New-York tribune., 1900-10-18

and use the army to suppress by force that dis
| conter.t which ought TO be cured by legislation
IF you can believe that" murmured the
other, in the words of famous man, you can
believe anything" But he declined to believe
| that Mr. Bryan did believe 1t. and If he had
believed that Mr.. Bryan believed it he would
have hesitated to say So for fear 1t would be
| libellous.
| In almost the next breath Mr.. Bryan uttered
| the noble sentiment:
| We want the light Of liberty to shine so
| brightly that everywhere it will inspire people
to fight to secure the right to govern themselves.
| And the Man in the Street wondered if he
meant even in North Carolina.
But a worse problem remained. Said Mr..
Bryan:
am perfectly willing to assume responsibility
| for the ratification of the Paris Treaty But
| the Republicans ought TO assume the response
| bility for the making of the treaty. did not
| make the treaty, and I am not responsible for
| the treaty.
The Man in the Street pinched himself to
| make sure he was awake. and then unused on
what he had heard. "I assume responsibility
| for ratifying the treaty But am not respon-
"sible for making the treaty But, in the name
of common sense. what would all the treaty
making on earth amount to if the treaty were
not ratified? Why. this is as If man were to
say II did not draft the law, but merely voted
for its enactment, so l am not responsible
"for it, Then said Mr. Bryan again:
They try to draw us into a discussion of the
money question. We prepared to meet them
any question. They put the dollar above
the man. and make money more precious than
human blood.
But the Man in the Street could not recall
that Mr.. Bryan had in this campaign once met
the Republicans on the money question. despite
his boasted preparation to do so; while as to
the relative value of money and blood, he did
remember hearing this same Mr.. Bryan say, in
the same place, four years before, that 1.-The gold
standard Is made up of more misery for the
human race than wars or pestilence or famine" +"
And ne wondered If that too, was not putting
money above human blood.
But the peroration drew near Cried the
orator:
Beware my friends. of a President when he
becomes greater than the Constitution
The Republican President has promised to haul
down the flag in Cuba. If the Republican
President can haul down that flag within two
hundred miles of Shores Democratic Pres
ident haul it down seven thousand miles
away.
All. said the Man in the Street. we have never
doubted the ability or the readiness of a Demo
cratic President to haul down the flag or to let
others haul it down. Yet the two cases cited
are not alike. The flag will come down in Cuba
in obedience TO law and in accord with treaty
while there is no law and no treaty providing
for hauling it down in the Philippines. In
hauling it down there Mr.. Bryan's Democratic
President would be overriding treaty annul-
ling law and arbitrarily alternating some of
the possessions Of the United States Of a
truth, that would he "a President greater than
the Constitution" of 'om Mr. Bryan bids his
friends to beware.
So Mr.. Bryan ended his speech and the police
embargo at the doors was removed, and the
Man in the Street went his way, convinced only
OF the folly of what he had heard.