The Democratic National Convention, Denver 1908: Heightened Security in 1908 Equaled Sixteen Extra Officers (and Some Help from Tammany)

In Charlotte, NC, they are taking security for the 2012 convention very seriously, adding heavily to the police force and working closely with the Secret Service and the FBI.  A look back at security for 1908 is illuminating: The Denver Police hired sixteen additional officers to help out at the DNC in Denver that year. But perhaps they could do with less staff because because in 1908, it was not uncommon for men to take security issues into their own hands. The Denver Post (July 7, 1908) reported that the Tammany delegation, traveling by rail from New York to Denver, was angered by a pickpocket who lifted from one of their men a wallet containing $500 and train tickets. Once the theft was realized, an alert was sent out, and all passengers and crew on the train were searched. The wallet was recovered, and the owner received the return of his $500 and the train tickets as well as $8.35 in silver, a Waterbury watch, and the gold fillings in the thief’s teeth.

The train was passing through Ohio when the transgression occurred, so the Tammany fellows held on to the crook until the train had reached a point in the wilderness about eighty miles from anywhere and then they threw him into a river. The Denver Post reporter concludes: The next time that a pickpocket starts out to rob a delegation of prominent Democrats he will skip the men from Tammany Hall.

Tonight Michelle Obama will give her speech in Charlotte, N.C. and the President will watch the event on television from the White House.  While Barack Obama will join Democrats at the  Convention tomorrow, it was once customary that candidates did not attend the nominating conventions.  This is a look back at the Democratic Convention of 1908 when it was in Denver:

As was customary in 1908, the candidates themselves did not attend the nominating conventions (the first president to attend a convention was FDR in 1932 who appeared to accept the nomination to dispel rumors about his health).

However, just as in 2012, whenever there is no candidate present, there are representatives to do his bidding. In 1908, Charles Bryan, came to represent his brother, William Jennings Bryan, who was expected to be the Democratic nominee: On July 6, 2008, The Denver Post reporter, Samuel G. Blythe, writes: “Charles Bryan’s vocabulary seems to be comprised of the phrase: Bill says to do this, which he repeats to the men who think they are running this convention with monotonous regularity. At that, other words could seem to be superfluous, for what Charles says Bill says to do is generally done and forthwith.”

During the convention, William Jennings Bryan stayed on his farm, Fairview, near Lincoln, Nebraska. During the day he cut some alfalfa, and area farmers dropped by to visit with him. That night he sat with his family and one or two close friends to listen by telephone to the convention. (Organizers had rigged a megaphone to a telephone in the convention hall, and this was connected to a long-distance telephone line.) In this way Bryan heard the roaring of the delegates, when his nomination was made official at about 3:40 the next morning. For the third time, the Democrats turned to the popular candidate from Nebraska, and John W. Kern of Indiana was selected as his running mate.

The Democratic National Convention, Denver 1908: The New York Delegation Arrives

Like other travelers, I often try to identify those traveling with me who are returning home and those who are visiting for pleasure or business. My fellow New Yorkers are usually “road warriors,” so they tend to gravitate to the front of the plane boarding lines, and the stereotype of New York women primarily wearing black generally holds true for plane travel; the men, whether wearing sweats or suits, are recognizable for a pulled-together look (without the coiffed “do’s” of Dallas businessmen.)

New Yorkers of 1908 – and to be fair, the Chicagoans’ were also recognizable by their “look.” A New York Times reporter describes these urban dwellers as “..noticeably better dressed than the average. … The delegates from the larger cities, easily distinguishable because of their clothes, are apparently held in some awe by the multitude.” Most of them don’t seem to like the distinction. They travel in groups of three and four, and if left alone for a few minutes are obviously ill at ease. And the arrival of the men from Tammany Hall was a much-anticipated event. The Rocky Mountain News said: “œFive trains bulging with 600 Tammanyites shed their enthusiastic cargoes in the morning…” Another newspaper, The Denver Republican, wrote: “With a rumbling purr that was distinctly heard out by City Park, the Tiger, the Tammany Tiger, whose switching tail has lashed the voters of so many historic elections into line, stuck his head out of the Union Depot yesterday morning, shot a rapid fire of penetrating glances to right and left, and finding the place to his liking, moved majestically up the street.”

The article went on to describe them as the men with the “œmolting bank rolls.”

After the convention, The Denver Republican reported that 50 Tammany Tigers took the Union Pacific to Yellowstone “œfor the purpose of verifying the report that up there one can see things that spout more persistently than a bunch of Democratic spellbinders seconding presidential nominations at 3 o”™clock in the morning.”

The Democratic National Convention, Denver 1908: The More Things Change…

In the “more things change, the more they stay the same” department, The Denver Post of July 6, 1908, wrote: “If a man intends to get to Denver from any point in the near West he looks over the time table and then allows twenty-four hours for luck.” Train travel was obviously no more dependable than today’s airline schedules.

