PENNSYLVANIA. 



631 



in State and municipal government, and to the 

 purification of elections and the exerci.se of the 

 elective franchi-e. UV , arne>tly reconnnend to the 

 consideration of the next Legislature the several 

 reform bills promulgated by the Republican State 

 Committee." 



An amendment instructing the delegates to sup- 

 port McKinley " in the event of the retirement of 

 the Pennsylvania candidate for President indorsed 

 this day. 'lion. Matthew Stanley Quay, after all 

 honorable means have been exhausted to promote 

 his nomination," was defeated by a vote of 178 to 

 65. 



Senator Quay was re-elected State chairman. 



The candidates chosen for Congressmen at Large 

 were Galusha A. Grow and Samuel A. Davenport. 



The State Democratic Convention was held at 

 Allentown, April 29. A large proportion of the 

 county conventions had declared against the unit 

 rule, but it was put into the platform and retained 

 against considerable opposition. The platform 

 says : 



We call the attention of the country to the fact 

 that the present Congress, with its Republican ma- 

 jority of more than two thirds in the House of 

 Representatives and its control of the organization 

 of the Senate, has utterly failed to legislate for re- 

 lieving the people from the distressing effects of the 

 money panic brought on chiefly by the loss of con- 

 fidence in the ability of the Government to main- 

 tain its credit under the terrible financial burdens 

 imposed by vicious Republican laws, and has de- 

 signedly neglected to fulfill its pledges to the peo- 

 ple. We demand a repeal of all laws allowing the 

 issue or reissue of greenbacks and Treasury notes of 

 doubtful constitutionality, originally issued under 

 the plea of military necessity and under a pledge of 

 early withdrawal. We believe that the Federal 

 Government should be entirely divorced from the 

 business of banking, and that Congress should en- 

 act such legislation as will give to the country a 

 banking currency ample in volume for the needs of 

 business, absolutely secure under every contin- 

 gency, and at all times redeemable in gold. We 

 are in favor of a firm, unvarying maintenance of 

 the gold standard. We are absolutely opposed to 

 the free coinage of silver. 



" We heartily indorse the administration of Presi- 

 dent Cleveland, and congratulate the country upon 

 the firmness, wisdom, and ability shown by him in 

 all matters affecting the interests of the country. 



" The Democracy of Pennsylvania presents to the 

 national convention, as its unanimous choice for 

 the presidency, the name of Robert E. Pattison. 

 Knowing him to be honest, able, unassuming, fear- 

 less, a consistent Democrat, and in harmony with 

 the highest purposes of his party, we present him 

 1'or this nomination to the Democracy of the na- 

 tion." 



Robert E. Wright succeeded himself as chairman 

 of the State committee. 



The nominees for Congressmen at Large were 

 John M. Braden and Benjamin C. Potts. 



After the Chicago convention, the party in the 

 State was divided on the subject of abiding by the 

 platform and the candidates. There was a demand 

 for the reassembling of the State convention, in 

 order that an electoral ticket in harmony with the 

 action of the national convention might be chosen. 

 The candidates for Congressmen at Large resigned, as 

 did also a number of the electors and the chairman 

 of the State committee. John M. Garman was 

 chosen chairman by the State committee. Aug. 13. 

 and it was agreed that the State convention held at 

 Allentown should be reconvened in Harrisburg, 

 Sept. 10. At that convention the Chicago platform 

 and ticket were approved, and a combination was 



made with the People's party, giving them four 

 places on the electoral ticket and one candidate for 

 Congressman at Largi Jerome T. Ailman already 



n by the People's party. D. C. DeWit; 

 the other candidate. 



Before the vote was taken on the adoption of th>- 

 platform. Delegate James pre>ented a pro' 

 by a committee of the Gold Democrats, headed by 

 State Chairman Wright. He was not allowed to 

 read the protest, but he filed it with the secretary. 

 It said, in part : 



" We speak for those members of the Allentown 

 convention, constituting a large proportion of that 

 body, who refuse to surrender Democratic princi- 

 ples or to accept the substituted heresies of Popu- 

 lism. We deny the right of this convention to 

 change a line of the body of the Democratic doc- 

 trine unanimously proclaimed at Allentown by the 

 authorized convention of our party. We conceive 

 the declarations of the Chicago convention to be 

 unpatriotic, vicious, and undemocratic. On all the 

 pressing questions of the hour they violate Demo- 

 cratic doctrine, falsify Democratic history, and 

 trample on Democratic purposes and aims. If, dis- 

 regarding our protests and the rights of the Democ- 

 racy of Pennsylvania, this convention insists upon 

 engrafting these undemocratic doctrines in your 

 platform, we reluctantly, but unalterably, declare 

 that we can not follow "it in this dishonorable and 

 disastrous venture." 



The Gold-standard Democrats held a conference 

 at Philadelphia. July 17. and appointed a commit- 

 tee to prepare an address to the Democrats of the 

 State. The address said, in part : 



" The Chicago convention having thus departed 

 from the Democratic faith and promulgated new 

 and strange doctrines, and having erected within 

 the temple of Democracy a shrine for the worship 

 of false gods, all Democrats are absolved from every 

 obligation to respect or support its revolutionary 

 methods : and as the doctrines announced are dis"- 

 honest, destructive of national honor and private 

 obligation, and tend to create sectional and class 

 distinction, and engender divisions and hatred and 

 strife among the people, we are bound as true citi- 

 zens of the republic to repudiate it, and exert every 

 lawful means to insure the defeat of Bryan and 

 11. who have both given their adhesion to its 

 false doctrines." 



A State convention was recommended, and one 

 was afterward called and met at Philadelphia. Aug. 

 2o. when delegates to the Indianapolis convention 

 and presidential electors were chosen. After con- 

 demning the action of the Chicago convention and 

 declaring allegiance to the Allentown platform, the 

 resolutions said : 



" When we observe that this betrayal of the 

 Democratic party has been supplemented by an 

 alliance largely brought about by the solicitation 

 of the Chicago nominee for President and the party 

 organization created by the convention with organi- 

 zations openly avowing the purpose to destroy the 

 Democratic party, to revolutionize the Government, 

 to confiscate the property of its citizens and to 

 arbitrarily divide it among the thrifty and un- 

 thrifty, and when we find a majority of our consti- 

 tuted State organizations deserting Democratic 

 principles for the selfish purposes of success, we de- 

 clare there is no alternative for the preservation 

 of Democracy other than the nomination by the 

 national Democratic party in convention assembled 

 in Indianapolis of Democratic statesmen for Presi- 

 dent and Vice-President on a sound-money Demo- 

 cratic platform." 



The candidates for Congressmen at Large were B. C. 

 Potts and II. Walker, Jr. 



At the convention of the People's party, held at 



