Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-05
New York Democrats Offended by a
Campaign Bluff
SAY IT is A STAB At BRYAN
Reward of $4,000 for Detection
of Election F rauds
. Feet OF z \ r A d E
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

NEW YORK., November 4, I'"'
One of the things that is attracting the
most attention in democratic circles during
the closing days of the campaign is the
offer of President w. r. Hearst of the Ma
tional Association of Democratic Clubs to
give 81. 900 reward for the arrest and con-
viction of any person found guilty of fall
Styling presidential election returns. In ad-
dition to this. President Hearst has offered
to give 5000 to the first member of the
democratic clubs who furnishes information
resulting in such arrest and conviction.
The offer has stirred uD considerable
comment among the leaders of the demo-
cratic organizations and all of the comment
is not friendly to Mr.. Hearst. A political
writer takes Mr.. Hearst to task, and claims
that the offer is attempt to stab Mr..
Bryan in the back The writer denied
Mr.. Hearst's assertion that the supreme is
sue of the hour is not Imperialism, not
trusts, not IL 10 l. but whether the Ameri-
can people can be bought and sold.
Inasmuch as Mr. Hearst bases his offer
not upon the assertion that the American
people themselves be bought and sold
but upon the claim that the election ma
chinery of the country can be bought and
sold, republicans here in this city are great
ly amused at the way in which the repre-
sentatives and advocates of the Brooklyn
democratic machine have commenced to
squirm because Mr.. Hearst has offered large
rewards for the apprehension of judges
and clerks found guilty of tamperng with
the election machinery. The BROOKLYN or
sanization, it is well known in its wear
book has declared for the gold standard
Mitchell May, the only free silver renrc-
sentative on the other side of the East
river. was turned down by Hugh Nc
I1aushlln, and all the congressiJ nal caudi-
GATES at the eastern end of the Brooklyn
bridge have balted the Kansas CITY Mat
form Hence the charges that Mr. Hearst
has stabbed Mr.. BRYAN in the back ana
the counter charges that the Kings county
plsahiZa'i"n has stabbed Mr. Bryan in the
pack seems to indicate that Mr. BRYAN will
be a much stabbed man" on election day.
Croker Acknowledges Defeat.
Much to the dismay of the minor demo-
cratic politicians who have not bean abra
l" see above the tall grass Richard Croker
mas made what is considered a virtual
ADMISSION that he did not entertain rnuch
nope OF COL Bryan carrying this state The
ADMISSION came in the form of an an
houhcernent that there would be no meeting
o. the leaders al Tammany Hall for
,he purpose of hearing reports and max
MS estimates For years it has been
'He custom Tor Iammany to hold meeting
OF this kind on the Saturday preceding q
national election, and the omission of it This
year means only one thing to the Tammanv
:.ien VINO think 1t means that the prelim-
ti'di tSIhlateS nave indicated a WaIkover
i"f mckinley. and that the chief WouId
raIher nave his followers start to work on
erection morning without knowing that
thelr EFFORTS would be useless
There will be no figures given ont this
year. said Mr.. Croker, when he was seen
az the WisWam. Tammany Hail. TODAY
iieietolore We nave given out figures but
this year we find it impossible to make a
reliable estimate, because so MANY voters
refuse to tell for whom they intend to cast
oileir pa. oall3ts they are afraid of the trusts
EA.a
pose you and l. were working for ~.
anu some one came to US and asked how
We Were going to vote WGild we tell him
IL We intended to vote for Bryan? Not
N. tdch. becauS--W We would not know Who
asked him to find out. We wouId keen
euiet Well that is what the voters are
doing. and because of this We can make
no estimates
impossible to Make Predictions.
Though it is impossible to make positive
predictions concerning the man who will
occupy the presidential chair for the next
-FOUR years, it Is easy to say that some
things have already been settled weeks in
advance of the election. First of ALL there
Is the much-discussed and long-debated
question Of the free and unlimited coinage
of silver.
Even II by combination of circumstances
Bryan should triumph owing to the fact
mat large. and, in fact, overwhelming
FOR Congress here in the east have practi-
caly repudated the currency plank of the
Kansas City platform, il viii be absolutely
in possible for the free silver radicals in
the south and west to do ANYTHING during
the next two years. The commercial inter
estS OF the east appear to dominate the
democratic candidates for Congress- and
despite the fact that some of the farmers
and many of the workngmen have entered
their protests against the abandonment of
free silver. nevertheless the fact seems set
led fhg.r
cratic majority may be in the next House,
admitting that there is majority, the
advocates of free silver will find their
hands tied.
Another thing which seems to have been
settled by this campaign in the advance of
the election is the fact that no matter
whether Bryan wins or loses the radicals
VIII remain in the saddle so far as the
democratic party IS concerned. Democratic
leaders here in the east who are conserva-
tive in their methods acknowledge this
Tammany Hall itself has become so radi-
cal that ii is doubtful whether the Farmers
Alliance in its palmiest days in the west
ever went TO the extreme positions now oc-
cuped by the men in control of the regular
democratic organization in this city Politi-
cal leaders here seem to think that after
the campaign is over unless the agraran
interests force movement which will
probably be worldwide in plan and scope
looking to the ultimate remonetiza ton of
silver. say four years from now after demo-
Gratis have captured both House and Sen
ate. lNat the 0SNt against the gold stand
ard will be to large extent at least aban-
doned
War the Trusts Will Continue.
This does nSt mean, democratic politi-
clans assert, that the war against corporate
wealth will be abandoned. On the contrary
men like Croker in private conversation
admit that matter what happens, the
fight against trusts and commercial COM
blnations will be waged with unrelenting
fury by the democrats, no matter which
party wins in this election. In other words
II is claimed that the democratic party
Is becoming intensely radical Students of
politics here in the east are interested in
watching and are curious TO know whether
the social democratic PARTY will swallow
UP the Sular dem )cra 4" party. or whether
the d mocrat!c organizations will absorb the
socialist radicals. Much, il is said. will I'M
doubtedly depend upon the vote received
by Eugene V. Debs in this election. Ii is
admitted that DebS will obi ain an unusually
large vote in the cities and towns, but it i
Is also claimed by close observers that he
will not make any Roadway against the
farmers OF the country.
Debs himself says that he believes in the
principles of democracy, and that in the
doubtful states of the west he is taking two
away from Mckinley where he takes