The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-12
THE CHEF ISSUE OF THE CAM


PAIGS.
| The speech which AIr. Bryan delivered
at Lincoln on Tuesday makes it GEAR that
it is his purpose to spare no effort to
make imperialism the chief issue Of the
campaign. In the course of his remarks
he said: Remember when you go
to the polls 10 vote that you are an Amer
lean citizen. Remember that your vote
may determine this nations position, and
that this nation will. in large measure.
determine the public opinion of the world
on the doctrine that governments come up
from the people. For 124 years this nation
has held before the world the light of lib
erty. For more than a century it has
been an example to the Old World. You
tell me that we can now be indinrent to
what is going on? You tell me that the
man who lifIs his voice against the doc
trine of imperialism is pleading the cause
of the Filipino? I tell you ne is pleading
the cause of 100000 American citizens;
aye. he is championing the rights Of the
struggling masses of the world who look
to America for example"
The foregoing indicates vert clearly
what Mr.. Bryan viii talk about during
the campaign which he inaugurated at
Lincoln. He will, of course. have some
thing to say about other planks in the
platform. 1t is probable that he win have
more to say about silver than any other
one of the minor planks, because it is al
ready evident that il is the purpose of the
Republicans to make silver the most
prominent Issue of the campaign. Their
newspapers are already saying that there
was no discussion of any question in the
Democratic National Convention except
silver, and that the basis of the fusion of
the Democrats, Populists and Silver Re
pubIicans being silver it will, of neces-
sity, be the one great issue Of the cam
paign. They viii, however. find them
selves mistaken. While it is true that
neither platforms nor politicians can de-
termne which issue shall be the leading
one, it is not difficult to see what the
chief issue IN the present campaign will
be-
The people are pretty we'll satisfied that
there is no probability of silver legisla
ton during the next four years, and even
If they thought otherwise they would re-
gard the question of the preservation of
the republic of far greater importance
than any question relating to money.
They are beginning TO realize that the
warnings which Mr.. Bryan has been ut
tering ever since it became clear what the
policy of the Republican party was in re-
spect to the Philippines are not for the
purpose of advancing the interests of his
party. They are beginning to see that
there is a great struggle going on between
those who would change the character OF
the government and those who would keep
it as genuinely republican as it was when
it came from the hands of its found
ers If the government goes into the
colonial business, in accordance with the
policy of the Republican party, its charac-
ter is certain to undergo a change. In
the exercise of imperial power it will
take on the character of Imperialism. The
effort. therefore, to defeat the policy of
the Republicans is not intended to benefit
the Filipinos so much as 1t is, as Mr..
Bryan says. to preserve the liberties Of
IN oOo O00 Americans