UNITED STATES HISTORY 749 



The cleavage between the conservative and radical wings of the Democratic party 

 was clearly exposed when the national convention met at Baltimore on June 25. Al- 

 though a conservative, Alton Brooks Parker (b. 1852; chief justice of the 

 nominating New York court of appeals in 1898-1904; Democratic candidate for the 

 conventions presidency in 1904), was chosen temporary chairman over Mr. Bryan, the 

 Democratic. j atter s influence proved decisive in the choice of the permanent chairman 

 and in the passage of a resolution attacking members of the party connected with Wall 

 Street. Moreover the " unit rule," under which state delegations deliver a solid vote, 

 was modified so as not to apply to delegates elected by districts under state primary 

 laws. The permanent chairman was Ollie M. James of Kentucky (senator elect; rep- 

 resentative in Congress since 1903), who was a lieutenant of Mr. Bryan. It re- 

 quired forty-six ballots to select the presidential candidate. On the first, Clark 

 had 440^, Wilson 324, Harmon 148, Underwood 117^, Marshall 31, Bryan i. 

 When, on the tenth ballot, the Tammany-controlled New York delegation transferred 

 its ninety votes from Harmon to Clark, Bryan declared that, as long as that situation 

 lasted he would withhold his vote from Clark. That declaration had much to do with 

 the final success (on the 46th ballot) of Governor Woodrow Wilson. Governor Mar- 

 shall 1 of Indiana was nominated for the Vice-Presidency. Among the minor parties 

 neither the Independence League nor the Populists put a national ticket in the field 

 The Prohibition party nominated Eugene W. Chafin (b. 1852) of Arizona, its candidate 

 in 1908, and Aaron S. Watkins (b. 1863) of Ohio, candidate for governor in 1905 and 

 for vice-president in 1908; the Socialist Labor party, Arthur E. Reimer of Massachu- 

 setts and August Gilhaus of New York, the party's candidate for president in 1908; 

 the Socialist party, Eugene V. Debs (b. 1855) of Indiana, candidate of the Social 

 Democrats in 1900 and of the Socialists in 1904 and 1908, and Emil Seidel (b. 1864) 

 of Wisconsin, Socialist candidate for governor in 1902 and mayor of Milwaukee in 

 191012. 



The platforms of the three leading parties held similar views upon a number of 

 points, such as the reform of legal procedure, the establishment of a parcel post, and 

 the maintenance of an adequate navy. But they had, of course, distinctive 

 National ^ features. The Republican platform, both by what it ^ omitted and by 

 Republican, what it contained, exhibited a conservative spirit. Silent upon the subject 

 of social legislation and the methods of bringing government nearer to the 

 people, it laid emphasis upon the necessity of preserving the integrity and authority 

 of the courts as the protectors of individual and property rights. It reaffirmed belief 

 in a protective tariff high enough to furnish a revenue and give protection to American 

 industries, readjustments to be made in accordance with the findings of an expert com- 

 mission. With respect to the anti-trust law supplementary legislation should " define 

 as criminal offences those specific acts which uniformly mark attempts to monopolise 

 trade." In his speech of acceptance, President Taft made it appear that there were 

 two issues in the campaign: the preservation of representative government supported 

 by an independent judiciary, and the encouragement of business expansion through the 

 free use of capital. 



The Democrats and Progressives agreed on a number of points: the physical valua- 

 tion of railroads, a regular Territorial government for Alaska, trial by jury for indirect 



1 Thomas Riley Marshall was born at North Manchester, Indiana, on March 14, 1854; 

 a grandnephew of John Marshall, chief justice of the United States, and on his mother's 

 side a descendant of Charles Carroll of Maryland, signer of the Declaration of Independence. 

 He graduated at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, in 1873, was admitted to the bar in 1874, 

 was prominent in local politics but ran for office only once, in 1880, when he was defeated for 

 prosecuting attorney, before his nomination in 1908 for governor of Indiana. He was elected 

 by 14,800 plurality over James E. Watson, Republican. As governor his principal work was 

 the proposed state constitution which the Indiana supreme court decided could not be sub- 

 mitted to the voters of the state in 1912; see INDIANA. He enforced local laws against race- 

 track gambling. He favoured the direct election of U.S. Senators; and opposed ship sub- 

 sidies, protective tariff and a Federal inheritance tax. For his views of reform by legislation 

 and of the curse of over legislation see his "Automatic Citizen, " Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 1912. 



