Evening star., 1900-10-27
Spellbinders Now Have the Campaign
to Themselves.
some DEMOCRATIC GOLD BRICKS
Webster Davis and Senator Wei
lington Doing Little Good.
REPORTS AT HEADQUARTERS
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

olNciol correspondence OF Ire Evening Stdr.
CHICAGO, Ill, October "a, 1900.
The democrats feel as though they had
been "gold-bricked" in speakers. in at least
two instances. One is Webster Davis, the
silver-tongued orator from Kansas City. of
Boer fame. and other flames too numerous
to mention. Davis has been discredited in
his own state, and is having hard row to
hoe, according to reports from almost every
place he speaks. They continually ask him
about that hole that was shot in his hat
when he was running for mayor in Kansas
City, and then touch him up about that
S125,00O he was alleged to have received
from the Beers. Whenever Davis gets off
| speech the republican headquarters hear
about 1t, and numerous letters are received
telling of the bad impression he produced.
Senator Wellington is another one of the
democrats who has been put In the gold
brick class. He is a good talker, but illog-
ical. Through every argument he makes
there is the sign of the personal feeling in
volved, and this sort of thing does not make
votes. The democrats have been fortunate
in having some of the old-line democrats on
the stump, perhaps Bourke Cochran and D.
B. Hill have called forth the most favor
| able criticism. Bourke Cochran, when told
| OF his inconsistency. says, We'll, l had
rather be right than consistent"
Both of the national committees have
| SHul uOWH ON tnelT literature, anu now the
| spelbinders are pounding day and night
and will continue to do so until the polls
| open November g. Politicians are dropping
| into Chicago every day and making reports
| to their respective committees. The hard
| work of the campaign has begun, and there
will be no rest now until after the election
Many requests are being received each
| day at republican headquarters for Senator
| Hanna. He has made an impression " her.
| ever he has spoken, and has proven a
| drawing card.
| One of the surprises of the week the
| Hopping of eX-Congressman W. H. Stone of
| the tenth congressional district of Missouri.
| Mr.. Stone has been prominent democrat
| all his life, and served in the Forty-third
| and Forty-fourth Congresses. He is cut
now for Mckinley.
Perry Heath's Views.
| "It does not surprise me in the least
| said Secretary Perry S. Heath today at
republican national headquarters, that
democrats decline to vote for Bryan. When
l sa.- democrats 1 mean the old followers
| of the regular democratic party, those who
| believe in the doctrines of jefferson, not of
! Aguinaldo. Mr.. Bryan has nothing in COM
| mon with the old democratic party. On
| more than one occasion he has threatened
| to bolt that party.
I'm the Nebraska democratic state con-
| vention in 1898, held in the Funk Opera
! House. at Lincoln, the platform adopted
| favored the repeal of the Sherman law.
! Mr.. Bryan submitted an amendment to this
| plank, and made radical speech before
the vote was taken. Speaking of the plank
| favoring the repeal Of the Sherman law, he
| said:
"If this reflects the sentiments of the
| democratic party of this state. and this
party declares in favor of the gold STAN
dard, as it will If 1t passes this resolution;
| If you declare In favor of the impoverish-
| ment Of the people of Nebraska: If you in
| tend to make more calling than the slaves
| of black the slavery of the debtors of the
| country; if the democrat party after you
| get home indorses your action and this
! gives your sentiments, I want to promise
| you that l will go out and serve my coun-
try and my God under some other name, II
| l go alone
| Again, in speech in the state senate,
he said:
$50 far as I am personally concerned it
| matters not to me (snapping his fingers)
| whether you vote the amendment up or
down; it matters not whether you pass
| this resolution condemnng my course or
indorsing 1t; for if l am wrong in the posi-
tion 1 have taken 1 will fall though you
| heap praises upon me, and if l am right in
the position have taken-and in my heart
| so help me God | believe l am-if l am
| right 1 will triumph although you denounce
| me in your convention
Upon still another occasion, at Mt. Ver-
| nou ILL., on the evening of March IT, 1886,
| Mr.. Bryan addressed a large audience upon
| the subject of 'bimetalliSm.' He went there
at the invitation of local democratic lead
| ers, who expected that he would deliver a
| democratic speech, but to their surprise he
took occasion to say that he was not a
| democrat, nor was he populiSt, as had
| been claimed by the populist leaders. He
declined to acknowledge allegiance to any
| party. What l say can be verified from
the files of the Chicago newspapers. l am
quite sure, at least, that you will find in
the Tribune of July II, 1896, a record OF
Mr.. Bryan's sayings as | have here sup
piled them. He has said himself that he is
| not a democrat: he has said that he is not
| a populist, yet he looks to both democrats
and populists to elect him President of the
| United States. In my opinion he will be
sadly disappointed. Neither democrats nor
| populists WILL to any extent, support a
man who dsclaimed all allegiance to or
| association with their party only four years
| ago."
Reports as to Indiana.
At republican national committee head
quarters yesterday two prominent citizens
Of one Of the leading cities of the Indiana
gas belt called and reported the most
sweeping changes from the Bryan to the
Mckinley column. One of the callers was a
manufacturer, the other lawyer. Neither
was a politician. Both reported that the
recent visit of Mr.. Bryan to manufacturing
centers in Indiana had made great many
| republican votes. When asked why or how
this occurred, one of them related this in
| cident:
II stood In the edge of large crowd, fac
ing Mr.. Bryan, when he spoke in my city,
and in the midst Of a great many working
| men. While Mr.. Bryan was eabora ting
his views upon the trust question, stepped
over into circle of eight or ten men en-
pioyed in an iron mill. Two of them wore
Mckinley and Roosevelt buttons. and five
| of them wore Bryan and Stevenson but
tons. When Mr.. Bryan finally exclaimed
that the way to destroy the trusts was to
put all trust-made articles upon the free
list. and place the trusts In free compe-
tition with the manufacturers of Europe,
! scme one in the crowd asked Mr.. Bryan to
define a trust. The democratic candidate
for the presidency stated his definition. At
| the conclusion of this statement, one of the
democratic workingmen standing near me
turned to the other and said: why, this
means that Mr.. Bryan would place on the
free list. in open competition with the work.
ingmen of Europe, anything manufactured
llss TT aiS.x