Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-20
Mr.. WILLIAM J, BRYAN
Significance in Moving His
Camping Ground.
SMOKE OUT CLEVELAND
BELIEVES EFFORT BEING MADE
TO COMBINE ON HIM.
Some Of the Nebraskan's Disappoint-
SMOKE OUT CLEVELAND
Some Of the Nebraskan's Disappoint-
ments- Kentucky, Texas, Ohio and
Illinois Not Friendly Now.


There is significance in w. ]. Bryan NOV
ing his camping ground from Nebraska to
New York. Those who know him and think
they know something of his purposes at
the ST. Louis convention. are not surprised
that he should go to New York to make
an anti-Parker address. 1t is what he
called the enemy's country In 1896. He
still looks on it as hostile territory. His
idea always is to fret the enemy in its own
stronghold.
Mr.. Bryans shafts aimed at Judge Par
kers non-committal candidacy may hit or
miss the mark but those who are familiar
with his methods cannot be convinced that
he is not trying to hit somebody else. That
somebody else is Grover Cleveland.
1 heard the other day from one of Mr..
Bryans former intimate associates that for
several weeks past he has looked upon the
whole reOrga MIA ton movement as a Cleve-
land play and that he has determined to
smoke out Cleveland a candidate before
the national convention meets. Then there
may be a chance to unity the old antagon-
ism to Cleveland, which especially
strong in the south and southwest. This
informant, who is no longer a Bryan man,
also called my attention to what he said
was the necessity of the free silver apostle
moving into the enemy country. He de-
clared that there no longer was friendly
Bryan country, and gave some facts which
are more or less known to those who have
understood something of Mr. Bryan's form
er campaigns.
Some of Bryan's Disappointments.
The worst disappointment to the Nebras-
kan has been Kentucky In the campaign
of 1896 he gave much time to that state
and was excessively bitter toward the gold
democrats. Afterward he identified himself
with the Goebel wing of the party and
never has failed to answer the call to mix
in the local struggles. He seems to have
misjudged his man in Governor Beckham.
At one time the Bryanites thought Gov
ernor Beckham was in full sympathy with
them and he had their aid. He may have
been In sympathy when he needed them.
But when the chance came for the Ken
lucky governor to do up the senatorial com
bination by friendly arrangement with
the Parker people, Bryans influence was
not strong enough to prevent the deal.
Probably the Blue Grass state is the sOrest
of all the disappointments which have come
upon Bryan in the movement of the demo-
cratic party to get away from his leader
ship. He always believed he could hold
Kentucky.
Then there Is Texas. Mr.. Bryan did not
need to visit Texas during his presidential
contest, but he lectured there and Travelled
there and helped to punish lot of enemies.
Notwithstanding that Roger q. Mills and
he were twin brothers the subject of the
tariff he never forgave Mills for deserving
him on the cause of free silver. Former
United States Senator John II. Reagan was
more beloved by Mr. Bryan than any of
the other Texas democrats. Their views on
the corporation and on populism were IN
full harmony. When few weeks ago Judge
Reagan came out in fatherly letter adj
vising that free silver be dropped and the
democratic p,rty get together and capture
the offices Nj. Bryan, l have heard, was
more hurt than by any other detection of
his old allies. But he came up with a Wig
orous pronunciamento reiterating his belief
that the party could better lose with prin
ciple than win without one. Anybody who
has followed the democratic tendencies for
the last six months and has noted how
keen the appetite has become for taste of
the patronage once more would know that
this appeal would be unheeded.
They Want the Offices.
While many democrats are sincere in
wanting their party to represent something
once more that has not taken the ground
from under bryan. In every local and
every state convention the strongest senti-
ment has been that by having a united
party once more they may move on the re-
publican intrenchments and capture the
baggage or the offices. Mr.. Bryan never I'M
derestimated this appetite for one OF his
promises was flat in case OF his own sue
cess civil service should be set back and
more places be opened up for the winning
party.
But he has not fully perceived how the
party after wandering in the wilderness
for eight wears has become so hungry
that it would rather have half the offices
without a principle than get none OF them
while sticking by his principle OF free Sill
YER
Ohio is another state in which Mr.. Bryan
no longer considers himself in friendly ter
ritory. He went into the state contests
there and mixed in local factionai trou-
bles lust as nc had done in Kentucky and
elsewhere For time his people had their
way to the great discomfort of Mr. John
r Mclean Now no one from Ohio sees
any chance for Bryan influencing the DUCK r
eve delegation at St. Louis Mayor rom
Johnson even IL so Inclined cannot help
him, and John r. Mclean has so many oid
scores to settle with Bryan that he won t
be blamed for some show or III 1eeiihs IL ne
should take notion to be ugly.
THESE suggestions about lack of friendly
| country for Bryan, coming from an ex-Bry-
| ante, had force, bu- they 40 not lie, lessen en-
the St Louis convention. Some or the men
who still cling to him think that his New
York speech against Parker Is meant TO De
an omen hint of his purpose to bolt 1t can
not have the same effect that his anti
Parker speech in Chicago had. That ad-
| drass was influential in aiding the Hearst
movement because the delegates 10 .ie III
| nois convention had not then been chosen.
| Rut with the New York Delegation tled
| with instructions and with David b. idlii
| seeing that the knot is kept ught no innu-
| ence can be expected on the vote or the
|
To Focus Attention on Himself.
Probably it will be shown in his New York
| sneech that Mr. Bryan iG simply taking an
| other steI to focus attention on himself at
| St Louis He is too good an actor to spoil
| the dramatic moment by an anti-climax.
He will talk to the country through the
| medium of the New York anti-Parker meet
| ing, bur his big talk will be at the national
| convention This is IN line with what was
told me in Chicago some weeks ago of his
| intention to hold himself for that occasion
| and perhaps even to leave it open to doubt
| whether he will vote If he succeeds in
| aging the Cleveland ghost and If the anti
| Parker movement should take q squint to-
| ward some democrat like Adlai Stevenson
| of Illinois, or even perhaps Senator Cor
| man, his boiling tendencies might be curb
| cd, But that is a very doubtful proposition.
1t Is still en- open question how far there
| are Bryan einbers which might be stirred
by Bryan himself. Some recent advices from
| Indiana have stated that the disposition
there was to conciliata him II possible and