The age-herald., 1902-02-28
Washington Day by.Day


 fort out of Mr w. Jennings Bryan's pres ent journey Eastward and are fairly gleeful over his assertion that the Kan sas City platform will be reafffrmed by the National Democratic Convention of 1904, Democrats, with very few exceptions, are holding their tongues in all languages respecting MT. Bryan. his views and his movements.
 When the former Democratic leader caused to be read at the dinner of the Manhattan Club two weeks ago a wholly irrelevant d .edition'' from his weekly newspaper. featuring eminent Democrats, who didn't vote for Greenbacker Weaver in 1892, as MT. Bryan did, there was a sudden, outhurst of Democratic annoyance in Washington and throughout the East. In some instances MT. Bryan was very harshly dealt with on account of try ing to advertise his weekly" at dinner given by gentlemen and to which he had been cordially invited; MT. Bryan being held not to be man who could perceive the rudeness of such a course. At the moment the Republicans are having all kinds of fun out of his direct filings at and poiitical insults to the Manhattan club ] men who so amably endeavored to be his hosts at the much discussed dinner. But in the main the Democratic lead CTS are entirely silent as to MT. Bryan, except amongst themselves and not for publication That these leaders are dis pleased with his later tactics is known to everybody, though chiefly by the familiar process of putting two and two together. At most his Eastward travelling, with his hobnobbing with T<ilbourne In Ohio and his actual and contemplated conferences on party policies seems as an advertise ment for the Commoner: it doesn't really hurt the party at large
 While all men respect MT. Bryan's pri- vate character, he Is not reckoned in the calculations of either of the two great political parties, though 1t Is very gen orally, held that his present course, II persisted in, will lead him outside the regular Democracy before or immediately | after the next national convention. There are many astute public men and politicians whp are firm In the belief that MT. Bryan will accept the Presidential nomination of the Populists and the dis satisfied elements of the two real political parties, and that his platform will appeal | for support to the revolutionary forces that are without party and seek to be without, any form of government save that of caprice and destruction.
 If MT. Bryan be sincere-and no man has ever yet questioned his heroic sin cerity-He will find himself unable to sup port a platform of the character of that which is as certain of adoption by the next Democratic convention as anything in politics or in reason can be.
 Politics is often without reason but is based upon subterfuges and excuses. That rule does not apply to the Democratic party now and will not apply for two years and more to come. Politics and req son have for the present and the immedi- ate future embraced each other and their which MT. Bryan holds dear.
 Mir. Bryan while still enjoying his disas- trous leadership of his party declared as openly and frankly as one could expect of a man of his deep convictions and com bative sincerity that he would not sup port "goId'' platform If 1t were adopted by hs party; and subsequently he de- clared he would not accept the Democrat ic nomination for President in 1900 unless the platform pledged the party to the free coinage of silver which was but another way of saying he would not support a sound money platform.
 And the point is he meant every word of 1t. So we'll known are MT. Bryans con- victions regarding the currency that no man has any reason to believe the Ne braskan would accept a nomination on an anti-free silver platform even if he knew 1t would elect him President.
 Call this courage, stubborness wisdom, ignorance, what we may; but it Is in fact Mir. Bryan's conviction. He says he ex- poets to live and die holding to that view, and he means that too
 Yet tie Kansas City platform will not be reaffirmed in 1904, and from the plat form that will be adopted there will be a total absence Of the free-silver issue, to- gether with some other doctrines Mr. Bryan cherishes. Free silver is as dead as nulihcatlon; and. in the larger political sense Mir. Bryan has passed away.
 
 There Is now no likelihood that an ef- fort will be made to expel either Tiilman or McLaurin of South Carolina from the Senate, and certainly it is greatly to be desired f.om the Democratic viewpoint that no such effort shall be put forth. Whether true or untrue be the assump- ton, there is a general belief that Demo- cratic Senators would force party lines to be drawn on any proposition for ex- pulsion, and in that case the whole party blame of, keeping one or two unfit men in the Senate simply because one of them is accounted a Democrat.
 If McLaurin was, as Tillman asserts, bribed by the Federal patronage of South Carolina to vote for the Treaty of Paris he ought to be expelled. If Tillman can't prove the charge, then he himself ought to be expelled. In either case the Demo- cratic party could not afford to assume responsibility for the offender And if Nc. Laurin who is a man of respectable manners, were expelled, his place would be given to. soine, Tillman me-too of the T1llman stripe. If Tillman were expelled. South Carolina would re-elect him, and he would be more accutely insufferable than ever before T,anvuapa xx,,,ioh he