The times., 1898-11-17
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER Il. 1895.
Colonel Bryan's Mistake.

1t was more tnan mortal man, IN lne
situation of Colonel William j. Bryan,
could stand, to have the election re-
turns construed as condemnation by
the people of the financial doctrines of
the Chicago convention: as a warrant
for forging the golden chains of Cages
fancy on the growing limbs of the New
America; for further protective legisla-
tion TO the favored class that contrib
utes to the Hanna campaign funds. and
for a more complete surrender to the
trusts. To remain silent under this
false Interpretation would have been to
lack the spirit of the trodden worm. So.
despite his lockjaw when the President
himself was guilty of partisan cam
paigning in the very State of Nebraska
and when officials in the civil service
were perniciously active everywhere,
Colonel Bryan overcomes his hypersen-
sitive scruples and refutes the asser-
tions of the Republicans and the Crok-
ers about the death and burial of the
free silver issue.
1t is the simple and the obvious truth
that no financial or tariff issue was al
lowed to figure in the recent campaign.
The Republicans shrewdly and the
Democrats timidly avoided all reference
To the questions that ragged in 1896. AS
Colonel Bryan says, the Republican
success. which he thinks is overrated,
chiefly means that a majority of the
people responded to the appeal to stand
by the President until the treaty of
peace should be effected. These ques-
tions"-of financial and economic leg
isiation-"were forced into the back
ground by the declaration of war
But Colonel Bryan errs in exactly the
manner of those whose interpretations
of the returns he refutes. He makes the
same unwarranted inference when he
says the election was not an indorse-
ment of any definite foreign policy.
Until treaty of peace has been en-
tered into and the terms made known
the people cannot pass judgment upon
it," This is not meeting a blow in a
manly way. The Republican platforms
Were clear and emphatic in demanding
the annexation of all the Philippines.
The week before the election the Presi-
dent instructed the Peace Commission
ers to inform Spain's representatives
that we should take every island of the
archipelago. This was commented on,
favorably or unfavorably, by Demo-
cratic newspapers, and approved by
nine in every ten Republican journals
1t was the burden of every Republican
speech. Colonel Bryan himself says the
strongest argument used in the cam
paign was that a Republican defeat
would discredit the President in the
eyes of foreign nations while his Com
missioners were engaged in making a
treaty" This is nearly true The exact
statement would be that the Republi-
cans argued that their defeat would en-
courage Spain to resist the demand for
the Philippines-and the argument won
OF course, it is not pleasant for Colo
mel Bryan to admit that the result of
the elections is rebuke to his advocacy
of policy of narrow provincialism, but
it is fact he cannot afford to misrep-
resent or ignore. 1t may cut no figure
in 1900. but if it does. it will be fatal to
the ambition of Colonel Bryan If he
persists in resisting the popular senti-
ment, and fatal to the Democratic party
if it fails to put itself in harmony with
that sentiment Colonel Bryan would
profit more by continued silence if he
is not TO meet actual conditions frankly.
He cannot succeed any better than
Croker or the Republicans in misleading
the people as to the meaning of the cleo
tons