Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-03
IN Mr.. BRYAN'S STATE
az H.
Men and Issues Are Involved in the
Gampaign.
BOTH PARTIES D ARE HOPEFUL
Bryao's Prestige. as National
Leader ia the Balance.
FREE SILVER A DEAD ISSUE
FREE SILVER A DEAD ISSUE

| como Will necessarily nave some pear
ing on Mr.. Bryan's personal fortunes as
a party leader. 1t will also have marked
nationa! influence on the question of ex-
pansion. The alignment of parties is dis
tinctly drawn in the platforms. The popu-
lists, or rather the fusionists. for there are
| yet some democrats in the state to fuse
| with the populists. are for the Chicago
| platform. with free silver and everything
else. They are. OF course, against the
| trusts and against the Philippine policy Ct
| the national administration. The language
| in which they state their position on this
point is somewhat guarded, but Mr.. Bryan
| in his speeches clears away the uncer-
| tainty.
| The republicans on their part also
| against the trusts to q degree, and are
| even charged by the fusionists with adopt
! ing some Of Bryhns Ideas That is not
| important. The republicans are specifical-
| ly and aggreSsively for the gold standard
This is important They are also aggres-
| sively for the Presidents policy of prose-
| cutting the war in the Philippines until the
| authority Of the: United States is fully
| recognized. Individual differences Of opin-
| ion about what shall be done after the
| flag is established cut no figure. The party
Is genuinely and thoroughly harmonious
on the main proposition
The election in which the sentiment of
| Nebraska is to be determined on these ma
| tional issues is not in itself important
A judge of the supreme court and two
regents of the state university are to be
| chosen. That Is all Though in heated
| contest like the present neither side will
admit it. 1t is a fact that the individual
| candidates on both tickets are good men,
and the state will not suffer whoever are
successful. The campaign and its result
| simply hinge on whether Mr.. Bryan still
keeps his hold and whether he will be able
| to make anything of his crusade against
Imperialism and mlitarism, SO called, as
a campaign cry for 1900.
Contest Will he Close.
Mingling with the managing politicians
| of all parties, 1 have been impressed with
| their feeling that the contest will be a
close one. The state is really close and
| is fighting ground. 1t began to slump away
| from the republicans eight or ten years
ago. when the Farmers Alliance had It's
mushroom growth. Then it became more
Lopulistic. and the fusion of the demo-
Gratis with the ifnpuhsts took if away from
| the republicans, and the state had a pOpu-
| list United States senator and a popuiiSt
governor. The republicans have been fight
| ing steadily toe regain their lost ground
ana have been milking progress Last
fall they carried the Legislature and named
a straght-out republican TO succeed Sena-
| tor w. V. Allen. They also cut the flu
sion majority doWns.so that Coy, Pointer
| and the popuist nominees won by narrow
| margin. They tust missed a complete vic
| tory. Now the hope and the aim of the
republicans is f. fitish the work of last
| fall and show. The country that. Nebraska
| is a republican Stale for good Yet they
! might fan to carry it this fall and it
would still be fighting ground in 1900.
The republican, party organization seems
to be in elant IS baper, ~ several years
past Il have Known, ticse8 Nebraska cam
paigns and never found the party nlachin-
cry in such good form it is now. Three
years agp,swhen the republicans Of other
states were looking to Nebraska hopefully.
cause of a rotten state house ring, for
which the republicans were responsible.
They managed to keep this knowledge from
getting abroad, and the republican ma
tional committee was deceived the
prospects. But All this is past. The party
organization has been purified. and there
| Is no longer a drawback to united and
effective work. There Is much satisfaction
on the part of the republican leaders that
the party has taken a definite stand for
| the gold standard. This feeling is every
where apparent. Bryan and the fusion
lists sometimes taunt Senator Thurston and
others who were once tinctured with free
silver but these taunts have little force.
Everybody feels that the party is in bet
| ter fighting form for the future, since it
has no apology 20 make Tor ltS position
on the money question
Free Coinage Dead Issue.
Free coinage itself Is no longer live
| issue in Nebraska, but since the populists
advantage to the republicans in squarely
antagonizng this contention. The lack Of
| free coinage agitation is one Of the mark
ed features of the contest. Coin Harvey
| Is travelling over the state preaching his
doctrines and Mr.. Bryan declares that '18
! to 1" is as much the issue as II ever was.
only, he adds, some attention must be
given the new issues of the trusts and
| expansion which have since arisen. But
the truth Is that the people of the state
<JI,.1
| selves, and they are content with very
brief references to it in Mr.. Bryans
| speeches. 1 do not know what he would
! have done for a text If the Philippine diff
ficulties had not occurred.
The republicans state that are getting
some of the wanderers back who strayed
| off from them and joined the populists
years ago. 1t is too early in the canvass
to attempt any count of these by town
ships or voting precincts, so that an idea
may be formed whether there is a real
I gain which will offset any possible defec-
| ton from their own ranks and give them
| a majority In Omaha and Lincoln and in
the other large towns they promise to do
better than they did last fall, when they
made marked gains in these localities. AS
to the populists counties in the western
part of the state no certain information
can yet be gathered.
The republicans are hopeful that the pa
trotic sentiment which upholds the ma
tional administration SO long as there is an
| enemy in arms against the United States
will gather force. as the campaign pro-
| crosses. They will appeal strongly to it.
At one time there was some nervousness
| over the returning soldiers of the LIST Ne
! braska. There also some politics by
| both the republicans and the populists in
| the reception OF those heroes. The repuh-
| licans are no longer nervous on this sub
| ject. The sold9sf boys are back in their
homes. None OF then who went out as re-
publicans have> ceased to be republicans.
| while there arS signs that some of them
who went out as populists have returned as
partisans of International administration, as
| far as relates to upholding it's authority.
| This, too, while sonss of them talk against
| keeping the islRnds as American territory
| after the authority Of the United States is
established and1 RESPECTED. The populists
| have been disebncefted because Chaplain
| Mailley, who Was With the LIST Nebra ska
in the Philippines. is making vigorous
speeches in SUPPORT of the national admin
| istration. His hfguance is not to be ig-
! nored. 1t is ons, 8ohc the signs which the
| republicans thiNk are favorable to their
| success In November by a good majority.
| POpulists Are Hopeful.
The populists are also hopeful and conf
dent. They are commonly called fusionists,
but in reality the opposition to the repub-
licans in Nebraska is populistic. The silver
| democrats keep up a separate organization