The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume], June 14, 1908, Page PAGE FIVE, Image 5

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THE RICHMOND PALLADIUM AT SUX-TELEGRAM, SUXDAY, JUNE 14, 190S.
PAGE FIVE.
Chicago Prepared to Entertain Greatest Convention
Ever Held in That "City of Conventions" This W eek
Twelve Thousand Persons Will Be Seated in the-Great Coliseum, Which Was Formerly Libby Prison, When Senator Burrows Wields the Gavel
to Call the Seventeenth Republican National Session to Order-Many Notable Political Battles Have Been Fought in Biggest City of the West
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Chicago, June 13. When Senator Ju
lius Cesar Burrows of Michigan,
wieUs the gavel to call to order the
delegates to the Republican National
Convention, Tuesday, June 16, the sev
ath session of the party in Chicago
nill haxe begun. It wiil be the elev
enth gathering of representatives of
the big parties in Chicago to nomi
nate a president, for the democrats
iiae held fonr of their conventions in
this eitr.
Chicago, therefore, thinks itself
Justly -entitled to the appellation "Con
TfntJoTi City," a, name not more deserv
ed because of its central location than
becanse of the size and importance of
Che city among the municipalities of
the nation.
Each day the interest is growing
keener in the big event to be held in
the building in Wabash avenue be
tween Fourteenth and Sixteenth
streets, and dally the amount of bus
iness transacted by Chairman Harry
New and his confreres on the sub
committee on arrangements is increas
ing. The Coliseum walls are those which
surrounded Libby Prison when that
noted war reHc, which had been a to
bacco warehouse , was transplanted
bodily as a war museum in Chicago.
When the museum was dismantled and
old Libby scattered to the four winds
with the exception of come few pre
cious parts which have been treasured
by Charles F. Gunther for his great
collection of war curios, steel girders
and arches and brick walls replaced
it, and the Coliseum rose in its stead.
Completed in 1900. the Coliseum
was opened for the National G. A. It.
Encampment before the finishing
touches were added. The building
cost $500,000. plus $50,000 for its com
plete electric lighting plant ln its
construction, 6teel arches fell, sacrific
ing the lives of some of the workmen.
The building is four blocks from the
lake.
Only Filled Twice.
The Coliseum has twice been filled
capacity, holding 12.000 persons on
each occasion, these events being the
days upon- which Mr. Roosevelt spoke
during the campaign of lf00 and when
Bourke Cochrcn. spoke in the interests
of Mr. Bryan. For the prccent con
vention there will be just 11,167 seats,
making no allowance for standing
room.
The acoustics are good and there are
12 large exits, consisting of double
doors. Six of these exits open upon
a paved alley on the east side and six
open upon Wabash avenue.
The main body of the delegates, JXSO
strong, will hive chairs stretching
from the platform out to a line bisects
ing the main floor, east and west, and
bafk of this line, filling the space on
th.e main floor, will be the seats ior
the alternates. Visitors will have
seatsin the rising banks of chairs at
the north, east and west edges of the
main arena. The seating capacity is
materially larger than in lffc'M. when
there were but 8,000 chairs, although
there was considerable standing room.
Decorations of the convention hall,
consisting of flags and bunting, have
been- pleasingly disposed around the
galleries and in the arches and gord
ers. Pictures of candidates, past and
prospective, have been barred.
One of the biggest, if not the biggest,
problems which has engaged the ener
gies of Chairman New and his associ
ates has been the apportionment of
tickets for seats. Such a demand never
before confronted a national committee
and were the seating capacity of the
Coliseum six times as large as it is a !
ticket for every seat at every session !
could have been allotted. Senators j
and representatives have written on
behalf of their constituents, and thous
ands will have to be disappointed. And
still the mails received in the attract
ive little "Convention Postoffice," in
the Coliseum Annex, continue to bring
requests for more seats.
"Why, from Indiana alone, I have
received 6,000 requests," said Mr.
New the other day, as he mopped Mb
brow in good natured despair. "But
my state will have to be content with
its due proportion along with the
rest." .
Officials Working.
With Mr. New on the subcommittee
of the National Committee are Senator
N. B. Scott, of West Virginia; Charles
F. Brooker, of Connecticut; Powell
Clayton, of Arkansas; David W. Mul
vane of Kansas; Ernest E. Hart of
Iowa, and Secretary Elmer Dover of
Ohio. Colonel William F. Stone oi
Maryland, the sergeant-at-arms, has
been tremendously busy with the prac
tical details of the seating arrange
ments.
"Fred W. Upham. as chairman of the
Chicago committee on arrangements,
has received $!.000 for convention ex
penses, and says his committee's pre
liminary work is all done. He will
have in all about 2.200 tickets to dis
tribute each day of the convention,
and has made a more or less consistent
rule of allotting a ticket for each $100
contributed to his expense fund. He
thinks there will be a percentage left
to be returned to the subscribers. Mr.
Upham will have a ' private box in
which he will care for 5S guests.
