CHAPTER XIX. The Republican Party Convention Held at Philadelphia, June 19, 1900 A Representative Ratification Meeting-Men of Thought and OR the third time in its history the National Republican Con- F° sors, it became an historic event of unusual importance. Philadelphia, the convention city for the Republican party responded to the enthusiasm of the hour, bedecked herself with bunting and national emblems, opened her doors in generous hospitality to the thousands who poured in from every state and territory in the Union. Long before the Convention met, it was evident that President McKinley would receive an unanimous re-nomination for the first place, and that the policy of his administration would be heartily endorsed, His portrait and name headed every combination for the Republican ticket. But who would get the nomination for the second place was the question of keen interest to politicians and friends of rival candidates. Among the illustrious names mentioned, Governor Roosevelt, of New York State, headed the list, closely followed by Secretary John D. Long of Massachusetts, William B. Allison and William Dolliver, favorite sons of Iowa; Timothy L. Woodruff, New York's Lieutenant-Governor, and Cornelius N. Bliss. The President and the leaders of the party discreetly kept their own counsels, which allowed the rival candidates and their friends to push their own interests. It was June 17, 1856, forty-four years ago, that the Republican National Convention met in Philadelphia, and nominated John C. Fremont, of California, for President, little known in politics, but who had achieved popularity for his exploits and adventures in the West. Republican National assemblies have always boasted a distinguished membership. But in this respect the roll of the convention which met in Philadelphia in 1900, probably surpassed any of its eleven predecessors. The roll of the convention which assembled forty-four years ago, contained the names of men which have since passed into history. But most of them were almost unknown in 1856. It will probably be so with the membership of the Republican National Convention of 1900. When the history of the next forty-four years will have been written, many of its prominent actors will doubtless be found to have sat in this convention which re-nominated William McKinley. THE PARTY HARMONIOUS It met without contest or difference, collision or controversy over the platform, and the leaders claimed that it had done its work, accomplished its declared purpose and presented a completed stewardship to the voters of the country when it outlined its past achievements and proposed its future policy. When it met four years ago in St. Louis the gold standard needed to be asserted, and was disputed even within the party, the national credit was lower than for twenty years before, the tariff demanded revision to save the industries of the country, its foreign trade had sunk and its protests against misgovernment in Cuba had been contemned by Spain. The party at the Convention of 1900 claimed that these issues had all been met; that they had all been solved; that the arduous labor they demanded had been done. No differences were left in the party, and the country stood ready to approve the success of the past by giving the party another term of office. Since that first Republican Convention many and important have been the achievements of the Republican party, and many It goes have been the important problems given it for solution. before the country with other problems to meet, caused by the expansion of our boundaries and growth in the trade of the country. This, the twelfth convention, showed no less enthusiasm and buoyant party spirit than was shown at the meeting of previous conventions. There were in attendance the distinguished leaders of the party, and men of thought and action in state and national Councils. The speeches delivered reached the "highwater mark" of eloquence and earnestness, all of which presaged one of the most important and interesting campaigns in the nation's history. The hall selected for the meeting of the convention, probably the largest and finest in the United States for this purpose, seated fully 25,000 people, and was arranged with all the conveniences and equipments for handling and moving large assemblies. FIRST DAY OF THE CONVENTION. Men who have attended previous conventions, recall that Harrison was nominated in the Minneapolis Exposition building, which defied all the forensic forces of the speakers, and McKinley was nominated at St. Louis in a wigwam which was a terror to every man who tried to impress his colleagues with his eloquence. All these convention halls fail immeasurably in comparison with the splendid auditorium in which the twelfth convention of the Republican party was assembled. The expressions of delight at its majestic proportions were followed by one of surprise and profound satisfaction that the voice from the platform carried to the remotest door and brought the personality, the logic, and the oratory to every one of the thousands of eager listeners who filled the structure. It was a testimony, moreover, of the metropolitan