Show The Proceeding PEORIA Ills June 23The Illinois Democratic convention assembled this afternoon for what promises to be 3 noteworthy session Temporary Chairman A M Bell made a speech counselling prudence without fear and declared against astraddle a-straddle on the money question For over an hour before the Democratic Demo-cratic state convention was t convene j J con-vene thousands of people from all over 1 the state began to besiege the hall It 3 filled up and crowds were seeking admission 1 ad-mission in vain There was no excitement excite-ment no playing of bands At 1230 W H Heinrichsen chair clr man of the state central committee j called the house t order Rev Mr McVety prayed that the Almighty I Al-mighty would restore the country to t prosperity and the masses of the pee j pie be relieved from oppression pa I wrong I The chairman announced A H Bell for temP a chairman I there ever was a time in the history I his-tory of any political party when every step should be taken with prudence J but without fear and when wise councils I coun-cils should prevail that time is now at hand for the Democratic party Democrate pary f Great issues are before the people Momentous interests are at stake This year will become famous in the calendar calen-dar darFour years ago we nominated a man 1 I for the presidency from the state of New York in spite of the protests of the delegation from that state j I MAY GOD FORGIVE US FOR IT There must be a limit even to divine di-vine wrath for we have since been beaten as with a scourge of scorpions i At that election we carried almost every state and achieved the most complete victory at the polls in the history of this land Our hopes were f then bright We felt that our party J had come into power to stay But alas our president forgetting the tariff tar-iff issue on which we had sO grandly won brought confusion into his party by striking down with traitorous hands the only apology that still remained for the coinage of the peoples silver As a result two years ag we were a routed at every point and today the Democratic hosts o Illinois whom you represent have not a representative in Congress A proclamation went out to our people peo-ple that the Democracy of this state should assemble in convention and define the position of the party on the I money question The RANK AND FILE of the Democratic party has always been for the free coinage of goldand t silver at the old ratio and a majority of our representatives in Congress had always been in favor of It But the declarations of the party had heretofore hereto-fore been couched in equivocal terms The time had when come when equivocation was to be superceded by unequivocal vigorous statements The people discussed dis-cussed the question and it became manifest that a great majority of the people were in favor of the peoples money and more of i t The advocates of the single gold standard said at first that the party would not declare for free silver then finding themselves beaten at every point they sought to belittle this great gathering of the people and said thsriJ it was not a Democratic convention P but A CONVENTION OF SILVER CRANKS i The great convention assembled I declared to the world that the D n y I inocracyof Illinoiswas unequivocally i in favor of the free and unlimited I and silver at the ratio coinage of gold siver rato I the consent or cooperation i of 16 tol without c I operation of any nation O the face of I I the earth Our iellow citizens of other I I I I states read out platform caught up i the inspiration and the movement sped j I Inspirton a State after state in this great Missis i Stte afe i sippi valley and in the west and south I f have joined in the ret movement of i I i the people I The Republican national convention las week dominated by the north I eaten section of the Union declared for a single gold standard In my I t minds eye I can se the conspirators I II r at their work There are Plat and Quay Depew and Hobart and Lodge and Hanna and a lot of ignorant negroes j I ne-groes who for ready cash would sell themselves and their posterity I INTO A WORSE SLAVERY than their race ever knew The great II I i states of the west under the leadership leader-ship of Senator Henry M Teller of Colorado withdrew from the convention j conven-tion What will our national convention conven-tion do Will the east control its action ac-tion and write its platform Rest assured as-sured that it will exhaust every effort to do so I would have our national convention declare its purpose fairly and explicitly and let those bolt who will I am tired of following New England Eng-land or New York Let imperial Illinois Illi-nois lead the way Let Illinois be henceforth the state I hEnceforlh te Empire see se-e are toid by some of our friends I that we must have harmony in our party and that for harmonys sake I we must compromise we must conciliate con-ciliate we must straddle There will be no straddle in this campaign The line will be sharply drawn We must be 16 to 1 men 1 gold men When our national convention declares de-clares for 16 to 1 bimetallism what will be the result GOD ONLY KNOWS But this great question must be I settled and se ted right I may not I be settled this year but it will be settled i set-tled The duty to act fearlessly is I upon u the result is with the great God of nations who doeth all things I welL The great agricultural states of the gea west and south are to be rrayed against the bondholding manufacturing manufactur-ing east I is the people against the t plutocrat I have confidence to believe that the i i cause of the people will triumph I we fail now let us register a vow in i heaven not to cease our efforts until