Part 7 (1/2)

Often he would say tothe senatorial situation: ”My head is with the progressives in the Democratic party, but my heart, because of the way they stood by me, is with the so-called Old Guard in the Senate They stand without hitching” He knew that, while Roger Sullivan was a conservative, he could be relied upon in every eency to back him up even to the point of sacrifice What President Wilson wantedelse, as he often said, was a team that would ith hi else his loyalty had been tested and could be relied upon in every eht of these circumstances, the President decided finally to throw his hat in the ring in favour of the boss of Illinois for the United States senatorshi+p The letter advocating Sullivan's election was dictated and signed by the President, and is as follows:

THE WHITE HOUSE WAshi+NGTON October 12, 1914

MY DEAR MR RANEY:

I have read with the greatest interest the account you were kind enough to send me of the Illinois Democratic State Convention It is full of fine promise for the party; for it shows all the eleether for a successful can; and with this union success is sure to come

You callvoters to cast their ballots for the Progressive candidate for the Senate of the United States rather than for the nominee of the Democratic primaries You ask me if I approve of this I do not I have held myself very strictly to the principle that as a party man I am bound by the free choice of the people at the polls I have always stood by the result of the primaries; I shall always do so; and I think it the duty of every Democrat to do so who cares for the success and sincerity of his party Mr Sullivan has been selected in a fair primary, and therefore he is entitled to the support of his party

Sincerely yours, WOODROW WILSON

HON HENRY T RAINEY, House of Representatives

This letter and the contents of it will be a hout the country Many, doubtless, will inquire why it was not published at the tie of publication can in no way be attributed to Woodrow Wilson He never recalled it and the original is innews to the friends of the dead leader, Roger Sullivan, but it is only fair to Mr Wilson to say that he never hesitated in rushi+ng to the defence of his old friend in the enerous way He wrote this letter with the full realization of just how ht of the country The letter, after being written and signed by the President, was held in reserve by o, those in close touch with his affairs there, felt free to advise its publication I was directed by them to release it, but the order for its release was countermanded by one of the advisers close to Sullivan, who telephoned ht inadvisable to have the President co that the publication of Wilson's letter onisin a tour of Illinois in behalf of Sullivan's opponent I was advised later that the individual hom I dealt in this matter and upon whose direction the letter ithheld from publication had no authority to act for Sullivan in the matter and that Sullivan and his friends were deeply disappointed at Mr Wilson's apparent unwillingness to take up the cudgel for his old friend Many times I tried to make clear to Sullivan's friends just what the attitude of the President was, but whether I succeeded I do not know

The President, secluded in the White House, away fro crowd, never realized the basis of Sullivan's disappointh” for his friend and had not forgotten for a moment Sullivan's advocacy of hiht to him at a tireat tears stood in his eyes, and turning to Mrs Wilson, who stood beside his bed, he said: ”Roger Sullivan was a wonderful and devoted friend at Balti to me, he said: ”Tuo and attend the funeral and tell Mrs Sullivan how deeply I grieve over the death of my old friend”

CHAPTER XV

MR BRYAN ISSUES A CHALLENGE

The contests for the delegates to the National Convention were on in full swing throughout the various states In the early contests, particularly in the far western states, like Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana, the Wilson candidacy, according to prian to take on the appearance of a real, robust boom As the critical days of the Convention approached, evidences of a recession of the favourable tide to Wilson began to manifest themselves, particularly in the states of Massachusetts and Illinois, both of which swung to Clark, with New York in the offing quietly favouring Chaers of Wilson that froical standpoint the pivotal states were New Jersey and Ohio; New Jersey, because ex-Senator Sed the leadershi+p of Wilson and had notified his friends throughout the country that New Jersey could be relied upon to repudiate its governor in an overwhel fashi+on Sruntled ele from the so-called interests in New Jersey and New York and thethe New Jersey ht succeed in at least splitting the delegation The friends of the New Jerseythe effect upon the democracy of the country of an adverse verdict in his home state, concentrated all possible forces at this critical point In the meantime, and before the actual determination of the issue in New Jersey, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania swung into the Wilson coluation between Wilson and Harmon, in Har New Jersey A repudiation would be disastrous, although the old-ti that even though New Jersey overnor, Grover Cleveland, under similar circumstances in 1892, despite the opposition of his home state, had been nominated and elected President

But, fortunately for us, New Jersey in the handsomest way stood by her favourite son The news of New Jersey's endorseh the country, and there was jubilation in every Wilson ca the New Jersey prireat De editorial under the caption of ”WOODROW WILSON FOR PRESIDENT” The New Jersey prireat feathers in the caps of the Wilson men, and with enthusiase

As the days for the opening of the Baltimore Convention approached the New Jersey Governor and his fa the Atlantic seaboard, where the state of New Jersey had provided for its governor an executive ton's headquarters at Morristown With us to these headquarters, to keep vigil as it were over the New Jersey Governor, went a galaxy of newspaperpapers of the country

The first, and indeed the most important, situation the candidate was called upon to handle at Sea Girt as a preliminary to the Convention was his reply to the now farams, which played so important a part in the deliberations and indeed in the character of the whole Convention--It will be recalled that Mr Bryan, as in attendance at the Republican Convention at Chicago as a special correspondent, had telegraphed an identic telegram to each of the Democratic candidates, Messrs Clark, Underwood, Wilson, and Haro, June, 1912

In the interest of harest to the sub-committee of the De as te progressive candidates for the Presidential noranted that no committeeman interested in Democratic success would desire to offend thea reactionary to sound the keynote of the caht members of the sub-coht, agreed upon not only a Reactionary but upon the one De those not candidates for the Presidential nomination, is, in the eyes of the public, most conspicuously identified with the reactionary element of the party

I shall be pleased to join you and your friends in opposing his selection by the full committee or by the Convention Kindly answer here

W J BRYAN

I was on my way froranificance of this move on the part of Mr Bryan In fact, I beca my destination, in order to say to Governor Wilson over the 'phone how ie really was and how cautiously it should be handled I tried to impress upon him the importance of the answer he was called upon to make to Mr Bryan He calraivehis reply

It was clear that Mr Bryan, whose influence in the councils of the De by thisPresidential candidates like Wilson, Underwood, Clark, and Harmon, just how they felt about the efforts of the New York delegation, led by the Tammany boss, Charlie Murphy, and the conservative element of the Deive it thethe preli Alton B Parker as temporary chairman For many weeks previous to the Convention it had been ruramme and that the real purpose which lay behind it was to unhorse Bryan and to end for all time his control and that of the radicals of the West over the affairs of the Deht of 1896, between the conservative East and the radical West--Bryan assu, of course, the leadershi+p of the radicals of the West, and Charlie Murphy and his group acting as the spokesmen of the conservative East