Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-22
HAVE NO TEARS TO SHED
Southern Democrats Not Seriously Disap-
pointed Over Bryan's Defeat,
FREE SILVER A FoRLoRN HOPE
Significant Uttcrnnccs of Public Men
Against tbe Attempted Revival of
Dead Issue - Samples of
Southern Sentiment.


Correspondence OF The Bep)-"The demo
Gratis OF the south are less disappointed over
the defeat Of Bryan than they have been
over the defeat Of any democratic candidate
since he war" This Is what well known
business nan OF Atlanta told me while !
was tn that city. And the general sentiment
OF the people with whom nave come In con
tact seems to poin; in the same direction.
Pick up almost any southern newspaper or
talk with almost any responsible business
man and they will say that they supported
Bryan crlv because he was the regular
nominee OF the party and offered the only
nossible chance OF turning foreordained de-
feat into victory and that they really never
had strunr hopes in FREQ silver. What the
Intelligent men OF the south are aiming at
now is to relieve themselves OF the taint
OF Reputation which throwing their electoral
votes to Bryan has brought upon them and
TO attract 20 the south goodly portion ot
the idle capital OF the north and east which
they know win seek profitable iuves ment
now that McKiniey's election assures the
complete re-establishment Of business con
fdence. This is to be the policy Of the
southern democrats for the immediate fu-
ture at any rate. and everywhere can he
seen strsws indicating that they have al
ready set out on this course
Take for example the pending contest for
the United States senatorship from Georgia
TO succeed Senator Gordon. in the outskirts
of which / found myself when in Atlanta
last week. At the beginning of the caucus
there was a fine array of announced nsp-
rants. four Of whom, Hal /. Lewis, EVAN
+. Howell, A. S. Clay and Governor W. y.
Atkinson had placarded the leading hotel
Uf A. -.
Candidate for L. S. Senator Headquarters
Rooms ia and 1i6." OF course all OF the
principal candidates belong to the regular
democracy and supported the Bryan presl-
Dental ticket but strange to say, the first
of them forced to withdraw was Mr. Lewis,
the man who in the Chicago convention
snRtched out OF the hands OF the unwilling
George Fred Williams the doubtful honor
of nominating Bryan after he had really
nominated himself. In a word, this intimate
relationship with the late democratic presi-
Dental candidate was not enough to give
him a special hold upon the Legislature, and
hence his early retirement.
The with travail OF Governor Atkinson
from the Georgia senatorial race Is equally
significant of the attitude Of southern dem
oCrats TO the lost silver cause. In his vale
dictory speech TO his legislative supporters
the governor tried to convey the impression
that he relinquished his claim upon them
because the opposition was obJecting to
him giving up a goyernorshlp TO get
that under the Georgia constitution va
cancy in the gUvernorship would necessitate
special election to fill the place, and that
the Georgia democrats are afraid they would
lose the office of governor If they went
through another campaign at the present
time. Bryan's treatment OF Tom Watson
makes 1t reasonably certain that the Geor-
gia democrats can look for no further aia
from the populists. and the growing strength
of the republicans would render new
gubernatorial contest an extremely hazard
GUS undertaking for the democracy.
The feeling that now is a good time 10
drop the silver folly seems TO prevail all
through the south Yesterday ] picked up
copy of the Savannah News, formerly a
good Bryan paper. and happened upon this
pointed communication under the suggestive
headlines, plain Talk from Business Man
The People of the South Want no More u
the Chicago Platform"
MONTICELLO, Fla, Nov. 12-Edttor
Morning News: AS representative and IN
fluential journal. reHecting in an eminent
degree the best feeling and sentiment not
only OF the people OF Georgia, but the en-
tire south as we'll. ! trust you VIII pardon
me for n suggestion, towit: That % per
cent of the business men Of the south viii
never be cajoled, persuaded or coerced again
into the free silver craze, nor VIII theN
stultify their cOnscences again to vote for
even so brilliant leader as Bryan, II he
must depend upon such a platform as that
-- Illuminated at Chicago.
That the political hungry army who
expected TO ride into office on the crest oi
q popular wave, that opposes itself TO the
brains and honesty, to say nothing OF the
money OF the country, had best stop and
consider, and let common sense and patriot
ism have sway. While business men are
not in sympathy with either the bolters'
pppulists or republicans, and are opposed TO
the sentiment OF trying to build up the re-
publican party in the south, or any other
party than the democratic party, yet they
would rather fall into the hands OF foreign
foe than the heterogeneous. ignorant mob
element which is continually bowling and
cursng railroads, banks, corporations and
individuals who make a success Of their en-
terprises.
''These truths should be stressed for all
they are worth, and they are worth more
than the thoughtless would imagine.
&C. T. c."
The same issue of the leading democratic
daily of southern Georgia, the Savannah
News gives editorial expression TO what 1t
conceiyes to be the southern view Of Bryan's
proposed continuation Of the silver cam
paigL. II says:
at is regrettable that Willim ]. Bryan
is going to Denver 10 open the campaign of
1900 on November "a The returns OF the
campaign of 1896 are not yet all in. The
people will not take kindly TO a program
that begins new campaign before IT is
known what is to be expected from the
campaign just ended.
And II seems TO us that Mr.. Bryan makes
mistake in beginning his campaign in
Denver That city is the center of the sill
ger section. There the silver mile mill
lionaires have their headquarters, and from
there was supplied the greater part Of the
fund for the recent silver campaign. To
start the campaign OF 1900 for silver in that
city justihes the suspicion that the recent
campaign in behalf of silver was not for
the benefit OF the people OF the whole coun-
try, but the silver mine owners.
"If the people get the idea that the chief
benefciaries OF the free coinage OF silver
are TO be those who own the silver mines
II will not be long before the only sup
porters OF free silver coinage will be in
the silver mining states. The great ma
1ority of them have that idea now, and many
more OF them viii have it before the year
1900
I'VE do not understand why II is that
Mr.. Bryan wants TO begin the campaign
of 1900 now, unless il is that he is so in
fatuated with the sound of his own voice
and so eager TO hear the applause of a
crowd that he cannot turn his attention to
any one of the ways open TO him for earn
Eng an income. II he thinks he can keep