Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1899-04-27
The Confidence Of Bryan.

however much republican gold organ
have tried to make themselves believ
that the money question is settled
and will never again be an issue, the.
have failed, and are beginning t,
sound the alarm that Bryan snC
Organism" will have to be met anC
fought again.
IF any republican has been il
doubt" says the Capital, las to WHIT
the democratic nominee will be FOL
president next year and what th'
platform will be, the dollar banquet
last Saturday at New York and the
extraordinary reception rendered tc
the hero Of the evening ought to dis
pell his doubts. That the man and
the issue will be same az in 1896 il
not open to question. There will be
but one candidate before the demo
cratic national convention. Mr.. Bry'
an will be nominated by reclamation
and he will dictate the platform,
which for all practical purposes will
be revamplng Of the silver platform
Of three years ago
"All the speakers at the dollar New
York banquet harked back to Jeffer-
son and what democrats of the Bryan
school consider the hey.day Of the
Country's history, before the decline
and decay set in. The Bryan demo-
Gratis are as proud Of the nations
past as they are ashamed Of its pres
emit. They want the old glory re-
stored.
"There is no explanation OF such q
demonstration IS occurred at the New
York banquet apart from the person
atty OF the orator Of the Platte, The
condition Of the democratic party
would be chaotic but for one map.
He is the god Of the machine. He
has hypnotized his party and it stands
ready to follow him anywhere with
implicit obedience and faith and
confidence such as American politics
has never witnessed in century.
The dollar banquet was in honor OF
the founder Of the democratic party,
bat when orator John Clark Ridpath,
who was assigned to the toast Of JEFF
ferson, appropriate TO the occasion
alluded to that statesman as the
most intellectual democrat who ever
lived there was disorder and a hun
bred protests demanded that the
name OF Bryan be substituted for JEFF
ferson. The orator bowed to Col.
Bryan and ate his words. In the
mature judgment Of the rank and file
OF the democratic party William j.
Bryan is greater man and safer
leader than Washington, Jefferson or
Lincoln.
1T is idle to ask this element Of
democrats and demo-pops what Bry-
an has ever done. The fact that he
has never done anything; that he has
never been put to the test, is his
strength. So long as Bryan is not
put to the test and is at liberty to
make all sorts Of glittering promises
and envelop his fiat schemes In q
glamor Of rhetoric appealing to clsss
and sectional prejudice he will hold
his following.
Hence republicans who have been
thinking that they have only to put
up a ticket and point to the undoubt-
ed and indubitable prosperity of the
country as compared with any previ-
GUS period either before or since the
days Of Thomas Jefferson, to insure a
triumph in November, may be over
ssnguine There is no evidence that
Bryan has lost any of his supporters
of three years ago. He himself has
been pretty thoroughly over the
ground, has talked with all sorts and
conditions Of men IN every section of
the United States and is so certain Of
the integrity of his following that he
scarcely ever opens his mouth, fire..
quent occurrence, without serving no.
tice on gold democrats that they are
not wanted, Bryan rs ambitious to
be president; as much so at least as
any American citizen has ever been,
and no man ambitious to win this
very exclusive and difficult prize
would be foolish enough to drive men
away from him unless he realized
that his position was secure and that
he could afford to be aggressive. He
believes that the 6,500000 voters of
1896 will be for the same candidate
end ticket in 1900 and that the defec-
Gion from the republican party, to all