New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-10-21
CONCENTRATE CTSSEDNESS.

We have had bad men in politics before inns
year Uncommonly bad men. Powerfully bad
men, Men so bad that their names passed
among their political opponents as synonymes
for total depravty But when the history OF TINS
campaign comes to be written up from the files
Of the enterprising versatile and veraciOuS news
papers which have ut great expense and with
sleepless energy kept tab on Marx Hanna it Will
be found that this mercilcss miscrean. fairly
takes the rag off the bush for Satanic cunning.
far-secins and wldercaching dcvillshness GRIM
inal ingenuity and concentrated cussedness 1t
will be found that he was cruel and conscience
less. and at the same time subtle and insinnating:
that he was coarse and vindictive. cowardly ana
tyrannica ignorant and pretentious; that he en-
bodied vice. incarnated wickedness ana epic
mixed crime His career will be illustrated pic
torially by reproductions from the Bryan jour
nalism of the period, and they who read the stir
ring story and look upon the repulsive pictures
will say: Either this man was the worst who
lever trampled on human rights and went I'M
hung. or these writer's were titanic liars and
1.-THE artists irredeemable blackSuards." Be
fore these alternatives who can doubt the judg-
ment Of pOsterty:
The latest disclosure Of this mans diaDolcal
ingenuity, the vastness Of his designs and the
recklessness with which he pursues them IS In
connection with the recent rise In wheat and
other agricultural products 1t Is perfectly plain.
Of course, that the advance in prices OF wheat
and other cereals is decidedly hurful to tn" pros
poets Of Mr. Bryan, who has maintained from
the outset Of his campaign that the price OF wheat
depended upon the price Of silver, and that there
could be no relief for the wheat producer except
under the free coinage OF silver. The sudden
advance in price OF wheat. coinc!dent with
fall in silver was calculated to disturb this the
DRY and set farmers thinking which was just
what Mr.. Bryan and his supporters did not want
them to do 1t seemed phenomenal. But they
knew. of course. that there was something I'M
natural about IT, and from their knowledge or
Mark Hanna and his methods they were certain
that this condition had been brought about
through some of his long-conccived. patiently
plotted and carefully worked Ort devilirieS. BE-
willered for the mOmcn'. they were by no means
dlsleartened. They put themselves Oh his track.
They ferretcd him ont
The plausible explanation Of the advance In
the price of wheat. that 1t was due to failure In
the crops in India. Argentina. Australia and else
where. they never for moment accepted. even
though the theory seemed fortified by the we'll
authenticated facts that in India there had been
dronh in Argentina locusts and grasshOppers.
and that similar natural causes had operated in
other wheat producing countries 10 diminish the
crops The Bryanite newspapers knew better.
They Investigated. And they presently discOv-
cred that the rise in wheat was part OF
gigantic conspiracy organized by Mark Hanna
to defeat Bryan and pcrpetuate the tyranny or
the classes over the masses As n the crop In
India they are convinced that Mark Hanna
blighted II through his influence over the fakirs
and rainmakers Of that country. They are thor
oughly cOnyersant with the weaknesses of fakirs.
having daily dealings with them then selves. and
they are quite certain that Mark Hanna brbed
the fakirs and rainmakers in India to produce
the drouth in the interes. Of McKinleys cleo
ton. AS to Argentina, they have no doubt that
Mark Hanna months ago. with fendlsh forecast
Of the possibilities Of the campaign. sent by one
Of his numerous feet OF lake steamers a large
cargo of locusts, grasshoppers and other de-
strnctve bugs to devastate that country and
diminish the worlds supply Of wheat. Some
time during the next fortnight we are likely to
have cablegrams. procured by the Bryanlte
newspapers at an enormous expense. confrma-
tory Of these theories Of the wheat situation.
Truly, Mark Hanna is the concentration OF
pure cussedness and the whole worlds example
and warning OF bad man. Unless the Bryan
tie newspapers are mistaken in their estimate OF
him, he Is captain Of that fatal and perfdlous
bark built Ia the eclipse and rugged with curses
dark" II he isn't they're lying. And we can't
tell about 1t positively until the Sd OF November.
pOpOCRATTC VICTORY