The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-27
NEBRASKA DEMOCRATS
HOPE TO ELECT ENOUGH MEN TO
 CONTROL LEGISLATURE.
w. ,. Bryan Wants ao Be U. s. Senator. He Is Not Openly Making the Fight, but Is Making . still
 Hunt.

Lincoln special to N. World
 If Roosevelt does not carry the State by 10000 I will be disappointed, was the statement made today by 0
 Republican politician who is in a po- sition to know political conditions. He meant, of course, plurality, for no one expects the President to have a de- cisive majority over both Parker and Watson
 The claim of 10000 plurality. even from a Republican partisan. is not re- garded excessive. Democrats and Pop ulists almost without exception ad- init that the State on the national tick ct Is overwhelmingly Republican, at the same time they declare their ability to defeat part O. the Repub- lican State ticket and carry the Leg islature. This is due to the fact that while there Is close and moderately harmonious fusion between Democrats and Populists on State officers and members of the Legislature, both those parties have separate Parker and Davis and watson ana Ilooles electoral tickets
 Interest in Nebraska, therefore, cen tres not on the national ticket, but on the fight for the Governorship and con trol of the Legislature. The latter will elect a successor to United States Sen ator Charles H. Dietrich.
 The political situation at best Is complicated, and anything may be ex- pected in November. In the first place, Bryan Democrats, disappointed at the result of the St. Louis convention. are either lukewarm in their support Of Judge Parker or openly against him. Some of these Democrats announce without reserve they will vote for Watson, and few will support Roose- welt. They justify their course by de- claring that the National Convention was merely a contest for control of the party machinery. and that rather than see Bryan completely dethroned they will work for four years more of Rooseveltism. -..-'.
 At the same time practically every Democrat in the State Is enthusiastic cally for George w. Berge. Fusion nom- inee for Governor. Mir Berge is a Populist, but has always been an ac- tive partisan of Mir Bryan and a Dem ocrat in many of his beliefs.
 On the Republican side conditions are reversed. Every Republican is shouting for Roosevelt, but is none too enthusiastic for the head of the State ticket, and many openly announce their intention of voting for Berge instead of Gov. John H. Mickey The cause of this attitude is not hard to find. For years Nebraska has been railroad rid den, representatives of the different trunk lines dictating political nomina- tions and proving the dominating power in elections.
 Gov Mickey. while none too popu- lar with some of the railroad mana gers Is looked upon as a safer man from their point of view than Mir. Berge. who Is out-and-out in his de- clarations against corporation domi- nation.
 w. J. Bryan Is undoubtedly a can didate for the coming vacancy in the United States Senate, but neither he nor his friends openly say so.
 His canvass therefore. is something of a still-hunt, but 1t Is nevertheless Thus far MT. Bryan has on the surface, taken no part in the campaign, but he will without form ally announcing his desire to go to the Senate, and his efforts will be directed toward those legislative districts which are doubtful In the meantime his interests are in good hands. His brother -in-law, Thomas s. Allen, one of the shrewdest young politicians in the State is chairman of the Democratic ing his whole time to the legislative While MT. Allen fs prob- | ably not a party to the arrangement | 1t Is no secret that many Democrats | stand ready to trade of any candidate | on their ticket for a vote for a legls- | lative candidate. and a good many Re- | publicans are open to such an ex- partly because of their friend | ship for Mir. Bryan, as we'll as disnke | for Representative Burkett, who M--- succeed to the Senate in the event the | control the Legislature. l There arc exceptions. Mir Bryan has some of the leaders of his own party who declare they will op- pose him One of this number Is ex- Shallenberger. and an- other E. F. Brown a Democratic lead er of Clay county.