Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-10-23
SIZE OF THE SITUATION:
TIDAL WAVE OF DEMOCRACY.

| perhaps conclusive factor in the ap-
pros ching. election.
The reform vote will be given
almost unanimously to Bryan this
wear. Heretofore it has been scat
tered about through numerous small
party organizations, where it has not
made itself felt; but in the aggregate
it is great power. This includes
the single takers, the direct legisla-
tionists, the Golden Rule JONES'
people (1O6 600 in Ohio, and many
others, aggregating considerably more
than one million votes.
The independent vote of the coun-
try, which in late years. has been such
an important factor in determining
elections, will this fall be cast solidly
for Bryan. This alone is sufficient to
decide the election in certain states
and give the national victory to the
democracy.
In 1896 the vote and influence of the
commercial travellers of the country
was given to Mckinley, and it has often
been alleged that this was the decid-
ing influence of the last national cam
paign. This year the travelling men
are almost unanimously for Bryan
and they are working as hard for him
as they did for Mckinley in 1896.
Perhaps no other sign of the times is
more significant than the attitude of
the travelling men in this campaign.
In 1896 large proportion of the
prohibition vote of the country was
cast for Mckinley, under mistaken
impression. This year every prohi-
! bition vote not given to Bryan will
undoubtedly b. cast for Mr.. Wooley.
Certainly Mckinley will receive none
of them. In addition to which, one
great religious society has deemed it
necessary to start an endless chain OF
prayer against the reelection of the
present incum bent of the White
House, and this will certainly affect
thousands of church voters who gave
him their support four years ago.
And then there are the thousands
OF conscientious and patriotic rcpubli-
cans who have been compelled to re-
nounce their party, or its candidate,
because of the bold and glaring cor
ruption which has marked it's admin
istration of public affairs, and who
will this year vote and work for Mr..
Bryan. This condition is something
unprecedented in American politics
and is in itself more than sufficient to
overcome the small adverse popular
majority against Bryan four years
ago.
as against this tremendous and
overwhelming change in popular sem
timent in favor of the democratic ma
tional ticket, the republicans have
nothing to fix their hope on except
Hanna's corruption fund. And this
will not suffice. Four years ago every
man who could be bought or coerced
was handled by the republican mana
gers. They can do no worse this year.
But the clements mentioned above,
who have joined the democratic ranks
since 1896, are not purchaseable. They
have come over to the democratic
party and its candidates from princi-
pie, and are in the fight to stay. These
are the true elements of American
greatness, because they represent the
best citizenship, the highest thought
and the truest conscience of the Amer
lean people. The issue is sharply de-
fined between the republic and the en-
pire AID the people will win, as they
have always won every great political
battle in our history. The Bryan
tidal wave is sweeping over the whole
country, gaining strength every hour.