The times., 1899-12-21
POLITICAL NOTES AND GOSSIP.

Carnegie and BryBn.-The old story
of Andrew Carnegie's alleged conditional
/ support of Mr.. Bryan in 1900 was revived
/ yesterday with some new trimmings. Sew
/ eral months ago the story ran that the
/ iron magnate would throw his influence
and money on the side of Mr.. Bryan next
/ year as opposed to Mr.. Mckinley without
conditions After a time the story was
modified to the extent that Carnegie's sup
! port of Mr.. Bryan would depend upon the
/ Nebraskans continued and unconditional
! tight against expansion. Now the gossips
have it that Mr.. Carnegie has imposed an
1 other condition, which is that Mr.. Bryan
cause the Democrats TO eliminate 1t TO
from their platform in 1900. No Western
I or Southern Democrat could be found yes
I terday who believed that Mr.. Bryan or any
other man at present prominent in the par
/ ty councils would entertain Mr.. Carnegies
alleged proposition. Some OF them said
they had heard it rumoTed that Mr. Car
negie had agents travelling over the coun-
try quietly working on the proposition
/ suggested but they refused to believe this
was being done. Most of them Indignantly
! resent the impeachment contained in the
/ suggestion that Mr. Carnegie could sweTve
the party managers from their fixed pur-
pose to have the Chicago platform Is to l
and ALL readopted next year Still. the
/ Carnegie story is being industrously circu-
lated. and ii will perhaps continue to be
handed around until some authoritative de-
NAL or yeriication of il is made.
Was II GOrman's Work :-The action
CT John Walter Smith, Covernor-eiect of
Maryland. and ad interim member of Con
4 greS5, in lodging the vote on the Currency
/ bill in the House Monday, continues to be
the theme of lively speculation among
J Democrats in both wings of the Capitol
( The general opinion is that the dodge was
I not only deliberately planned but that it
/ was part Of a scheme very adroitly con-
/ ceived by former Senator German and the
element Of the party he represents to set
the managers 10 guessing about Mary
land in general, and more particularly
about Mr. German. Mr.. Smith has not yet
come forward with any explanation OF his
/ absence from the House when the roll was
called on the Currency bill. No one, so
far as known. has seen At to try to make
him break silence though the curiosity
as to exactly how he would have voted had
he been in his seat Monday Is keen and
widespread. 1t is known By all of the
curious that the platform on which he
reversed a Republican majority in Noyem-
Der and brought Maryland back to the
Democratic column utterly ignored the
financial question as we'll as that OF eXpan-
sion. In fact, the only pronounced express
sion in the platform was on the subject
of the unfettered liberty OF the press. AT
the time of its adoption the country was
indignant at the rigid censorship the Ad-
ministration was having General Otis
maintain on cable dispatches from Manila
The Maryland Democrats voiced the ma
TONS Indignation over this in the plat
form, 5rDou yyhi Mr. Smith stood
But" said Democratic Senator from
the South yesterday the liberty Of the
press in this country is not in danger and
I doubt that that plank in the Maryland
platform had anything to do with Mr.
Smiths election. Mr.. German smiled Gym
ically when I asked him recently what was
meant by the wild shrek OF the party
cohorts in Maryland for the maintenance
Of the liberty of the press. Then he
changed the subject. 1 have always known
that German Is not IS to l man, but
do know he used to be bimetalist. There
was no issue of ratio in the Republican
Currency bill passed by the House. 1t pre-
sented unequivOcally and boldly the broad
question of bimetallism or recommendation
Democrats of every shade OF opinion. eX-
cept those who voted the indianapolis
ticket in 1896, can unite IN opposing tbs
bill passed Monday. l do not believe
( therefore, that Mr German had anything
to do with Mr.. Smiths ineXplicable course
At the same time, Mr.. Smiths conduct has
aroused great deal Of discussion all ovel
the country as TO Mr.. Germans attitude
toward the Chicago platform, and there il
no telling but that il viii eventually result
in some concerted movement with forcs
back OF it. for a modification of the cur
rency plank in that instrument Such q
movement once we'll started within the
party lines would possibly not stop shor
Of vigorous antagonism to Mr. Bryan, an(
if this should be successful 1 conceive i
to be not impossible for Mr.. German tC
, fall heir to the party leadership next year
You know Mr Bryan has frequently de-
clared of late that IL the Democracy
thought it could win with another canGi
date and could not win with him he woult
step aside Well, maybe Mr. German thinks
it is time to begin to show Mr. Bryan tha
there is an element in the party ready anC
eager to take him at his word, and tha
the plan of this element can be gradually
unfolded to the country by the pronounced
friends of the Maryland leader doing sur
prising things, like Mr. Smiths dodge OF
Monday