The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-11-30
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE.
That old war horse, Bob Schilling, Of
Milwaukee, in his able paper, '..The Ad-
vance," has this to say in reference to
Bryan's position in the future:
William J. Bryan will not be the Demo-
cratic nominee for president two years
hence. AS far that political party rem
iniscence is concerned, Bryan is politically
dead
If he has the moral courage to accept
the nomination of the Populists he might
be the Abraham Lincoln of the movement
to release our whole country from pauper
bondage. even as the martyred president
led the black people out of chattel bondage.
But while Bryan is a man of wonderful
ability, of great vim and courage, we fear
he is too much Of politician to take such
an advanced position. If he did. Altgeld
and many others would have to follow the
Democratic party would fall to pieces and
then the Republican party would disin-
tegrate because the only thing that holds
this putrid "Reminiscences together is the fear
that some Democrats may get an office
viii Bryan prove equal to the occasion?
We have always felt very kindly to-
ward Mr.. Bryan personally, but we have
also perceived that while he is man of
marked ability he was not a great gen.
Jus. He started into, his battle for
success with but one idea-that at all
hazards the prejudices of the dull un-
reasoning voters, who trained under the
Democratic banner, must be placated,
and that the Populists were a pack of
lunatics, whom no one had any reason
to respect.
It was this spirit that made him in
sist that a nobody, from the state of
Maine whose name we have almost al
ready forgotten, must not be removed
from the national ticket in 1896, and
his place given to Tom Watson, the
choice of the Populists. In that act he
sealed his own doom, not only for 1896,
but for all time. The Maine man
brought neither prestige nor popular
ity to the ticket, and he lived in a re-
gion where neither Populism nor Democ-
racy had the ghost of show.
Then Mr.. Bryan, instead of going out
to the Pacific coast to canvass field
think he could go down into New Eng
land-a region utterly under plutocratic
contrOl-and convert them to his cause
The result was that he was beaten for
the lack of few western states, while
New England did nothing for him.
!. If Brother Schilling was to advise
Bryan in 1900 to cut loose from Democ-
racy he would appeal to deaf ears.
that Bryan, in his eagerness to coax
back the gold democrats to his support,
has given the signal to throw free sill
yer overheard. If this is not so why
did his leading friends in Minnesota in
sist last spring in the nomination of a
gold Democrat who had voted for Nc
Kinley for the Office of mayor of St.
Paul? Why was Mr.. Cutcheon, a gold
bug, received back with a perfect ova-
ton into the Democratic ranks of the
same city? Why has this same business
been going ON all over the United
States?
wi. oAydA lS plcdSdul SCuClOmdH,
but he is first, last and all the time a
Democrat; and he would Just as soon
think of going to heaven in a balloon as
to cut loose from the Democratic party,
as Brother Schilling suggests. -
We would not have strengthened the
cause of Christianity after the death of
Christ to elect the Jewish high priest
| as the head of the new dispensation.
A few scheming fellows. who got up a
deal, might have received petty offices,
but Christianity would have been dead
| forever.
We must stand by our colors first, last
and all the time; if they bring us VIC
tory, well and good; if they don't, We
will simply follow in the footsteps of
| other men who have spent their lives
! fighting for a righteous cause. Think
| of how many good and true and noble
men and women went to the stake and
to the cages of lions to establish
Christianity. Every great party de-
mands it's heroes, any debased party can
have it's camp followers. -..