New-York tribune., 1900-10-18
BRYAN AND THE MAN IN THE STREET

The Man in the Street went to hear Mr.. Bryan
at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night
BY the grace Of Mr.. Crokers police he heard
him all the way through. He did not interrupt
him, of course. But he did some pretty active
thinking and said a few things to himself. For
example, he heard Mr.. Bryan say:
We draw the line between honest and preda-
tory wealth; between that wealth which is a
just compensation for services rendered and
that wealth which simply measures the advan-
tages which one citizen has taken over many
citizens.
And the Man in the Street looked and saw
close by the speakers side that speakers chief
political partner, his host in this city, the man.
ager of his campaign here, the man who called
that meeting TO order; he thought of the vast
predatory wealth" which the leader of Tam
many Hall had amassed, and he wished-Oh.
how he wished!-that Mr. Bryan had turned to
Mr.. Croker and asked, Where did you get it?'
And when Mr.. Bryan went on to say that 1.-The
IMAM who can use the instrumentaity of the
Government for private gains can profit
under Republican Administration" the Man in
the Street in wonder and awe inquired of his
soul, How about Tammany Hall?'
But Mr.. Bryan continued:
Tell me that the farmer prospers when every
decade shows that he possesses a less and less
percentage Of the wealth of the country!
Why, thought the Man in the Street here is
the logic of a simpleton. Because manufactures
and commerce are prosperous, must the prosper
ity of the farmer necessarily fail? When Il
country is first settled it is almost exclusively
agricultural. and the farmer possesses practi-
cally all of its wealth. In time manufactures
and commerce are developed and represent a
share of the wealth, that the proportion DOS
| sessed by the farmer necessarily decreases,
though the actual amount increases. The man
who cannot see that a farmer or any one else.
may double his wealth and at the same time
have smaller proportion of the whole wealth
| of the community would better study the null
| tplication table
Then Mr.. Bryan went on to speak of the evils
of trusts, and said
The Republicans refuse to meet the issue
And the Man in the Street set against this
statement of the speaker the fact of record
that IN the last Congress the Republicans did
meet the issue and proposed to deal with it in
| the most effective way. with a constitutional
| amendment for the regulation of trusts. but the
Democrats even Mr. Bryan's stanchest friends
and most tTuculent octopus hunters. lodged the
| issue and declined to cooperate with them for
| that purpose.
few moments later Mr.. Bryan demanded
concerning the Republican party with trium-
phant air, as of one who asks perfect "noser".
Why don't they defend the Sugar Trust?
| Why, indeed? echoed the Man in the Street
| Why should they when Mr. Shepard is paid to
| do it-Mr. Edward NJ. Shepard. the gentleman
there on the platform, who introduced Mr..
Bryan to the meeting? Mr. Shepard is the de.
fender and champion-what Mr.. Bryan would
call the hired man'-of the Sugar Trust WHY
should the Republicans or any one else NEEDLE
with his chosen business? Then Mr. BRYAN
proceeded:
/ believe that one of the reasons why tbs,,
/ want large army is to build fort in this city