Show ta tales es and traditions fram american Poll cil history HAGEN INS ELMO SCOTT scon WATSON CROWN OF THORNS D doubts of the identity of the leading presidential candidates so thoroughly dispelled early in 1936 sometimes have held on to the midst of the conventions so it was that the democratic gathering of 1896 provided a tremendous men dous upset giving the party william jennings I 1 bryan a leader who literally was to wear a crown of thorns through three unsuccessful campaigns no less thin than 13 candidates for or the democratic nomination were regarded seriously serio in 1896 1806 and the usual of dark horses was present pitchfork ben tillman of south carolina whose hat was definitely ini t el in the ring prodded the delegates ega tes uni mercifully and the w wordy ordy battles battle s from the platform spread to one fist fight afeei i another on the floor then bryan was recognized we e are fighting in defense of our homes our families and posterity he declaimed we have petitioned and ol 01 our ir petitions have been scorned we have entreated and our ajr entreaty entre have been disregarded we hive begged and they have mocked us when our calamity came we beg no more we entreat no longer longcr we petition no more we defy them I 1 his remarks were on the financial plant of the democratic platform and bryan fired them directly at the delegation from new york k then he closed with the defiance which still rings down the corridors of time you shall not press down upon the brow of labor tins tills crown of thorns you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold he stopped the show the delegates wen wild when the business bustnes of the convention could be resumed the day following bryan was nominated his defeat by mckinley MrK two succeeding failures for the presidency in in truth settled a crown of thorns upon the brow of bryan which he was doomed to wear until the last public act of his life participation in in the famous monkey menkey trial down in in dayton tennessee he held and he swayed multitudes with the power of his oratory but on election day he could not mark their ballots for them THE PLATFORM NE of the essentials of a modern 0 ONE political convention is is the adoption of a platform upon which the presidential nominee is to take his stand during the campaign whether wether or not I 1 he stays on it is is quite another matter but few candidates would boulo think of going before the pee pul without one the first platform app appeared eared dur ing the campaign of 1840 in that year the democrats holding their convention in baltimore set forth what they considered the fundamental principles 0 their party asserting Assert mg that the federal government me nt was one of strictly limited powers and that all grants not expressly made to it were reserved to the states this platform declared against the assumption of st bbate ate debts contracted for local improvements by the federal government denied the power of the federal government to foster one industry ur section to the detriment of another Asser asserted tea that the federal government exceeded its authority when it raised more revenue than was war required to defray the ordinary expenses of administration denied the power of congress to interfere with or control the institution of slavery declared against the handling of public funds by private banks denounced restrictions upon the privileges of citizenship and of ownership of land with respect to foreign immigrants they then unini unanimously martin van buren tor for the presidency a and nd got ready to fight the b battle attle of ballots along alone the lines of policy they had laid down but if they expected their opponents to meet them on that ground they were grievously disappointed the whigs not only failed to adopt a platform but they failed to put forth any statement of principles for the very good reason that they di dritt have any they disregarded issues entirely and launched their whirlwind tippecanoe and tyler tool too campaign the bewildered democrats stood firm on their platform and watched the procession go past a triumphal procession tor for the whigs 1 Q D western new kapur union |