undary between British Guiana and Venezuela.]

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1896.

The presidential election in the fall of 1896 was a remarkable one. The
month of September had hardly opened when there were eight presidential
tickets in the field. Given in the order of their nominations they
were:

Prohibition (May 27th)--Joshua Levering, of Maryland; Hale Johnson, of
Illinois.

National Party, Free Silver, Woman-Suffrage offshoot of the regular
Prohibition (May 28th)--Charles E. Bentley, of Nebraska; James H.
Southgate, of North Carolina.

Republican (June 18th)--William McKinley, of Ohio; Garret A. Hobart, of
New Jersey.

Socialist-Labor (July 4th)--Charles H. Matchett, of New York; Matthew
Maguire, of New Jersey.

Democratic (July 10th to 11th)--William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska;
Arthur Sewall, of Maine.

People's Party (July 24th to 25th)--William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska;
Thomas E. Watson, of Georgia.

National Democratic Party (September 8th)--John McAuley Palmer, of
Illinois; Simon Boliver Buckner, of Kentucky.

[Illustration: WM. JENNINGS BRYAN. Democratic candidate for President,
1896.]

As usual, the real contest was between the Democrats and Republicans.
The platform of the former demanded the free coinage of silver, which
was opposed by the Republicans, who insisted upon preserving the
existing gold standard. This question caused a split in each of the
leading parties. When the Republican nominating convention inserted the
gold and silver plank in its platform, Senator Teller, of Colorado, led
thirty-two delegates in their formal withdrawal from the convention. A
large majority of those to the National Democratic Convention favored
the free coinage of silver in the face of an urgent appeal against it by
President Cleveland. They would accept no compromise, and, after
"jamming" through their platform and nominating Mr. Bryan, they made
Arthur Sewall their candidate for Vice-President, though he was
president of a national bank and a believer in the gold standard.

In consequence of this action, the Populists or People's Party refused
to accept the candidature of Mr. Sewall, and put in his place the name
of Thomas E. Watson, who was an uncompromising Populist.

There was also a revolt among the "Sound Money Democrats," as they were
termed. Although they knew they had no earthly chance of winning, they
were determined to place themselves on record, and, after all the other
tickets were