r the wrongs of the people are redressed Either we will win In the end or a moneyed aristocracy will be recognized by law Though seeming difficulties may confront us though trooping hardships I hard-ships may oppress let us fight them down with a dogged determination that ha no compromise to offer and when at last success shall crown our efforts the victory will be the more complete the crown brighter the rest sweeter 1 and though the seeds were sown in tough sees f c tears the harvest shall be gathered in 3ov r The roll by congressional districts was called for the announcement of committees Judge McConnell was t commitees Judge lcConnel wa chosen unanimously to act with the I committee on resolutions During the callling of the roll Harry Donovan of Chicago complained that there was so many people in the aisles that the delegates could not hear The S ffergeantatarms was directed t clear i the aisles He failed to do sot so-t A S Trude of Chicago declared that t many Cook county delegates had been crowded out of their seats and demanded de-manded the sergeantatarms to do his duty An uproar followed for several minutes in which much abusive la I cuage was used but no violence occurred occur-red though it was threatened I was given out by one of the free she leaders shortly before the con vention was called to order that the platform would declare for free and unlimited coinage of silver at 16 to 1 and that the present tariff laws would n tt be disturbed ONE CONTEST There was but one contest that from tile Eleventh congressional district I was voted that all delegates be seated vote al delegtes t5ive those from this district The convention con-vention took a recess till 3 oclock so the committees might prepare their r i rs It was 330 before the temporary ciairman called the convention to order or-der this afternoon The committee dEl ateron comm te on platform was still in session The committee on credentials reported I seating all the delegates in the Eleventh Elev-enth district the contest having been settled Hn The cmmite on permanent 1 1 baua vu e Leu LUa U co L v Ladd of Henry couny had been chosen cho-sen permanent chairman R 1 Hunt I of Macoupm secretary Ladd was received re-ceived with cheers Permanent Chairman Ladd said An hour ago I had no more idea of being chairman of this convention than that Patrick Henry would be elected President of the United States Wear We-ar J here today to act not for the Dem ocracv c the state c Illinois alone but for the Democracy of the whole civilized world Applause The pe ple or this country have been the burdens bur-dens of capital of greed of avarice avace until FORBEARANCE CEASES TO BE A VIRTUE and they now swear that it shall be no longer Great applause a The Republicans have lately met and adopted a platform in whlcih platorm whiC they rfr their tyranny and their devotion devo-tion to mononoly and the ad money lender len-der and it is time that the people should awake Continuing he spoke of the issuing of bonds in times of peace a being a robbery of the working men of the country This country was the richest on the face of the earth Yet the Jews of Eurcipe sapped 1 took the hard red money of the American laborers labor-ers I was the duty of the Democrat ic party to stop this it must go back I to the sentiment expressed at the meeting p meet-ing where the declaration of independence indepen-dence was formulated It would i r wa I require re-quire such sentiment to release the oppression op-pression and wrong that was being I practiced The eastern states owing to I the present condition of affairs were 1 SUCKING TH LIFE BLOOD from the west Trusts and protective tariff were to blame for this When the applause had ceased Mr Ladd called fO the reports of the committees The committee reported the following delegates at large to the convention at Chicago John P Altgeld and Samuel P McConnell Mc-Connell Chicago W H Heinrichsen Jacksonville and George W Fithian of Jasper county When the call for the report of the committee on platform and resolutions was reached it was announced that i was no ready To fill in the time Judge Nicholas Worthington of Peoria Pe-oria was called upon to make a speech In the course o his remarks he said that the gold standard papers of the east h cried down the silver movement move-ment They called those who believed in free silver cranks They predicted 7 that if the Democracy took up the free silver theory it WOULD SPLIT TH PARTY I they could but see this delegation they would back down In conclusion he said he believed the great people of Illinois would return to office the greatest governor the sate had ever had John P Altgeld This sentiment evoked applause C P Scott of Iowa was called He made a short free silver speech During his remarks Governor Altgeld stepped upon the platform and fO several minutes min-utes there vas a most enthusiastic uproar up-roar When he finished Governor Altgeld was called fo He stepped forward t and sai < i f t Four years ago our people met under brighter skies We swept the country by such a Jmajority that fidelity t 3DeaK > eratic principles would have a > i sured supremacy for another quarter pf a century But betfore the inoAisural festivities had ceased at Washington the head of the new administration sought I Strange gods and espoused alien principles I prin-ciples The interests of money were placed I ABOVE THOSE OFHUMANITY I Organized greed was fed with golden i spoons while the cry of the husbandman of man was unheeded and the sweat the toil r brought him no bread 1 inherited the The Republicans had inherie I principles of Hamilton according to which the government should be a convenience for the rich Our president