Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1900-08-04
THE "sINcEREo MIR. BRYAN.

Portions of q letter written to tho
editor OF the New York World last May
by William y. Bryan have been made
public. In that letter Mr.. Bryan sets
forth his principles. He wants the
free coinage OF silver at the ratio OF
16 L 1; the destruction OF every private
monopoly; the amendment OF the con-
~stitution so as TO authorize an Income
tax, ard the election OF senators by tbs
people; the abolition of the system
known as government by injunction"
and the establishment of arbitration
between labor and capital; and the
Filipinos TO have a chance to celebrate
the Fourth of July"
Then Mr.. Bryan says those who ia
vor the gold standard favor a few OF
these reforms, but are against most CT
them So looking at the matter from
the expediency point OF view, II am
not willing to trade a large number Of
people who are all right for a small
number who are part right" He as
sumes that the abandonment OF free
silver will drive away more votes than
It will gain. That Is doubtful. But
even If Mr.. Bryan believed votes could
be gained by giving up free silver he
would not do Il, for he is "the man or
principle" He says, 81 am not anxious
enough for the nomination to purchase
Il by ~sacrfncing what | believe TO be
right. lie says further:
when you look into the matter you
viii End that my strength { II | have
any Is not ell PERSONAL, but is due to
PRINCIPLES | advocate. The only part
that Is personal is the belief among our
peopl that | am honest and will fulfill
every pledge | make. II | give them
any reason TO doubt my willingness to
go down to defeat rather than abandon
my convictions they would turn against
me In q moment. But they shall have
no reason to lose faith"
1t Is courteous to assume that Mr..
Bryan Is not playing the role OF a dem
agogEe In this letter, and that he IS
quite sincere when he says In substance
that he would rather lie right than lie
president" Therefore, II the Democrat
ic national convention nomlnateS him
on the kind of platform he desires, Il
Will DO SO knowing what kind OF a
president the Democratic party end tn
country will have in the event Of By
ans election. Assuming hat Mr.. Bryan
Is n sincere man, he would, II president,
endeavor to "fulhll every pledge" he
had made, no matter how disastrous
might be the consequences to the coun-
try or TO his party. He would be less
amenable to reason than Jack on even
He would persist in a course which
ruined both If he thought what he con-
s'dered his duty de nandei II.
william Allen White. in his study OF
Bryan's character. printed in the cur
rem number of McClure's Me- zine.
says the man H. "pass'onstely sincere
but that If elected president "he would
have such difficult things to learn and
such an ~incapacity for learning them
that he would cut many a fantastic ca
per, and in the end make a mess OF II
as bad as a thorough going rascal
would"
A demagogue elected to Office on q
platform pledging him to carry out bad
policies NAV refrain from carry n :
them out. The arguments Of party lead
ers, or his own conviction that 1t vii
be unwise TO live up to party prom
iscs, may make him hold his hand. But
II the fanatically sincere mantle
kind OF maa Bryan is said to be-who
holds dangerous views, like those OF
Bryan as to free silver and Debslsm, Is
elected to an important office, then
trouble is bound to ensue. The election
OF Mr.. Organ, II sincere, Ia more TO be
dreaded in some respects than that OF
Mr.. Bryan II a demagogue.-Chicago
Tribune.