Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1896-10-03
'BRYAN'S CHANCES
FALLING OFF.
The Campaign In the East
Has Been Abandoned
by the -Popocrats.
REPUBLICANS ACTIVE.
Bryan's Claims of Strength
DisprOved by Facts-Po-
litical Conditions
In the East.

NEW York. Sept. 30.--The campaign OF
Bryan has fallen fiat i'm the east. and his
managers no longer take the trouble to
disguise the fact. Already the Washing
ton headquarters, which were established
at the special request OF Chairman Joaes.
have been closed up, and the headquarters
In this city. which never had any vitality,
are as quiet and rs still as Nebraska
graveyard Even Bryan's attempts to gal
vanize the corpse of the eastern Democracy
have met with no response, and, save for
the tribute which curious people have
paid, his visits TO New Jersey, New York,
Connecticut and Maine have been abs0-
lutely unproductive. Every one now real
ICES this situation and comedies the hope
lessness of any attempt to promote Bryans
candidacy in this part of the country, ex-
cert Bryan himself and few deluded
Popocrats
The logic Of the situation is inexorably
and irrevocably against Bryan. In the
Empire State the Democracy is so badly
and SO hopelessly divided that only hand
full of Democrats of the Tammany Hall
stripe identify themselves with his cam
raign The Generalization of the party
was complete enough when representative
men like Ex-Governor Flower, Perry Bel
mont, William c. Whitney, Bourke Cock
ran and General Daniel e. Siokles deserted
it and declared that the cause Of sound
and honest money was dearer to them than
any party. But this disintegration Of a
once powerful and united political organ
ization was completed when the Demo
Gratis at their convention nominated a
man, Mayor Thatcher of Albany, whose
| first act was q liquidation of Bryan's plat
form.
Since that time all hope of carrying New
| York for president, governor or any other
office has been abandoned It is because OF
these conditions and because of growing
and powerful sentiment in favor of the
Republican candidates that Mr.. HaclSett,
chairman Of the Republican state commit
tee, not only claims the state for McKin-
ley and Hobart by 900, 900 plurality, but
/ asserts that New York city, the home of
Tammany and the Gibraltar of the De
mocracy, will give the Republican candi-
dates an emphatic majority away up in
the thousands.
Not the least remarkable feature of the
/ situation here is the fact that the work
ing1nen are strongly in favor of sound
money, and a recent secret ballot made up
of the votes of thousands of workingmen
in all sorts of factories, shops and mills
discloses handsome majority for McKin-
ley
4 This is the situation in New York II
should be remembered that it was only
few weeks ago that the Bryanites were
claiming that New York and the entire
east were honeycombed with silver senti-
ment, and SO confident OF this WAS Mr..
Bryan after his return west from his first
speaking trip that he told thousands Of
his hearers that New York would certain
I " vote for free silver and all the eastern
states would show tremendous gain for
the doctrines represented by him and the
Chicago platform. Since then the states
of Vermont and Maine have spoken against
} the silvery heresy with an emphasis and n
distinctness that even the boy orator can
not misunderstood
|, 1t was as futile for Bryan Co claim New
York and to make eoStravagant boasts with
respect TO Vermont aud Maine
for him In his recent Philadelphia speech
, to fish for the electoral vote of Pennsylva-
MIA, which so competent Il jury as Alex
Mcclure, the veteran Democratic editor of
the Philadelphia Times, declares will be
: cast for Mckinley by 500, 600 moro votes
} I than the Bryan ticket will receive. The
| same reports may, with figures changed,
} but the general result unaitered, be made
with reference to the other states of the
. eastern and middle Atlantic seaboard.
1t should not be inferred, however, be-
cause the outlook is so bright and the or.
ganization so effective in these states that
the members of the Republican national
committee are idle. 1t is not proposed by
o any of them that Overconfidence shall
Q ruin the prospects of a campaign already
full of the brightest promise or that il
= shall lead to Indifference or neglect In
! single state. No state or section of a state
: is deemed so certain that effort in behalf
- of the Republican candidates can be aban
doned.
3 On the contrary, the committeeman hav,
T in effect adopted the motto which Mr.. 10
: seph II. Manley adopted in the Maine cam
@ paign-namely, to conduct the campaign
as if the result depended upon a singh
= vote. With this object in view the com
mittee, both at its headquarters here ant
in Chicago, are working day and night T.
, make the assurance of Mckinley election
8 doubly sure, and speakers and document
, are being sent to all parts of the countr
n In the effort TO carry out this importan
y work.
"a The simple contrast between the active
energetic. well organized work of the Re
publican committee and the disorganize
70 and leaderless conduct of the Popocrati
= campaign is of itself striking indication
l. of the drift and tendency of affairs in tn
le political world