for the sake of a union of all the silver forces at the polls in the coming campaign, will meet other silver elements half way, but no farther will we surrender our organization or individuality. “If the Democrats cannot meet us half way on a man like Senator Teller, then that party is responsible for a division of the silver forces in the coming campaign.” i gy sun: TELLER AND NONE OTHER Dr. Taylor Declares That the Popu-‘ lists Will Not Indorse a Democrat. CHICAGO,IrL, July L—Dr. H. 8. Taylor, the Populist leader of Chicago and the Illinois National Committeeman, made the | declaration to-day that the National Con- vention of his party in St. Louis would under no consideration indorse Bland, Boies, or any.other Democrat for President. ‘“We will keep in the middle of the road | in naming our candidate,” he said. ‘“‘Any | man the Democrats may name, who has always belonged to that party, will not be supported by us. Teller is the only man we will indorse. In the Western States there is no Democratic party now.’” g Clough for Governor. ST. PAUL, Mixx., July 1.—The friends of David M. Clough had everything their own way in to-day’s Republican State Convention. The platform indorses that adopted at St. Louis, recognizes the rights of the laboring man, expresses itself in HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, AUTHOR OF “UNCLE TOM'S CABIN,” WHO DIED YESTERDAY. the report that Governor Altgeld and Gov- ernor Stone had been in consultation relative to casting the Illinois vote in the National Convention for Bland. He ex- pressed some surprise at the report, but said he knew nothing about it. It might be true, but he had received no informa- tion on the subject. He did not care to talk about the situation and did not say what, in his opinion, would be the effect of spch combination. Governor Boies says he is in receipt of letters from every State in the Union in- dorsing his position on the silver question. The letters from the Eastern States refer B;incip.ll to silver, while those from the uth and West neariy all contain refer- ence to his candidacy. | favor of good roads and favors the taxa« tion of unused railroad lands. David M. Clough was nominated for Governor; John L. Gibbs, Lieutenant- Governor, and Albert Berg, Secretary of State; Andrew T. Koerner, Treasurer, and Henry W. Chilas, the incumbent, for State’s Attorney. T. A. Bixby will re- main at the head of the State Central Committee. L et TG Senator Hill’s Movements. ALBANY, N. Y., July 1.—Senator David B. Hill, who heads the delegation from this State to the Democratic National Con~ vention, will leave here for Chicago to- morrow night via the New York Central | and Michigan Central roads.