NEBRASKA. 



505 



and the question at issue should lie wholly between 

 the Government and the company. 



Political. The municipal elections took place 

 April 7. Tin- main is>ue was the liquor question, 

 and in a majority of cases high licen.-e was carried. 



The first Republican State Convention of the 

 year met at Omaha. April 15. with 1.05? delegates 

 It had been arranged that delegates to the national 

 convention should vote for (iov. .McKinley so long 

 as his name should be before the convention, but 

 in case it were withdrawn their support should go 

 to Mr. Manderson : but a resolution to that effect 

 was rejected, and a substitute simply declaring for 

 McKinley wa> adopted by a vote of 488 to 410. 

 On the currency the platform declared : 



"We pledge ourselves in advance to the platform 

 of the forthcoming Republican National Conven- 

 tion, believing that it will declare against the free 

 and unlimited coinage of silver and for a currency 

 of gold, silver, and paper, 'as sound as the Govern- 

 ment, and as untarnished as its honor.' and for that 

 American system of protection of which McKinley 

 is the best living exponent, and under which our 

 people attained the greatest national and indi- 

 vidual prosperity." 



Other resolutions expressed sympathy for the 

 Cubans ; called for the enforcement of the Monroe 

 doctrine ; " for governmental supervision and control 

 of transportation lines and rates; the protection of 

 the people from all unlawful combinations and un- 

 just exaction of aggregated capital and corporate 

 power; a pension policy just and generous to out- 

 living heroes and the widows and orphans of their 

 dead comrades : coast defense against foreign na- 

 vies, pauper immigration, and the products of 

 cheap foreign labor ; and a rigid observation of 

 our naturalization laws." 



Declarations on State issues were left for the 

 later convention, which met at Lincoln. July 1, 

 with 1,05? delegates. On State matters the resolu- 

 tions said: The Republicans of Nebraska "favor 

 State legislation with proper restrictions for the 

 safety and protection of the people, under which 

 mutual insurance companies may be organized. 

 The valued-policy act should not be repealed or 

 modified in any way that will destroy the equity of 

 its provisions." 



Among the nominations were included two for 

 judges of the Supreme Court in case the constitu- 

 tional amendment increasing the number on the 

 bench should be carried. Robert Ryan was nomi- 

 nated for the long term of four years, and M. P. 

 Kinkaid for the two years' term. The other nomi- 

 nations were: For Governor. J. H. Maccoll: Lieu- 

 tenant Governor. Orlando Tefft : Secretary of State, 

 J. A. Piper : Auditor. P. 0. Hedlund ; Treasurer, 

 C. K. Casey: Attorney-General, A. S. Churchill: 

 Commissioner of Public Lands. H. C. Russell : Su- 

 perintendent of Public Instruction. H. R. Corbett ; 

 Regent of the University. W. G. Whitmore. 



The Free-silver Republicans called a mass con- 

 vention, to meet at Omaha. Oct. 6. The Gold- 

 standard Republicans "captured " the convention, 

 and ratified the regular nominations of the party. 

 The silver men then held a smaller convention, and 

 made nominations as follow: For Governor, Robert 

 Armstrong: Lieutenant Governor, C. A. Peters: 

 Secretary 3. T. Percy : Auditor, J. R. Har- 



ris : Treasurer. S. A. Bryant; Attorney-General, 

 T. M. Lead: Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

 J. L. McNinn; Commissioner of Public Lands and 

 Buildings. James D. Pattison. The former con- 

 vention filed its certificate with the Secretary of 

 State. The Silver Republicans afterward applied, 

 but were unable to get their ticket filed. 



Separate conventions were held in April by the 

 Democrats favoring free coinage and those in favor 



of the gold standard and the national administra- 

 tion. In those localities where the Silver !> 

 crats controlled the regular county organizations 

 the sound-money men elected deleft,- by mav- 

 conventions. The >ann- methods obtained "' 

 the Silver Democrats in selecting delegates when 

 the situation was reversed. The free-silver con- 

 vention met at Lincoln, April 22. and rh> 

 gat ion to the Chicago convention. The resolutions 

 declared for "the free and unlimited coinage of 

 gold and silver at the present legal ratio of llj to 1, 

 It coinage existed prior to 18?3. without wait- 

 ing for the aid or consent of any other nation, such 

 gold and silver to be a full legal tender for all 

 debts, public and private"; opposed the retire- 

 ment of the greenbacks; and favored such con- 

 gressional legislation as will, without interfering 

 with valid contracts already in existence, prohibit 

 for the future the making of agreements for the 

 payment of any specific kind of legal-tender money. 

 The resolutions also declared for tariff for revenue 

 only, an income tax, election of United States Sena- 

 tors by direct vote, and in opposition to the Ameri- 

 can Protective Association. 



A resolution instructing the delegates to support 

 William J. Bryan for presidential candidate was 

 offered, but was withdrawn at his request, as he 

 was one of the delegates. 



The "Sound-money " Democrats, to the number 

 of about 600, met in convention at Lincoln. April 

 29. elected delegates to the Chicago convention, 

 and declared against free coinage. Of the Silver 

 Democrats, the resolutions said: -We deny the 

 claims of a small faction who recently assumed to 

 hold a convention in the name of the Democracy of 

 this State and pretended to select delegates to the 

 Democratic National Convention, because they have 

 for years repudiated the national Democratic party 

 and its platform : they have insisted on the with- 

 drawal of Democratic tickets in the interests of the 

 Populist party : they have refused to join in the 

 nomination of Democrats for office, but instead 

 have indorsed and supported Populist candidates, 

 who accept none of the teachings of Democracy : 

 they have sought and held office by appointment 

 from a Populist Governor as a reward for treachery 

 to the Democratic party; they have been repudiated 

 by a two-thirds vote of the D'emoerats of the State ; 

 they have, by public utterance in their recent con- 

 vention, declared that if the National Democratic 

 Convention refuses to adopt their peculiar Populistic 

 notions they will not abide by its judgment, and 

 sought to pave the way for their entrance to the 

 Populist National Convention at St. Louis by the 

 adoption of the most extreme of the many hare- 

 brained theories of that party : " and further said : 

 " We deprecate and denounce the inflammatory 

 language used by a certain class of politicians and 

 public speakers in recent days in their efforts to 

 stir up strife and array one se.tion of the country 

 against another and one class of our people against 

 the other." 



The People's party in the State was in favor, 

 early in the year, of 'making Senator William V. 

 Allen the candidate for the presidency: but at the 

 convention held at Grand Island. July 15, the dele- 

 gates declared for Bryan by a vote of 690 to 24 on a 

 resolution to that effect presented by Senator Allen. 

 The resolutions declared free coinage of silver to be 

 the paramount issue. 



The State nominating convention was held Aug. 

 5 at Hastings. The " Middle-of-the-road " portion 

 of the party was not strong enough to have candi- 

 dates for electors chosen pledged to the support 

 of Bryan and Watson, and the matter of electors 

 was disposed of by the adoption of the following 

 resolution : 



