The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-09-23

SOME of our contemporaries are
dwelling of late upon the parallel be-
tween the campaign of 1872, when
Mr.. Greeley was the democratic NOM
inee for president, and that of
1896. The contrast, however, seems
to be more pronounced than the par
alltl. The only prominent parallel is
that in both these campaigns the demo-
cratic party nominated men who were
not democrats. Mr.. Bryan may, and
probably will, get more votes than Mr..
Greeley did, but he will not deserve
them 30 much. The contrasts of char
acter, honesty, intelligence and ability
between the two men is very striking,
and in all of these the Greeley party
was far and away the superior of the
Bryan party. Mr.. Greeley was totally
at variance with the democratic party
on the tariff question, and with this and
chief issue to beat Grant, Mr..
Greeley's chances were hopeless from
the start. In 1872 the democrats were
committed to no revolutionary and I'M
democratic doctrines, and the better
class of democrats, as we'll as many re-
publicans, accepted Mr.. Greeley readily.
To-day the democrats are carrying an
accidental candidate, with no reputa-
ton at home or abroad except certain
kind of fireworks oratory, man who
has departed wholly from the ancient
landmarks of the party, and who is
doing all things in his power to sub
vert its principles. Mr.. Greeley's cam
paign was managed by the best brains
of the democratic party. Mr.. Bryan is
in the hands of men of little political
astuteness or personal character, and
reputable democrats the country over
who support him, even in a faint
hearted manner, are few and far be-
tween.
MR.. BRYAN is again travelling on spe-
cial express trains through the South
and East, making repetitions of his pas
sionate cutlery against capital and the
safe standards of finance by means of
which this country has attained its high
est prosperity. His speeches, which
lack SO amazingly the clement of sound
reasoning and which appeal only to the
passions of men, are read largely in
every state in the Union, and the vote
in Vermont and Maine shows with
what effect. AS the campaign ad-
vances his utterances become more
and more violent, and it is only by be-
lieving that men love 10 be led by their
passions more than by reason that any
one can conceive it possible for such q
style of campaign oratory to rally men
to the support of him who delivers it.
In recent speech in Kansas City,
Mr.. Bryan attempted to be facetious
over the famous epigram OF Mr.. Nc
Kinley, that cit is better to open the
mills of this country to the labor OF
America than TO open the minis of this
country to the silver of the world" and
he accuses Mr.. Mckinley of getting
the cart before the horse. Those who
know the financial situation of this
country best know, however, that Mr.
McKinley's words are true, and that We
need an unlimited coinage of conf
dence, instead of an unlimited coinage
of silver. There is no lack of money
in this country at the present. time
and, could republican administration
backed by republican congress, be sci
at work to-day and Bryan and his fol
lowers be relegated to obscurity, the
United States would at once enter upor
period of prosperity and growth such
as has not been known during the las
four years. Such condition of things
will surely come after the third of next
November.