New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-08-25
COLONEL BRYAN'S TWO VOICES.

Colonel Bryan continues to discuss Demo
cratic party problems with two voices, like Ora
tor Puff. Certainly the contrast between his ut
terances at Des Moines ten days ago and his re-
cent interviews and speeches in Omaha is
enough to bewilder the hopeful enthusiasts who
have been counting on a merging In 1900 " past
Democratic differences through a mastery pol
icy of evasion and silence Some color was
given to this hope, perhaps by Colonel Bryan's
frank advice TO the Democrats Of Iowa 10 ignore
the silver question in their State canvass this
year and to fill their platform chiefly with de-
,nunciations of trusts and of the Administra
TONS efforts to enforce the National sovereignty
in the Philippines. Mr.. Bryan seemed to have
fallen In completely with Ex-Governor Altgeld's
opinion that the National platform next year
should not be made top heavy" with declara
Ttion for free silver coinage at the old ratio OF
k16 TO l. Like Mr.. Altgeld, he would have the
principles enunciated at Chicago In 1896 stand
for all time" Yet, as he told the Iowa Conven.
ton, "if issues arise which seem to be OF more
importance than those of the past it is proper
FOR the party TO give prominence to them, and
i'even 10 use them as the basis Of campaign"
Such An announcement was naturally taken in
many quarters as diplomatic hint 10 Eastern
Democratic leaders that readjusment of plat
form values in 1900 was not that absolute log
cal impossblity which it had heretofore seemed
Once In Omaha, however. and exposed afresh
10 the pressure of local party exigencies Colonel
Bryan's voice suffered as marked a change in
note as Orator Puff's Confronted by the neces
ssity of holding the support of the Popust party
In the approaching Fusion convention. the Ne
braska leader suddenly dropped bis concillatory
talk about the saving value Of new issues pooh
poohed the Importance OF the antitrust agita-
tion on the ground that you cannot make peace
with the money trust In order to attack
f''toothpick trust" and asserted emphaticaly
that the Democratic party must maintain It's
former explicit and unqualified demand for free
silver coinage at the ratio of 10 to l. To aban-
don the ratio. Mr.. Bryan declared last Monday,
would be equivalent 10 abandoning the whole
money question. And the platform Of the Dem
iocratic State Convention adopted on Tuesday.
which he either wrote himself or personally re-
yised, contained this uncompromising declara-
ton: THE present legal ratio of Is to is the
natural and necessary ratio and the opponents
.of that ratio have nothing TO offer in its place
sbut the evasive and ambiguous phraseology
(which for years furnished TO the gold standard
advocates a mask behind which to hide while
"they secretly labored 20 make gold monometal-
''lism permanent"
AS the price Of this fat return to Populistic
principles fusion was carried through success
fully, and Colonel Bryan was enabled to retain
his political prestige in State in which the
Populist wing Of his following still outnumbers
the Democratic. II is curious. however, that the
Nebraska orator should have been forced to dis
close so promptly the conflicting quality OF his
two voices. OF the twin notes II would be hard
TO decide offhand which Is the more character
tstic and genuine. The Omaha one doubtless re-
fleets the Democratic standard bearers freer
impulses and more intimate political convic'
tons. The Des Mones voice, on the contrary,
reveals the studied calculation Of the political
opportunist maneuvring deliberately for advan.
tage and support There may be minimum OF
genuine purpose and meaning behind IT, but in
the main 1t Is merely the barking Of the polit'