The Advocate and news., 1898-05-11
Bryan and Lee In 1000.

Bryan and Lee In 1900.
Consul General Lee, on his return from
Cuba, was everywhere received by the
people with marked respect, and at no
place was his greeting more enthusiastic
than 1t was at Washington city, And
this happened, too about the time when
Democrats Of that city were arranging
for demonstration and dinner in mem
Ory OF the birth of Jefferson. The pres
ence at the nations capital Of General
Lee and candidate Bryan-both Dem
ocrats-and the attentions paid both OF
them, set the party gOssips to work guess
Ing what might happen to Mr. Bryan in
case Mr.. Lee should be made a candi-
date for nomination as the partys choice
for President in 1900. Very many Dem
ocrats," the gossips said, have been
greatly pleased by Consul General Lees
conduct in Havana, and they have gone
so far as TO say that he would make
iirst-rate candidate for the Democrats to
take up for President In the national
campaign of 1900" And these friends
of Lee did not conceal their desire to
mix politics and patriotism. It is said
that in most hotels and public gathering
spots of Washington many Lee buttons
were worn In the coats of his admirers.
These buttons showed picture OF Cen
eral Lee surrounded by the American and
Cuban flags" and these buttons had been
accepted to mean by the Democrats that
General Lees friends had already started
a boom for him as the Democratic can
didate for President in the campaign Of
1900"
The New York Suns Washington cor
respondent, writing of the dinner and the
presence in Washington, at the same
time, OF these two distinguished gentle
men with accompanying comments, says:
"Mr. Bryan had not been In Washing
ton fifteen minutes before he was in
formed of these buttons and Of the solid
admiration felt for GeneralLee as Con-
sui General at Havana, not only by the
Republicans, but also by the Democrats.
Mr.. Bryan was not at all disturbed by
what he considered the mOmentary pop
ularity of General Lee. He and Chair
man James K Jones Of the Democratic
national committee, and all the Bryanites
who spoke at the dinner given In honor Of
Thomas Jefferson, recalled instantly that
General Lee in the campaign of 1896 was
a gold Democrat, and that stigma remains
on his political character, no matter
about his services at Cuba"
The correspondent adds that Mr.. Bry-
ans friends heard the rumOrs about Cen
eral Lees possible presence as pOliti-
cal factor in 1900 with something like
Indifference II not contempt. From
political standpoint they do not care any
thing about General Lees attitude In Ha-
vana. They only refer 10 his attitude
during the Presidential campaign OF
1896"
The reporter, possibly magnlfed this
gossip and attached undue Importance to
It; yet 1t is not at all impossible that
such a condition may confront the DEM
Ocratic national convention two years
hence There is nOthing out OF the COM
mon In 1t. It has many precedents. All
General Lees friends will have to do In
order to remove his political spawn and
restore his party soundness Is TO select
some suave and fiery orator at the proper
time and place to deliver a speech pre-
pared by David B. Hill when In one OF
his hopeful moods, then shade OF the
silver resolution in the platform little
80 that the ratio may be less conspicuous
II will be a very simple matter to re-