Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-03-03
CONFLICT WITHOUT END.
Bryan Continually kicking Up n Fuss
in the Democratic
Party.

Is the democratic party in st. Louis in
1904 going to repeat its Charleston con-
vention ruction of 1860? 1t begins to
look that way. MIR. Bryan's Commoner,
in a recent issue, after mentioning Bry-
ans return from Europe says the Com
moner will make an uncompromising
fight for an honest platform and for can
didates in full and sympathetic accord
with the platforms of 1886 and 1900"
Bryan has personally said the same
tniEg every day since he landed, with
all the emphasis which he can command.
He says the real democrats of the
United States want the platforms of 1896
and 1900 indorsed in 1904" His latest
expression on the subject is that the
reorganizers will not be strong enough
in St. Louis to make even fight against
the Kansas City platform" BY the time
the convention meets, he says, the SEN
timent will be such that the Endorsement
of that platform will be a foregone con-
clusion.
These deliverances, remarks the st.
Louis Globe-Democrat, naturally cause
CONSERVATION in the ranks of the Cleve-
land element of the party. Bryan makes
it known in most of his interviews that
he is more antagonistic to Cleveland
than he is to Roosevelt. The Cleveland
section of the party reciprocates by say
ing that as against Roosevelt and Bry-
anized candidate they are for the farmer.
Such expressions of members of the
democratic national committee and the
state committees as have been obtained
by the democratic papers seeking them
show that a majority are against the
Bryan position. but this does not nee
essarily mean that a tWo-thirds poll OF
the delegates can be had against him.
Bryan will be at the convention. He
has made this known. He will work
with all his eloquence and energy in fa-
vor of the Endorsement of his position
in the two latest canvasses. His whole
political future depends on the result
of his fight in the St. Louis convention.
What he expects to accomplish is either
to frighten the convention into putting
up a colorless man on q platform which
can be construed as recognizing the Chi
cago and Kansas City deliverances as
being orthodox. or to compel it by
menaces of bolt to take up a Organized
candidate on the Kansas City platform
with such new issues as have arisen
since
Senator Plat, of New York. the other
day said the democracy was becoming
sane and dangerous" That remark
does not sound quite so impressive now
as it did when it was uttered. Not much
evidence of sanity can be discerned in
that party's present position. 1t will be
useless for the reorganiZers to deny Bry-
ans power. He was the leader of the
party in two canvasses. In each of these
he polled many more votes than Cleve-
land obtained in the last campaign in
which he was elected. He is still the
party's most conspicuous representative
Under the two-thirds requirement of
democratic conventions, a minority has
power unknown in republican assem-
blages. A bare one-third of the dele
gates would enable Bryan to control the
convention. 1t is evident that he be-
lieves he has much more than a third of
the democratic voters on his side. II is
clear even that he supposes a majority
of them are with him. This gives him
courage and confidence which makes
him say things that anger his demo-
cratic enemies. The epithets "lunatic,"
''madman," fanatic" "marplot," re
publican in disguise" and other things
which they are hurting at him will not
swerve him from his course as a cham
pion of what he considers to be pure de-
mocracy. On the other hand, against
Bryan and all his works the other ele-
ment of the party will make stand
feeling that Bryan's triumph in die
tating candidate or platform would be
democratic suicide. The participants
and the spectators at the St Louis con-
vention of 1904 will see and hear things
that they will be likely to remember.