presi-dent tried to crowd them out and aj place his own f3et on this grounds As the months rolled by every principle that is vital to Republican institutions of was violated and every precept Jefferson every doctrine fundamental tO Democracy was trampled to th2 has followed earth Since then defeat folow dishonor until we have lost even whait we formerly had All might have been well if the administration ad-ministration had respected RepubtCean institutions and not used its great powers to increase the burdens of our people for the benefit of FOREIGN AND EASTERN SHYLOCKS SHY-LOCKS I I But the spirt of Democracy is immortal im-mortal Today the Democratic hosts are again mustering on the plain Unfortunately fortunately we have pursued a course which has led men to question our Democracy and to doubt our professions sions We have allowed ourselves to I be influenced by men who have not a I I drop 01 > Democratic blood in their veins The first thing necessary for us to do is to stand for something definite stand for those principles upon which the hope of humanity depends I we do this and once show the people that I we are in earnest nO pow r on this I land can prevent our shaping the I policy and guiding the destinies of the 1 republic The question of protective tariff has I long been a issue in this country Fxxr the first tim we took an unequivocal unequivo-cal question o iV four years ago and we won The tariff has been revised and the probabilities are that neither political party will make any radical change in it I is no longer worthwhile worth-while to discuss the theorres of a I tariff It PROTECTS THE PROPRIETORS I but not the laborer fo while it checks the importation of goods it cannot prevent pre-vent the importation of cheap labor from all over the earth The climax has been reached in the passage of that legislative monstrosity p ag known a the McKinley law This law was based on the theory that if taking blood out of the paitient was I beneficial ten the right thing to do I donut is to draw f all out at once and be I I produced a deficit in the United States treasury of about 70000000 I while wages were gradually reduced and conditions throughout the country continued to go from bad to worse until un-til the final crash came in 1S94 We must maintain a reasonable tariff which will net be so high a t stop all importation and w l therefore supply sup-ply the treasury with revenue But I wa MUST LOOK ELSEWHERE for the cause of that paralysis which I I is destroying our country Between 1873 and 18SO this country and all of the nations of Europe bylaw by-law destroyed onehalf of the redemption redemp-tion money of the world and reduced by fully onehalf the annual addition t the stock of money of the world Silver when used at all was put on the basis of paper money The fet of this was to double the work which gold had to do and by doubling its importance its purchasing power was doubled it made two hundred cent dollars As the debts interest taxes and other fixed charges ware not reduced re-duced it took nearly everything which the farmer and the producing classes generally could scrape together to meet the fixed charges This DESTROYED TH TRADE of the merchants and soon forcedthe factories t be shut down The conditions condi-tions are getting worse day by day and there can be no great prosperity in Europe and this country until the wrong that produced this distress has been righted As i was done by the arbitrary act o government so it must be undone by the ac of government govern-ment L u u me uemocraiic party represents the great toiling and producing masses it must take the lead in undoing this wrong IL wiJl be a fierce struggle fo those unscrupulous men who by corruption cor-ruption and trickery fastened this system on the world will resort nay are already resorting to desperate means to hold their advantage The Democratic party must speak wit no I uncertain sound on this question The men who a year ago made about 10000000 out c the government in sjnall bond transactions carried out through a secret contract with the president and the secretary of the treasury will do all in their power to prevent a change of policy They will try to CAPTURE THE CHICAGO CONVENTION CONVEN-TION and failing in that will move heaven and earth to control the new administration adminis-tration in case we succeed In Europe the ratio a 15 parts of silver to 1 of gold of equal fineness and nearly all their monetary systems were in harmony with this standard In our country it was 16 to 1 and our whole system Is in harmony with that ratio A dclartion in favor of 16 tQ 1 means nothing new not an experiment but a return t what we had Last week there was held in St Louisa Louis-a convention which will be known in him a Mark Hannas trust railroad rail-road attorneys corporation agents lobbyists and those men who have I made millions out of th < s government I and are looking for another harvest by governmental aid were not only in I control but filled every place from chairman to page I was the MOST BRAZEN EFFORT On the part of organized greed that was ever witnassed in this country If counlr I the Democratic party will b true to its mission < t will not it misso il weaken itself with promises or destroy its strength by adopting a neutral course then ten that ticket placed in nomination at St Louis will be dead long befora the frosts of November come If the Democratic party will declare for an American policy if it will boldly declare de-clare that we must be true to ourselves our-selves and look after American intar eats first we will sweep this country Some of my friends have been kind enough to urge my renomination but I a not in a condition to stand