The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-07-11


the conduct of the governments
AT Kansas City the unitics are pre-
served and the names Of Jefferson and
Bryan indissOlubly linked together.
Each lcaped into the circle of the i'm
mortals ut an early age. jefferson he.
Ing only So when hc wrote the great
Declaration, which will bc iSad with
rapture as long rs the earth rcvolves
upon Its axis or slides down the ccllp-
tic. AMI Bryan being only Is when In
that astounding speech before the Chit
cago convention he not only snatched
the presidential nomination from the
renowned veterans Of his party. but
also wrote his name on the scanty list
Of really great orators.
Jefferson was defeated in 1906, elect.
ed In 1900. reelected In 1904 and left
the government I'm the hands Of his pO.
litical friends for half century. Bry-
an was defeated I'm 1896, and history
repeating itself he will be elected in
1900, reelected In 1904 and will trans
NIT the government to long line of
political faith-the peoples political
faith-a cOnsummatiOn devOutly to be
wished.
Candidate and Platform.
A great controversy Is raging among
certain sapient editors as to which has
the more farreaching influence in car
rying a presidential election, the candi-
date Or the platform. Nobody can tell,
because nobody knows and because it
Is sometimes one, sometimes the other
md sometimes neither. For instance,
In 1910 neither candidate nor platform
had much to do with the result. There
had been panic, and I'm delirium the
people sang General William Henry
Harrison into the White House with a
lot Of doggerel which has created as
tonishment and merriment ever since.
In 1874 the platform, or. more properly
speaking. q letter written by Henry
Clay, gave the victory to James X.
Polk. In 1S48 General Taylor's mill
tary prestige and a split In the Demo
cratic party crowned the hero Of Buena
Vista with the greatest civic honors.
Nobody paid any attention to the plat.
form. Nobody knew what Taylor's
opinions were ON political questions.
Indeed he did not know himself, but
he had walloped the Mexicans in a
most astounding manner, he was nick
named "Old Rough and Ready" a
fetching sObriquet. and sly Martin Van
Buren, out Of revenge deftly inserted
his poisoned dagger under the fifth rib
Of the ponderous General Cass. In
1852 the platform was the chief thing
which enabled Brigadier Franklin
Pierce to snatch the coveted prize
from Lieutenant General Winfield
Scott, the hero Of Lundy's Lane, Churu-
busco and q score Of stricken fields.
In 1850 the platforms were everything,
the candidates nothing except as expo
nents Of the platform. In 1884 the re-
suit came Of the malice of Roscoe
Conkling and the ALTERATION of Parson
Burchard. Jackson was elected in 1928
by reason Of his matchless achieve
ment at New Orleans and reelected in
1882 because he stood for the rights of
the plain people," as Lincoln denomi-
mated them; "the common people, as
Bryan loves to cal, them. In neither
case did he need any platform save his
own record, and doubt whether any
body paid the least attention to the
platform. The cry was "Hurrah for
jackson" and 1t was irresistible. In
ut least half the cases presidents have
been elected by Wis Things
hre all right. let them alone"
One curious result Of Martin Van Bu-
ren's caper in 1S4S was that the name
or Van Buren, county in Missouri was
changed to Cass and that of Kinder.
hook to Benton. Missourians take pol
itics seriously and never fail to punish
inhdelity to the party. A man in Mis-
souri, could no more duplicate the re-
cent somersaults Of Hon. Joseph G.
SiDley OF Pennsylvania than he could
hy. Attempting that role a Missourian
would have to begin at the foot of the
class and spell up" for 20 years.
In the present instance Bryan needs
no platform. He Is platform I'm him.
self. Everybody knows what he stands
for and for that very reason will elect
him with whOop. In electing him
they know precisely what they are get
ting. They are not buying a pig in a
poke. They also know he will do what
he says. for while the average citizen
may not be able to talk the iargon of
physiognOmy he judges men ''by their
flesh marks" and no man ever gazed
into Bryan's handsome face and beheld
his high bridge nose, his magnificent
eyes and his square underjaw without
knowing that he possesses incorrupti.
bic honesty, leOnine courage and un.
conquerablc resolve. Hence they trust
him; hence he needs no platform.
A to Traitors.
Old King David once exclaimed In his
wrath. eAll men are liars" IL he were
on earth again and should read divers
and sundry Republican newspapers. he
could with Dprfect tru<h ooI L. IT.