The sun., 1900-09-11

Mr.. Bryan is insincere and is merely u.s.
ing these 'liberty phrases to catch
votes where political rights are more ad-
vanced than in the Democratic States,
or else he does not represent the Demo-
cratic party at all. The party's practice
for a generation speaks infinitely louder
than Mr.. Bryan's words. What the
party has always done and is now doing,
1t may be relied upon to do if elected to
power. Until the States where Mr.. Bry-
ans party reigns supreme show some in
tention of practicing these golden pre-
cepts," their declaration in national
platforms and candidates speeches, may
properly be taken as only so much mate
rial for political deception.
1t is not a question of whether the en-
reimbursement of the negro was wise
or unwise policy, but it is n question of
common political honesty. If the party
believes, as its practice shows, that the
negroes are an inferior race and cannot
with safety to our institutions be admit
ted TO political rights, to proclaim the
doctrine that the Creator never denied
to any race of people the capacity of
self-government," is obvious hypocrisy.
Some of the Democrats in the South,
who are more frank and honest than Mr.
Bryan, are already repudiating any pre-
tense of seriously living up to his ethe-
real political declarations. The Macon
Ga, Telegraph. for instance, frankly de.
clares its unwillingness to take Mr.. Bry-
an seriously in this consent of the gov.
erned" talk and says:
1T is all sweet and nice enough to indulge
m nf IpIv cf..fa tn tn.f ,.,.lf
ties about the consent of the governed.
about 'lnalienable rights, about the equality
Of all men at birth, and so forth, just as oul
forefathers did who owned slaves and who
robbed the Indians of their land, but 1t Is
another matter when you try to apply II tc
| the Negro, the Indian, the Kanaka and the
! Filipino. We Of the South are contending
| for our own, and we are going to have It,
| The Negro has nothing that we want that
| was not taken from us by force and giver
| to him. He has no land. he has no birth
| right, no herltage-nothing but a right tC
| help govern which was given wrongfully e
| him. When we take the ballot from him We
| leave him In Il far better condition than hi
| found himself when he came among us a.
II result of Yankee thrift and speculation"
The Macon Telegraph. with real South
| ern frankness, tells the simple truth
| about the Democratic position on this
subject. Its statement is supported by
both the theory and practice of the party
wherever it is in power. Moreover the
Democratic party has never been dishon
est enough to pretend to believe in the po
litical enfranchisement of the inferior
races, and Mr.. Bryan's sudden adniira
ton Of Lincoln and advocacy of Garri
sonian principles is personal fight in
political oratory, which has no relation
to the past practice or future intention OF
the present Democratic party. If Mr.
Bryan should be elected the offices would
be filed and the Government conducted
by people who, like the Macon Telegraph
jeer at these equality phrases" as empty
generalities. They evidently regard thes,
utterances as SO much verbal bait fol
new votes in the ''enemy's country" Bu
here Mr. Bryan's cunning is not as wisC
as the Telegraph's frankness. Honest,
is always respected and such cheap cum
ming as Mr.. Bryan's indianapolis speecl
reveals will fail to deceive. The Ameri
can citizens are not ignorant Filipinos
they are too well informed on the polio,
and practice of the Democracy on this
subject to be caught by Mr.. Bryan
rhetorical if not hypocritical phrases. Th,
name Of Lincoln" and political liberty
are too sacred to be flippantly used il
such a cause. The American people hay,
some sense OF the fitness of things.