The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-09-07
Excursions Into Patriotism.

Mr. Bryan did not always connne his prophe.
sies TO economical and financial matters. Once
or twice he took excursions into patriotism. lie
said on one occasion: "show me these people who
now call us anarchists, and will show YOU
class OF people who il we had a war would never
go TO the 'front.'; and at indianapolis: THE
men who insist upon doing our legislation in
times Of peace never fight any battles in times
Of war. Trey the people who can you an
archists when you Insist having a hand in
legislation; but in time Of trouble they would
come to you and say: oh, anarchists, save our
property, because you know We cannot afford
to fght'" Well, good many men in this
audience must have had friends, or ncghbor5 or
perhaps kinsiok who were only too anxious TO
70 to the front in the Spanish war and | will
leave it to those men to say whether all good
Americans rich or poor whatever their means
or their social standing, did not eagerly leap for
ward when the call to the flag was made anxious
to stand shoulder to shoulder with one another
forgetting all trivial differences in their love
for their splendid common country Such utter.
ances as those have quoted cannot possibly re-
feet credit on both head and heart. One or the
other must be gravely at fault The untruth OF
such utterances was shown within twenty.four
hours after the declaration of war with Spain,
doubt il any man, in view of what has been
done during the last few years, would now ven-
ture to repeat such a jeer to the men who
|
| sumo a different tone. 1t is terrible and most
lamentable truth that our soldiers who now
facing death in the Philippines forced to
recognize in the Bryanistic Democracy their
most dangerous foe. | need not repeat the oft.
| quoted words of General Lswton The bullets
| that slay men in Luzon are inspired by the
| dcnouncers Of America here. No Tagal general.
| not Aguinaldo himself, do much to pro.
| long the fgmting, can do as much TO increase
! the bloodshcd Of American and Filipino alike as
has been done by the Kansas City convention.
| I have shouwn you how little Mr.. Bryan's
utteranccs in the past have squared with the
| facts, whether he was dealing with finance, or
whether he was dealing with patriotism, and it
! Is exactly true today when he and the makers
of the Kansas City platform talk Of imperialism
or mitarism, One reason that makes it difficult
to seriously argue either question is that 80 faI
as | know there is no man in the United States
who believes in either imperialism or mlitarisnl.
They are pure phantoms Of an even more shadowy
and intangible quality than the iniquitous 'roh
her gold dollar" which disturbed Mr.. Bryan SC
much four years ago The regular army is not
nearly as numerous, relatively to the Nnole pop
ulation. as is the New York police FORCE rcla
lively to the population OF New York; and II
is literally as absurd to predicate mitarlsm OF
imperialism on the size of the army, as it would
be to see in the number Of policemen menace
| to personal liberty. There is more chance
OF draft to fill one body than to fill the other
and there is even less chance in the case of tn,
army, that it will be used against our freedom