Volume 17 , Issue 25

McKinley's Goldbugs vs. Silver Bow (1896)

We take you back to 18 September 1896, Friday, in The Philipsburg Mail, in Philipsburg, Granite county, Montana when the Silver men were the majority in control and the Gold men were in the minority. The Republicans State convention had convened in Helena, Montana after an exciting session nominated their state ticket.

The Silver men were in control of the convention by a large majority. The fight in the convention between the Silver and Gold forces was over presidential electors and congressman. The convention nominated Chas. S. Hartman and endorsed Bryan and Sewall electors.

There was a big fight in the convention over the seating of the Butte delegation. The Auditorium delegation was rightfully entitled to seats but on account of Senator Mantle not being in that delegation the Caplice hall delegation was seated. The Granite delegation voted to seat the Auditorium delegation, knowing that they were rightfully entitled to seats, and remembering how unjustly a delegation from this county was denied seats in the convention at Butte last June through chicanery and wire pulling operations engineered by a gentleman named Sligh, who was so thoroughly out-voted in the last republican primaries that he did not have the nerve to contest the seats in the convention.

The Helena convention was carried out on the plan of the conference held at Butte. The Granite county delegation favored taking action to compel the McKinley "goldbugs" to "bolt" the convention. They saw no reason why the big silver majority should "bolt" and allow a goldbug minority to make nominations in the same hall against Hartman and the Bryan and Sewall electors. But the Butte conference went. It was a sham. It was not a conference of republicans but of politicians, and of only such as the promoters of the scheme expected to support it. The party who misrepresented Granite county by endorsing the scheme attended without effort to obtain a knowledge of the views of republicans. If any persons were consulted it must have been those with whom his relations have been so close during the last few months, namely, democrats.

The republicans of Granite county believe that the party was for, and had always stood for, the free coinage of silver. Its declarations had always been in favor of free coinage. The efforts of its representatives, and the representatives of other like-thinking states, at national conventions of the party, had procured declarations in favor of silver. The party in Montana had ever declared unequivocally for free coinage. Therefore, Granite county republicans do not believe that the terms of the Butte conference -- which provided for the relinquishment to the Gold men of the name and machinery of the party -- should govern in the state convention. The Granite county delegation went to Helena with this view of the case, worked for and voted for the adoption of what view. It was in that view the only consistent silver delegation in the convention. If there was any doubt as to the past standing of the party, the able and exhaustive review of Senator Mantle made conviction a certainty. Sanders moved that the Auditorium or Regular delegation be allowed to vote on the temporary organization -- to lay this on the table -- referring the contest to the committee on credentials -- Granite voted 11 ayes.

For Seligman, the silver nominee was chairman, Granite cast 11 votes.

The report of the committee on credentials showed the Auditorium delegation entitled to seats. It showed Opie elected chairman of the Silver Bow central committee during the absence of the regular chairman in California. It showed that French, who claimed the right to call the Silver Bow convention to order, was not a member of the committee but merely a hired clerk. None of this report was disputed publicly or privately.

Granite county republicans had been protesting for four months that a contesting delegation had been unjustly seated in a previous convention, and the pretext for seating them was more tenable than in the above case. The Granite delegation was therefore bound by every consideration of right and consistency to vote against seating the contesting delegation form Silver Bow, even though Senator Mantle was a member of it. The flimsiness of their claim was shown by the refusal to allow both sides a hearing on the floor of the convention. Granite voted solidly against seating the contesting delegation. On this vote was base the charge that the Granite delegation was a McKinley delegation. The charge had been diligently circulated that the Auditorium delegation was composed of McKinley men and that a bargain had been made with Sanders, the leader of the gold forces. Sanders, in furtherance of the old grudge against Mantle, had early taken up the cudgels in favor of the Regular delegation, which seemed to give color to the charge of a compact. The Granite delegation, by all its members, took every means to discover the truth of the above charges and became convince that they were not true. In fact, a prominent leader of the silver men -- one most interested in the seating of the contesting delegation -- solicited that its vote be at least divided.

To this the reply was made, after explanation of the position, which he, however, fully understood, that if he could prove or assure that the charges made were true Granite would give all its votes to the contestants. To this he could make no reply.

It was a fact that a number of the contestants were McKinley buttons. It was a fact that one of the contestants was chosen by the gold wing an elector for McKinley.

The McKInley men met Friday morning and nominated O. F. Goddard for Congress. For presidential electors -- Henry Knippenberg, J. H. Vivian and Frank H. Nash.
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