New-York tribune., 1900-08-07
BRYAN THE VOTE CHASER.

Forecasts from Omaha OF BryanS speech in
acceptance Of the Democratic nomination to he
delivered in indianapolis Wednesday, con
firm the statements of Chairman Mcclure and
other Bryanite leaders that the silver issue is
to he rtlpgatrd to the rear in an effort to lure
the Gold Democrats back into the party fold.
In fact. the whole Chicago platform. which was
rpattirmed at Kansas City with an added dec
laration in favor Of hfty-cPnt dollars. is to be
ignored as absolutely as possible, while the
contiding voter Is to be fooled with sounding
phrases about imperialism and the unutterable
wickedness of carrying t0 its logical conclusion
the war against Spain. for which every Bryan
ite member Of Congress and every Bryanite
newspaper in the country was clamoring morn
ing noon and night during the winter and
spring of 1898.
Evidently Bryan has seen great light since
the early days OF July when he was tugging
frantirally at the wires of the Kansas City
Convention to make unequivOcal the Fourth of
July declaration against the gold standard.
Then no dodging of the beloved silver idea could
be permitted. Now no open acknowledgment
Of the issue can be allowed. 1t appears. after
all that the Nebraska phrase maker, the alleged
founder OF the Demopopracy. is no leader.
The posing of four years was Just posing; moth
ing more At last the veil Is torn aside by his
nearest and closest friends and the real man
revealed n vote chaser pure and simple.
For they hastening. almost indecently. to
assure the country that Bryan made free silver
his leading text in 1896 because the Chicago
Convention had declared that subject 10 he
Paramount 10 all Others while in 1900 he is
prepared TO ignore the great principles of con
sttutional government involved in the 'crime
of 1873" government by injunction" and the
failure of the income tax raid, because the
Kansas City Convention discovered that i'm
periallsm." whatever ii may mean. was the
most available "bogey man for present cam
pagn purposes. In the words OF the Omaha
dispatches:
MIR. Rrvan's friends assert that II was not the
personal wish OF their leader 10 make silver the
burden of the platform and of his speech. but.
On the contrary he was inclined TO permit the
Convention to indicate to him the policy to be
pursued, being guided wholly by the wishes Of
the party.
All of which accordS but i'll with the under
standing of the matter expressed by the only
Democratic Governor Nebraska ever had, James
f. Boyd, who said only three days ago:
The greatest mistake Bryan ever made was
10 require the Kansas city Convention TO reit-
crate the IT. u | silver free coinage plank He
emphasized It beyond all others. thus doing
what the Republicans would have him do. II
VIII cause Bryans defeat under heavier majori-
ties than were given four years ago II was
sheer idiocy. Money was never so plentiful and
the interest rate never so low. Prices Of farm
products were never better. and the producers
t re getting gOll money for their products.
Prosperity. everywhere in evidence. cannot be
talked down. 1t may not be due to Mckinley,
but il is possible under the policy for which
Mckinley stands.
If the redOubtabla boy orator" had seen the
light sooner and discovered his change OF heart
before instead Of after Kansas City. his path to
the White House might have been less thorny.
Now he has on the one hand four years and Il
day Of unceasing advocacy Of Chicago platform
principles to explain away to Gold Democrats
and lovers Of law and order, while on the other
he has been named as the standard bearer Of
the Populists To whom all the fantasies Of that
platform are still living belief. and Of the
Silver Republicans, To whom free silver Is as
the apple Of their eye. Even while Bryan turns
handsprngs to convince Gold Democrats that
he is turning s0mersau ultS. his running mate on
The Silver Republican ticket Is talking of retir-
Ing in favor OF Stevenson because he feels as
sITed that the cause of free silver iS safe in
the new anti-imperialiSt'S hands.
Most voters. whatever their religious beliefs
accept as true the Biblical saying, NO man can
would. could serve the Gold Democrats or the
country with a Congress Of DemopOps POpu-
lists. Free Silver Republicans and Heaven
knows what not else barking at his heels.