The other day Fernando Jones, Chi
cago's eighty-nine-year-old oldest set
tler, called and asked Mr. Upham for a
ticket. "I haven't missed a conven
tion of the party held here since 1S34,"
he explained, "and I think I'm about
good for two more. Are you going to
give me a ticket?"
"Surer said Mr. Upham. "You'll
have one of the best seats In the
house," and Fernando left with a
broad smile.
Secretary Elmer Dover has issued
this list of officers of the conven
tion: General Secretary, John R. Mal
loy, Columbus, Ohio; Assistant Secre
tary, Lafayette B. Gleason, New York,
N. Y.; Sergeant-at-Arms, William F.
Stone, Baltimore, Md.; Chief Assist
ant Sergeant-at-Arms, Edward P.
Thayer, Greenfield, Ind.; Parliamen
tarian, Asher C. Hinds, Washington,
D. C; "Official Reporter, M. W. Blum
enberg, Washington, D. C; Chief of
Doorkeepers, Stephen R. Mason, Bal
timore, Md.; Chaplains, Bishop P. J.
Muldoon, Chicago, 111.; Rev. William
O. Waters, Chicago, 111.; Rev. John
Wesley Hill, New York, N. Y., and
Rev. Lorenzo B. Case, Chicago. As
sistant Secretaries, Charles Brooks
Smith, Parkersburg, W. Va.; Ernest
Walker Smith, Hartford, Conn.; Philip
M. Hoefele, St. Louis, Mo.; M. J. To
bin, Vinton, Iowa; Charles M. Harger,
Abilene, Kan., and Allen Hollis, Con
cord, N. H. Reading Clerks, Thomas
W. Williamson, Edwardsville, 111.; Al
bert Berg. Beaudette, Minn.; George A.
Wilson, Des Moines, Iowa, and W. J.
Seitz, West Liberty, Ky. Tally Clerks,
Roy M. W'atkins, Grand Rapids, Mich.;
Clyde W. Miller, Osage City, Kan.;
Frank R. Bentley, Baraboo, Wis., and
W. A. Steele, Van Buren, Ark. Mes
senger to the Chairman, Empsirdell
Stone, Indianapolis, Ind., and Messen
ger to the Secretary, John H. Jack
son, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Are Used to It.
Many of the foregoing have served
in similar capacity in previous con
ventions. In all there will be nearly
TAFT AS HE APPEARED WHEN SERVING AS JUDGE.
a
r w
The judicial caree of Wm..H. Taft was one marked by glory. He was
considered one of the best posted men on the law there was in the country
during his active connection with the courts, and-his opinions were noted for
their -wisdom &ad square dejkliaf,
3,000 employes for the convention,
each provided with a distinctive
badge.
Mr. Stephen R. Mason, of Baltimore,
the Chief of Doorkeepers, is a warm
personal and political friend of Sergeant-at-Arms
Stone, and he will have
the responsibility of looking after 200
assistants. Not a single doorkeeper
will be from the commonwealth of Il
linois and when Mr. Upham was asked
why this is so, replied:
"It's this way. The subcommittee
doesn't dare ever to appoint residents
of the state which has the convention,
for fear the 'doorkeepers would be
running in all their friends, tickets or
no tickets." Sound reasoning, appar
ently, Missouri, as the "show me"
state, might logically have the call
when it comes to doortenders.
Mr. Mason's 200 assistants will
each receive $3 a day, and will be se
lected and organized with great care,
instructed not to allow any confusion
or overcrowding.
There will be 2,000 Assistant Ser-geants-at-Arms,
500 ushers and 200
pages, all of whom will be drilled and
be equipped with special insignia.
Eating and Sleeping Problem.
Chicago's hotels, restaurants and
places of merchandising have been
preparing for the reception of the
large crowds of convention week for
many months. They have figured
that thousands will come and bring
their families, and the visitors who
cannot be accommodated in the hotels
will abide with friends or in private
boarding houses.
"Can we get a place to eat and
sleep?" will be the absorbing question
the visitors will be asking as they
near the convention city, coming in
on crowded trains.
"Let 'em all come," say the boni
faces, high and low, managers of ho
tels big and little, great and small,
pretentious and modest.
And "we want a chance to feed the
crowds," say the restaurant keepers,
also of varying pretensions.
Rooms have been engaged by the
thousand, but still the hotel keepers
say they can accommodate the hosts.
According to Manager Shafer, of the
Auditorium, the first-class hotels in
the "loop district," Chicago's down
town section, can accommodate 20,000
visitors. While this estimate seems
a little large, it is figured that, tak
ing in the best hotels of the North
and South Sides, as well as those of
the "loop," 23,000, with a little squeez
ing, can be accommodated. In order
to do this, cots and all extra beds will
have to be requisitioned.
