Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-07-26
Friendly Membranes.

The Milwaukee Sentinel has as bad a
case of Bryan -phobia as the Chicago
Chronicle had. The Sentinel is worse
off however. as it has no remedy for its
trouble VIE the Chronicle saw that
at the st. Louis convention BRYAN had
more influence than anyone else it quit
the party. The Sentinel can do moth
ing except to continue to get off such
foolish squibs as the following, How
ever, if Judge Parker does the work of
the Gantemalian ant in Kidding the
party of the Bryan weevil, that will be
glory enough"
Such remarks as this class the SEN
tinel among those republican papers
who hope that Judge Parker may be
elected so as to rid the democratic party
of Bryan. Vain hope. Bryan is
stronger in the democratic party today
than he ever was. The reorganizers
got candidate nominated with whom
they are forced to be content, although
it is quite certain that they only in
tended to use him as means of nomi-
hating Cleveland. Hill, however,
managed Parker's campaign so adroitly
in the South that the Parker boom grew
beyond the power of the reorganizers
to curb it. Parker was not their first
choice, but they are satisfied with him,
thinking half loaf is better than no
bread The most important part of the
conventions work was the platform.
And Bryan practically made the plat
form. There is not plank IL II that
was not either suggested by him or
consented to by him.
From the Sentineps stand point
that of practical politics." if Judge
Parker should be elected the democratic
party viii! he "rii of the Bryan weevil"
This according to the practical politics
idea will be brought about through
Judge Parker ignoring Bryan in the
distribution of political spoils. 1t
would be so, no doubt, in the repu5i-
can party, for that party lives only by
the spoiis of office But the democratic
party has existed without any help from
executive patronage 1t has not only
lived but has grown stronger. Bryan
will continue to be the greatest leader
of his party whether Judge Parker, as
president, loves him or not, for Bryan
has won his place as a leader not
through executive patronage, but
through transcendent ability, and
sincerity and honesty of political pur-
pose which are unlqae at the present
day. The Sentinel might as well stick
to the ostensible candidate of its own
party,-Theodore Roosevelt, and aban-
don its deep interest in the doings of
the democratic party. We can get
along, and elect Judge Parker without
the aid of the republican papers. better
than with their help. These covert
friendly illusions to our candidate in
republican papers which have repu-
tation for opposing all measures in
tended to benefit the people at large,
and advocating all measures that favor
the already too much favored few who
profit by high tariff, and by monopolies,
will do our candidate more harm than
good. If the Sentinel and other re-
publican newspapers we could name
desired the election of Roosevelt they
could do nothing which would help to
bring about that result more surely
than to come out and openly advocate
Judge Parker's election. They cannot,
however, he expected TO realize this
truth. They believe they have influence
with all classes of the people, and that
what they say goes with everybody.
They can't realize that they have in
fiuence only with those whom they are
employed to help,-the trusts. Hence
they will, covertly attempt to make
Judge Parker's path an easy one, not
realizing that thereby they will arouse
a suspicion among thinking democrats
that may drive them in the opposite
direction. They are what we might
aptly call friendly membranes"