New-York tribune., 1896-07-24
THE NAME IS NO MISFIT.

Mr. BRYAN made q speech to his friends and
neighbors In Nebrask the other day, In which
he took occasion to enter mild protest against
his platform being denounced as Anarchistic,
and said: ''rhe man who charges the American
people Of any party with being Anarchists or
| "disturbers of the peace, or dangerous to the
"wclfare OF the people, ISLANDERS the bravest
"people that ever lived" which sounds we'll
natters the people," and means. If it means
ANYTHING that he who calls the band, largely
recruited from abroad, which has been preach
Ing riot for years In our cities dangerous to the
welfare of the country, ISLANDERS the Drayest
people that ever lived Mr.. Bryan, doubtless
would not In sober earnest proclaim that de-
nunciation Of the Haymarkct bOmb-thrOwers
and their synpathzers was slander upon the
American people, but when he says that to call
n party disturbers Of the peace Is to slander
them, he tres to make the good name OF the
mass of his fellow-ctizens dependent on the
dnngs of every body Of crankS, fanatics or
rascals who may chance to come into public
notice through their freaks. Whether a party
IS Anarchlstic depends on Its principles, not
on its size and men are no less disturbers Of
the peace because they manage to gain pos
session of a great party organization, thah II
they preach riot in small bands.
SO If Mr. Bryan does not like to hear about
his Anarchist platform. instead OF making
phrases about the bravery of the American peo-
pie and their supernatural virtue and wisdom,
he should show that the declarations in it to
which that meaning Is attached are not prop
erly construed by the critics The plank most
spoken Of as leading to Anarchy Is this: I'VE
"lenounce the arbitrary interference by Federal
,t.t. i,, faip vi
"the Constitution OF the United States and a
"crme against free institutions" That plank
must have some reason for being, and no sup
porter o.. critic of it has yet come forward to
offer more than one explanation OF It, 1t is
universally agreed TO have owed It's existence
to the Chicago riots of 1891, and to have been
intended as bid for the votes Of those who
sympathIzed with the mob at that time and
denounced the action Of the Federal Govern
ment
1t Is worth while to recall that incident.
There had been strike In a suburb. With the
merits of that we are not concerned large
body Of good people doubtless sympathized with
the strikers and hoped they would gain their
point But that question soon lost all signiti-
cance. A young man named Debs in order to
help them, ordered the railway employees OF
Chicago TO stop work. nnd when other men
took their places to carry on the work which
they refused 10 do, an organized attempt was
made to wreck trains, main laborers and stop
traffic. The Governor Of Illinois was Altgeld,
the same man who had pardoned the IIaymar-
ket bOmb-throwcrs and sympathzed with their
fellows. who had been hanged for murder, as
martyrs to the cause Of human liberty. He re-
fused TO do anything to maintain order. and the
United States authorities were compelled to
send troops to stop the riotIng. which threatened
to spread widely and start carnival Of mobs
all over the country. 1t was the Prasidents