way in which Philadelphia does things, and the word was certain to be carried to the remotest corners of the land, that no quadrennial assemblage of either of the great parties has been so comfortably and delightfully lodged as this one. Chairman Hanna called the convention to order at 12.35 P. M., and introduced the Rev. Gray J. Bolton, who delivered the invocation. Senator Dick, of the National Committee, read the call for the convention, and the entire audience rose to its feet, when the band began to play "The Star Spangled Banner." Senator Hanna, in his opening, eulogized Philadelphia as the "Cradle of Liberty," and said that this "beehive of industry" is all the evidence necessary to demonstrate the great principles of the Republican party. He thanked the people of Philadelphia for their hospitality. When he referred to President McKinley the convention went into an uproar. SENATOR WOLCOTT THE TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN He closed by introducing Senator E. O. Wolcott, of Colorado, as temporary chairman of the convention. Senator Wolcott, in a few graceful words accepted the appointment, and spoke in a most eloquent manner, in which he eulogized President McKinley, as a patriotic, wise and courageous leader, and an example of the highest type of American manhood. After eulogizing the President as one of the greatest leaders the party has ever had, he paid a glowing tribute to the memory of the late Vice-President Hobart, and spoke of him as always a trusted friend and adviser of the President, "Sage in counsel, and wise in judgment.” He began by saying: Since the first party convention in these United States, there was never one gathered together under such hopeful and auspicious circumstances as those which surround us to-day. United, proud of the achievements of the past four years, our country prosperous and happy, with nothing to regret and naught to make us ashamed, with a record spotless and clean, the Republican Party stands facing the dawn, confident that the ticket it shall present will command public approval, and that in the declaration of its principles and its purposes, it will voice the aspirations and hopes of the vast majority of American freemen. We need " no omen but our country's cause;" yet there is significance in the fact that the convention is assembled in this historic and beautiful city, where we first assumed territorial responsibilities, when our fathers, a century and a quarter ago, promulgated the immortal Declaration of Independence. The spirit of justice and liberty that animated them found voice threequarters of a century later in this same City of Brotherly Love, when Fremont led the forlorn hope of united patriots who laid here the foundations of our party and put human freedom as its corner-stone. It compelled our ears to listen to the cry of suffering across the shallow waters of the Gulf two years ago. SYMPATHY FOR THE BOERS While we observe the law of nations and maintain that neutrality which we owe to a great and friendly government, the same spirit lives to-day in the genuine feeling of sympathy we cherish for the brave men now fighting for their homes in the veldts of South Africa. It prompts us in our determination to give to the dusky races of the Philippines the blessings of good government and Republican institutions, and finds voice in our indignant protest against the violent suppsession of the rights of the colored man in the South. That spirit will survive in the breasts of patriotic men as long as the nation endures; and the events of the past have taught us that it can find its fair and free and full expression only in the principles and policy of the Republican Party. When Mr. McKinley became President he took the reins of government after four years of Democratic administration. For the first time in more than a generation Democracy had full sway, with both Houses of Congress in party accord with the Executive, No summary of the unmerciful disasters of those four years can convey an idea of a tithe of the ruin they wrought. RESULT OF DEMOCRATIC POLICY In the four years preceding Mr. Cleveland's Administration we had paid $260,000,000 of the national debt; he added $230,000,000 to its burdens. He found a tariff act, bearing the name of his successor and our President, fitted to meet the requirements of our necessary expenditures, to furnish the needed protection to our farmers and manufacturers, and to insure the steady and remunerative employment of those who labor. Instead of permitting manufacture and commerce that repose and stability of law which are essential for working out economic conditions, he at once recommended violent and radical changes in revenue and tariff provisions, recommendations which his party in Congress proceeded partially and disastrously to execute. The appalling result of his policy is still fresh in the memory of millions who suffered from it. Four years of commercial misfortune enabled our industries to meet, in a measure, these changed and depressed conditions, but when President McKinley was inaugurated the country was in a state more deplorable than had existed for a generation. |