New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-09-19
RRyAy on HUMAN NATURE.

CoionoI Rryan brings 10 actual realization the
,ooond ~ tho fellow who raced around n circle
| so smarly as 10 tread upon his own heels. ne
argues in a circle so smartly as 10 cause
rear end collision with his own train OF thought
! The entire defence OF trusts he tells us. rests
unon money argument: and then he proceeds
IN sov that trust is a bad thing because when
II gets full control Of one branch Of Industry II
viii fix wages and prices as it pleases, and he
assures US that the root of the monopoly evil
il explained In the Biblical declaration mat the
love of money Is the root of all evil. Are "e'
then. 10 understand that the defence OF trusts
is to be condemned because 1t rests upon n
money argument while the attack upon trusts
similarly resting upon a money argument Is 10
be approved?
Again. he attributes the evil 70 human nature.
God" he assures u.s. with the cocksurehess oi
absolute authority on all topics pertaining 10
Divinity, God made men selfish we hau peeh
informed but IL must have been on INFERIOR au-
thority, that God made man in His own image
But let that pass. 1t happened a long time ago.
The point of present interest is that Colohel
BRYAN reckons men TO be selfish, ana huihah
nature to be selfish, and yet demands mat we
shall legislate against selishness. DOES ne eA
pect selfish men TO prohibit selfshness or hu
manity to deny human nature! truly, we
have not heard of convention OF thieves re-
solving that there shall be no more stealing
nor of a petition of fishes for the aDontlon Oh
swimming He tells us there can be no good
monopoly until God sends us angels to preside
over u.s. Why not have them? lf ny leglslauon
we can overcome the human nature WIN WHICH,
as he tells us, God created u.s. why not ike
wise enact that henceforth there shall be angels
TO manage our affairs?
II God did indeed make men so selfish as
Colonel Bryan processes to think, what nope
can there be Of the success Of any legislation
against It? The history Of the world teens
with records of legislation against human
nature but never in a single instance crowned
with success. Human nature demands FREEDOM
political religious. intellectual Industrial. In
Vulnerable despots have strven to restrict ana
to deny that freedom, with partial ana TEN
porary success but with ultimate ana uls-
astrous failure. A like failure must await the
like denial and restriction which Colonei bryan
proposes Moreover, there can be no presulhp-
ton more foolish and more monstrous than TOT
one man or set Of men 10 declare themselves
superior in nature to all the rest OF humanity
If God made men selfish, then He made william
J. BRYAN selfish and we are at liberty 10 as
sumo that the latter's motive in his attack upon
trusts Is every whit as selfish as the motives
OF their defenders.
It is a pitable spectacle which man makes
of himself when ne assumes such an at
ttude as that; especially a man who puts
himself forward as a leader Of men. Colo
mel Bryan aspires TO become the head OF
the United States Government He believes
in his own dignifed and statesmanke words
that zone Of the great purposes Of government
is TO put rings in the noses of hogs He likens
selfish men to hogs. And he declares that COO
made men selfish" Practically therefore, he
saws to the American people, "You are all set
of hogs Let ME put rings In your noses IL
would be edifying to mankind 10 see him seek
ing votes on such platform. Or, TO maintain
his own chaste imagery, roofing for votes IN
such a sly.