With a population of 200,000, Denver was the commercial center of the Rocky Mountain region, and the city wanted to put itself on the map so that more commercial enterprises would come their way. The newly built convention hall was part of what landed Denver the Democratic commitment, and both the press and the delegates admired it for its cool, spacious interior and formal exterior. Built at a cost of $550,000, the auditorium seated 12,000 people. Denver’s government had also had built a “Welcome” arch to greet the delegates as they emerged from Union Station. It was made of bronze-coated steel that illuminated by hundreds of lights, and The landmark stood at the foot of Seventeenth Street for 23 years until it was torn down in 1931.

But 24 hours before the convention was to start, The Denver Post noted problems: “It is almost impossible to get a telephone connection within twenty minutes. The food supply ran out at about 9 o’clock this morning, and all this afternoon they have been diluting coffee and handling dried peaches to people who wanted cantaloupe or grape fruit.”

Denver’s DNC Past

The Democratic National Convention, Denver 1908: White vs. Green Conventions

As the Democrats of 2008 prepare for the “greenest” (most environmentally conscious) convention ever, people might like to know that in 1908 the goal of the convention organizers, with access to Rocky Mountain snow in July, was to make it the “whitest” convention. The citizens of Denver had great masses of snow brought in by rail and piled in ten-foot mounds near the brand new civic auditorium where the convention was to be held. The snow was under police guard, and while natives were to leave it untouched, out-of-state visitors, many wearing white suits and Panama hats, plunged their arms in the cool white pile, rolled snowballs, washed each other’s faces with it and “rolled it into small marble-sized balls in order to suck the coolness.”

Workmen had been busy all weekend to decorate Sixteenth and Seventeenth Streets with buntings and flags, and the stores in the surrounding area featured political themes in their display windows. As the delegates arrived, each group was met by a marching band that escorted them to their assigned hotel, and everywhere there were city residents sporting, “Ask Me” buttons.

From the moment the delegates arrived, the city offered plenty to amuse them. Bands played at various locations throughout the downtown area, and stump speakers addressed whoever would listen. Gilpin County arranged for sightseeing trains to visit the mine around Central City and Black Hawk. Denver had also arranged for a flatbed car with a band of forty real Indians. The red men gave war dances and all sorts of other dances, intermingled with war whoops that struck momentary terror to the hearts of Easterners. (The Denver Post, July 8, 1908.)

The delegates themselves did not come empty-handed. Most arrived with promotional items from their home states. It was particularly noted that the California delegation gave away small packages of California prunes wrapped in the American flag.

The Democratic National Convention, Denver 1908: The Hillary Factor

Now that Barack Obama and the DNCC are talking about the convention schedule, we have learned that Hillary Clinton’s name will be placed in nomination in the roll call votes.  The air waves have been filled with newspeople and pundits voicing strong opinions on the decision.  Some are saying “this is normal and gracious and the right thing to do,” while others are blasting away at Obama saying that this makes his future administration look like they’ll be “pushovers” because he has opened the door to Hillary and Bill. (Remember Bill? If we think hard enough we can recall he was a former Democratic president who led the country into a time of economic stability, not just the petulant and churlish Potential First Husband who has been on the campaign trail for Hillary.)

While Denver was no “good luck” charm for the 1908 nominee since William Jennings Bryan eventually lost the presidency for yet a third time, the Democrats and the newspeople might be heartened to be reminded of how the nomination unfolded.

By June it was understood that Bryan would be the nominee so everyone attending the convention already knew the intended outcome of the proceedings.  When Bryan’s name was placed in nomination, the party organizers helped orchestrate a one hour, 10-minute demonstration for Bryan, and they  did all they could to keep it going (the goal was to be sure the demonstration ran longer than the one for William Taft at the Republican Convention earlier in the summer). Just as the crowd was tiring, the band would start up with a new song that would get the delegates cheering again. Finally convention chairman Clayton was ready for the crowd to calm down.  He pounded the podium with the gavel to bring order, but the crowd simply clapped and cheered to the timing of the gavel pounds.  Feeling desperate to restore order, Clayton instructed the electricians to turn out the lights in the hall.  Then and only then everyone finally quieted down.

Moments later, another nominee, Minnesota Governor Johnson A. Johnson’s name was put in nomination with a speech that should have made Bryan’s people’s blood boil:  “…If there is one in our party great enough and good enough to be made our candidate, upon whom all within our ranks can agree, and around whom no internal strife has raged, one who can better than any other unite all the factions and all the divisions of the Democratic Party…” and with that, Johnson’s name was placed in the ring.  There were loud cheers from the Minnesota delegation.  The galleries took up the shout, and a demonstration for Johnson began similar in its inception to that of Bryan… this time however the Chairman became very busy pounding the gavel and the band was told to keep still.

The Johnson enthusiasts were not easily stifled, and after 15 minutes the lights were dimmed. It took another seven minutes – for a full 22 minutes – for the crowd quite down.  One other candidate, former Delaware Senator George Gray, was nominated.  By this time it was late, and the gallery was less attentive. Gray was offered up as the candidate who was most electable because he would sway the Atlantic Seaboard, but the crowd was content with a minute or so of applause after Gray’s nomination.

Ultimately, the Party nominated William Jennings Bryan for the third time, and John Kern of Indiana was selected as his running mate.