Each delegate and visitor will have
to put up an average of $5 a day If
he stays at a first-class hotel, and
those who put up at the leading hotels
are expected to pay this sum without
complaint, mindful of the rates some
j hotels might charge and get The
Great Northern and Sherman House '
expect that each room will accommo
date four or five persons. Mr. O'Brien,
chief clerk of the Great Northern,
thinks each of his rooms will earn
$10 a day. Rates at the Sherman
House for persons who bunk four or
five in a room will be $2 a day.
The Auditorium, Auditorium Annex,
Palmer House, and Grand Pacific all
have scores of "regulars," many of
whom will keep their rooms; but in ad
dition to these, many of whom live in
the hotels the year round, the mana
gers are preparing to care for hundreds
of the delegates and visitors. The Au
ditorium Hotel will take care of 70
visitors, and the Annex as many more.
Chief Clerk Rottman. of the Palmer
House, says that hotel can take care
of 1,400 visitors. The Nebraska and
Wisconsin delegations are to be quar
tered in the Palmer House and the
delegates are expected to "double up."
The Grand Pacific will have 2"0
rooms filled with delegates and visit
ors. . Should Secretary Taft decide to
come he will be a visitor at the Annex
where the Ohio delegation has reserv
ed quarters. New York, Pennsylva
nia, Indiana, and Montana also will
be at the Auditorium and Annex. Man
ager Kennedy of the Annex, says the
crowd brought to Chicago by the con
vention doubtless will be much larger
than that of four years ago, but adds
that Chicago's hotel facilities since
that time have increased more than
proportionately.
First Day's Program.
The official program of the first day
of the convention as issued by Secre
tary Dover is as follows:
Call to order by Chairman. Harry S.
New at noon.
Prayer by Bishop P. J. Muldoon.
Presentation of gavel to Chairman
of the national committee.
Reading of the call by Secretary Do
ver. Introduction by temporary chairman
Senator Julius Caesar Burrows of
Michigan.
Address by the temporary chair
man. Election of temporary officers.
Selections of committees on perma
nent organization, rules and order of
business, credentials and resolutions.
This will be the fourteenth national
convention of the republican party, the
first having been held in Philadelphia
in 1S.VJ.
The republican nominees for presi
dent and vice president have teen:
1856, at Philadelphia John C. Fre
mont, California and William L. Day
ton. New Jersey. Defeated.
lSeO, at Chicago Abraham Lincoln,
Illinois, and Hannibal Hamlin, Maine.
Elected.
1S6-L at Baltimore -Abraham Lin
coln, Illinois, and Andrew Johnson,
Tennessee. Elected.
Illinois,- and Schuyler Colfax, Indiana.
Elected.
1872, at Philadelphia Ulysses S.
Grant, Illinois, and Henry Wilson,
Massachusetts. Elected.
1S7, at Cincinnati Rutherford B.
Hayes, Ohio, and William A. Wheeler
of New York. Elected.
180, at Chicago James A. Garfield,
Ohio, and Chester A. Arthur, New
Vork. Elected.
1S84, at Chicago James G. Blaine,
Maine, and John A. Logan, Illinoia.
Defeated.
1SSH, at Chicago Ben Jamltt Harri
son, Indiana, and Levi P. Morton, New
York. Elected.
102, at Minneapolis Benjamin Har
rison, Indiana, and Whitelaw Held,
New York. Defeated.
1SW, at St. Louis William, McKln
ley, Ohio, and Garrett A. Hobart, Ntw
Jersey. Elected.
inoo, at Philadelphia William Mc
Kinley, Ohio, and Theodore Roosevelt
New York. Elected.
1!04, at Chicago Theodore Roose
velt, New York and Charles W. Fair
banks, Indiana. Elected.
Of the six men nominated in Chicago
by the republicans, James G. Bltine
was the only man to meet defeat. And
it was in Chicago, by the way, in. 1884
and 18&2. that G rover Cleveland receiv
ed the two nominations by the dem
ocratic party which led to his election
the whole presidential successes of
that party since the Civil War.
Scenes of Olden Times.
Scenes stirring and epochal hare
marked republican conventions held hi
Chicago. Especially notable were ths
nominations of Lincoln and Garfield.
Bryan's ovation and nomination- by
the democrats In 1890, following his
famous speech, also was a notable
event. It was in the old "Wigwam." a two
story frame structure at Lake ard Mar
ket streets, that Lincoln was named
by the republicans May 16, 1900 Chi
cago was then a city of 100,000 people,
and 40,000 Tisltors from the West and
Northwest thronged here for the big
gathering. There were rumors of
war In the air, and it was felt that
much depended upon the choice of the
republican party.
William H. Seward, of Hew Yorfc,
led the candidates, so far as prelimi
nary prognostications went, and he
seemed to hare so many delegates for
him that Horace Greeley tele
graphed the New York Tribune that
Seward could not lose. William I
Dayton, of New Jersey; Simon Cam
eron, of Pennsylvania; Salmon P.
Chase of Ohio; Edward Bates, of Mis
souri, and John McLean, of Ohio, all
bad their supporters, and Abraham