764 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



of its success at the polls, we submit the foregoing decla- 

 rations of principles and purposes to the considerate judg- 

 ment of the American people. We invite the support ot 

 all citizens who approve them and who desire to have 

 them made effective through legislation for the relief of 

 the people and the restoration of the country's prosperity. 



Following the reading of the platform, speeches 

 were made by Senators Tillman, of North Carolina, 

 Hill, of New York, and Vilas, of Wisconsin, also 

 ex-Gov. Russell, of Massachusetts, and W. J. Bryan, 

 of Nebraska. The peroration of the last-named 

 speaker's address contained this sentence: "We 

 shall answer their demand for the gold standard by 

 saying to them, ' You shall not press down upon 

 the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall 

 not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.' '' The 

 silver delegates expressed their entire approbation 

 of the sentiments therein expressed. 



The importance of the issues involved, and also 

 the bearing of the report on the subsequent pro- 

 ceedings of the convention, render it necessary to 

 publish the minority report in full : 



To the Democratic National Convention. Sixteen 

 delegates, constituting the minority of the Committee on 

 Kesolutions, find many declarations in the report of the 

 majority to which they can not give their assent. Some 

 of these are wholly unnecessary : some are ill-considered 

 and ambiguously phrased; while others arc extreme, and 

 revolutionary of the well-recognized principles of the 

 party. The minority content themselves with this gen- 

 eral expression of their dissent, without going into a spe- 

 cific statement of these objectionable features of the re- 

 port of the majority. 



But upon the financial question, which engages at this 

 time the chief share of public attention, the views of the 

 majority ditf'er so fundamentally from what the minority 

 regard as vital Democratic doctrine as to demand a dis- 

 tinct statement of what they hold to as the only just and 

 true expression of Democratic faith upon this important 

 issue, as follows, which is offered as a substitute for the 

 financial report of the majority : 



" We declare our belief that the experiment on the part 

 of the United States alone of free-silver coinage and a 

 change in the existing standard of value independently 

 of the action of other great nations would not only im- 

 peril our finances, but would retard or entirely prevent 

 the establishment of international bimetallism, to which 

 the efforts of the Government should be steadily directed. 

 It would place this country at once upon a silver basis, 

 impair contracts, disturb business, diminish the purchas- 

 ing power of the wages ot labor, and inflict irreparable 

 evils upon our nation's commerce and industry. 



' Until international co-operation among leading nations 

 for the coinage of silver can be secured, we favor the 

 rigid maintenance of the existing gold standard as essen- 

 tial to the preservation of our national credit, the redemp- 

 tion of our public pledges, and the keeping inviolate of 

 our country's honor. We insist that all our paper cur- 

 rency shall be kept at a parity with gold. The Demo 

 cratic party is the party of nard money, and is opposed to 

 legal-tender paper money as a part of our permanent 

 financial system, and we therefore favor the gradual re- 

 tirement and cancellation of all United States notes and 

 Treasury notes, under such legislative provisions as will 

 prevent undue contraction. We demand that the national 

 credit shall be resolutely maintained at all times and 

 under all circumstances." 



The minority also feel that the report of the majority 

 is defective in failing to make any recognition of the 

 honesty, economy, courage, and fidelity of the present 

 Democratic Administration, and they therefore otter the 

 following declaration as an amendment to the majority 

 report : 



"We commend the. honesty, economy, courage, and 

 fidelity of the present Democratic National Administra- 

 tion." 



The signers were : David B. Hill, New York ; 

 William F. Vilas, Wisconsin; George Gray, Dela- 

 ware; J. P. Poe, Maryland; I. W. Drew, New 

 Hampshire; P. J. Farrell, Vermont ; Lynde Har- 

 rison, Connecticut ; D. S. Baker, Rhode Island ; 

 C. O. Holrnan, Maine ; T. A. C. Weadock, Michi- 

 gan ; J. E. O'Brien, Minnesota ; J. E. Russell, Massa- 



chusetts ; R. E. Wright, Pennsylvania; W. R. Steele, 

 South Dakota : A. L. McDermott, New Jersey ; and 

 C. D. Rogers, Alaska. 



The question of accepting the minority report 

 was put to the vote, with this result : Yeas, 301 ; nays, 

 628. The statement, as below, shows the vote in 

 support of the majority or " Free-Silver " platform : 



Absent, 1. 



On the minority resolution indorsing the Admin- 

 istration, the vote demanded by Senator Hill was: 

 Yeas, 357 ; nays, 564 : not voting, 9. 



On the evening of July 10 the roll of States was 

 called for nomination of presidential and vice- 

 presidential candidates. Senator Vest, of Missouri, 

 named Richard P. Bland, of Arkansas. H. T. Lew- 

 is, of Georgia, named William Jennings Bryan, of 

 Nebraska. This was seconded by George Fred. 

 Williams, of Massachusetts. Senator Turpie, of In- 

 diana, presented the name of Gov. Claude Williams 

 of that State. Mr. Fred. White, of Iowa, urged 

 the nomination of ex-Gov. Horace Boies. J. S. 

 Rhea, of Kentucky, named Senator J. C. S. Black- 

 burn. Mr. A. W. Patrick, of Ohio, spoke in behalf 

 of John R. McLean, of Cincinnati. 



When voting for the candidates was in progress 

 on the first ballot, ten Michigan delegates refused 

 to vote. New Jersey declined to take any further 

 part in the proceedings. For New York, ex-Gov. 

 Flower said : " In view of the platform adopted by 

 this convention, I am instructed, as a delegate from 

 the State of New York, to say that the delegates 

 have agreed not to participate in the selection of 

 candidates for President and Vice-President, and 

 therefore they decline to vote." Gen. Bragg an- 

 nounced that Wisconsin declined to vote. His as- 

 sertion caused a dispute in the delegation, ending 

 in 4 out of 24 voting. 



The first ballot showed the following result : 

 Bland, 235 ; Bryan, 119 ; Boies, 85 ; Blackburn, 83 ; 

 McLean, 54 ; Matthews, 37 : Campbell, 1 ; Pattison, 

 95 ; Pennoyer, 8 ; Russell, 2 ; Stevenson, 2 ; Tillman, 

 17; Teller, 8; Hill, 1; absent and not voting, 178. 

 On the second ballot, Bland stood 283 ; Boies, 41 ; 

 Matthews, 33 ; McLean, 53 ; Blackburn, 41 ; Patti- 

 son, 100; Bryan, 190; Pennoyer, 8; Stevenson. 10; 

 Hill, 1 ; Teller, 8 ; not voting, 162. On the third 

 ballot Bland had 291 and Bryan 219. The num- 

 ber not voting was still 162. The fourth ballot 

 found Bryan with 280 and -Bland with 241, 162 

 delegates not voting. The total number of votes 

 cast on the fourth ballot, 768; necessary to a 

 choice, 512. The chairman then declared the two- 



