he was a staunch Clark man and a devoted follower of Mr. Bryan, we knew he
could be relied upon to give us a fair deal as the presiding officer of
the Convention. There was another reason, too. Away off in Sea Girt we
gathered the impression that the sober second thought of the Convention
favoured his selection and that even though we might fail in our attempt
to nominate him for this office, our efforts at least in this regard would
give the impression to those who looked with favour upon Wilson as their
second choice. Another reason was this: We were not afraid to trust our
cause to a Clark man, and Ollie James for many years had been the idol of
convention crowds. When, upon the conclusion of the Bryan-Parker episode,
Mr. Bryan telephoned Sea Girt to discuss with the Governor the matter of
the chairmanship, he was greatly surprised and pleased to have the
Governor say, in the most hearty way that, upon canvassing the whole
situation, he felt it would be an admirable and just thing to select Ollie
James of Kentucky. Mr. Bryan said: "But, Governor Wilson, Mr. James is in
the Convention as a Clark man." "It does not matter," was the Governor's
reply. "He is our kind of a fellow, and I am sure my friends can rely upon
him to treat our cause well." From Mr. Bryan's subsequent conversations
over the telephone it clearly appeared that he was delighted at the
suggestion of his own intimate friend, and it was plain that he was being
convinced from moves of this kind by the New Jersey Governor that Woodrow
Wilson was willing to stand or fall with him in attempting to organize the
Convention along progressive lines.

Years after the Convention the senator from Kentucky, who became my
closest and dearest friend, and who distinguished himself as a member of
the Senate, and who was one of the staunchest defenders of the President
and the Administration, told me of the wisdom which he thought lay behind
the suggestion of himself for the chairmanship; that we, at Sea Girt,
rightly sensed the situation and that the suggestion of his name had done