for resection my health has been so I badly broken I am not unmindful of I the honor the Democratic party has conferred on me and I am ready to do what I can to serve my country but II I must aek that some one of the many able and patriotic men in the party be placed at the pty head and that I be permitted per-mitted to retire I IS APPLAUDED At frequent intervals during his speech the governor was interrupted by furious demonstrations of approval approv-al He spoke with great earnestness earneste and the 6000 people listened with the closest attention After the cyclone of applause ha ceased Congressman Champ Clark of Missouri who came here with a delega tIcs in behalf of Richard P Blands presidential i candidacy was called He paid a high tribute t Governor Alt geld and said that if the Democrats would display as much enthusiasm next fall a the representative Democrats Demo-crats had displayed here today the I Republicans sight would be buried out of I J h I c w hi f il He referred to the nomination of McKinley Mc-Kinley at St Louis At the mention of McKinleys name there were hisses heard from all parts Cf the house In conclusion i he made a C complimentary compli-mentary remarks to SILVER DICK BLAND of Missouri W J Bryan of Nebraska and Joe Blackburn of Kentucky E chin ch-in turn was loudly applauded When Congressman Clark had finished there were loud cries for A S Trude of Chicago After thfe crowd had howled for Trude for nearly ten minutes during dur-ing which the hall was in a furore of confusion i was announced that Mr Trude was not in the building Nicolas Nico-las Perrm was called for and pronounced nounced a caustic criticism upon the present national administration When ha made mention of J G Carlisle there followed a storm of hisses After Mr Perrin had finished it was moved that the convention proceed to nominate candidates The motion prevailed pre-vailed and Judge W H Prentiss of Chicago arosa and placed John P Alt geld in nomination At 525 p m the judge began by reviewing re-viewing the history of the Democratic party from the days of Jefferson to the present During the first part of the sreech there was so much confusion con-fusion that but little of it could be heard He denounced the Republican party as a party of TRUSTS AND MONOPOLIES Next he referred to the admirable administration ad-ministration of Illinois during the last four years and compared Governor Altgeld to Thomas Jefferson At the mention of the governors name the audience cheered enthusiastically In conclusion he said Governor Altgeld must be the Democratic candidate With him the party would sweep the state next fall Without him defeat was almost certain As he ended and said he placed in nomination John P and one Altgeld the delegates every else in the house aro e and for five minutes there was a uproar There was a motion made tai he be nominated nomi-nated by a rising vote and every dele gate arose The audience went width When the enthusiastic with delight enthuslatic uproar subsided the chairman declared the governor to be the nominee committee resolutions report The conimLtee on resolutons I ed The platform declares ior free coinage coin-age in the first plank The money plank contained nearly six hundred I words and denounced the bond sharks of Wall Street and all gold standard believers It was loudly applauded The next plank declared for a tariff for revenue only and DENOUNCED THE McKINLEY LAW The interference of the government by injunction and by troops in local affairs was denounced a unconstitutional I unconstitu-tional The administration of Governor Alt geld was approved and commended in the highest terms The revenue system sys-tem of Illinois was pronounced a monstrosity I mon-strosity which should be changed The last legislature was denounced 8 a disgrace as was also the flag law An amendment to the federal laws was recommended for an income tax The national delegates to Chicago were instructed to support only such candidates as would be in sympathy with this platform The delegates at large were also instructed to vote asa as-a unit A minority report was offered opposing op-posing the plank which instructed the delegation to vote as a unit J R Williams of White county I spoke in favor of the minority report and exCongressman Fithian against it The minority report was laid on the table and the platform a read was adopted by a viva voce vote CRAWFORD ALSO The nomination for lieutenantgov ernor was then in order Monroe C Crawford of Union county was named and motion to nominate him by acclamation ac-clamation prevailed F E Downing of Cass county was placed in nomination for secretary of state as was also A L Heyward of Soles county The roll was then called cook county having been instructed to vote as 1 unit cast its votes for Hpyford At the conclusion of the roll cal A S Trude asked the convention to allow Cook county to divide its vote and an uproar followed The vote was announced upror folowed vOe nouncedHerford 480 Downing 5S9 Mr Downing was ten unanimously nominated by acclamation W F Beck of Richland county was then nominated for auditor by acclamation accla-mation Edward C Pace was nominated for state treasurer by acclamation Col Harry Donovan placed in nomination Col Harr place loti nation for attorneygeneral George A Trude of Chicago AssJcitantAttorniayGeneral T J Schofield of Quincy was nominated and tho roll was called rol wa cale The vote for attorneygeneral stood Trude 826 Schofield 24 The nomination was the made unanirf Julia Holmes Smith and E B Morgan I Mor-gan were nominated by acclamation for universitv trustees by a viva voce vote William Graham defeated Leser Strong for third place The convention thC adjourned |