Omaha daily bee., 1907-04-21
Beth Are Patriots Who Have Risen Far
Above Partisanship
TIME FOR REGENERATION OF PARTlE;
Neither of the Old Organizations Stand fo
the Old Irinoiples,
GENERAL DEMAND tUu GOOD GOVERNMENT
Cheap Newspapers and Rural Mall
Delivery Have Builded Most
Practical Democracy I'm
world.

CHICAGO, April a.-"Bryan and Roosc-
welt, the two greatest men in all the
world.
John Temple Graves Of Atlanta, Ca, thus
approached the conclusion Of his speech
here tonight at the twenty-seventh annual
banquet of the lroquois club. 1t was an
address of which the keynote was the
speakers assertion that party lines in gem
eral had never held for lightly as today.
Other speakers were Gilbert M. Hitch
cock of Omaha, who talked on The Radi-
cal Vindicated;" Benjamin +. Snvely,
South Bend, Ind, who spoke on "Old
Faiths and New Conditions" and Edwin
NJ Grout of Brooklyn, on The Patron
Saint cf Democracy" y
The subject assigned to Mr.. Graves was
The Regeneration of Parties"
Party ties in general" said the speaker,
have never held so lightly as today. North
and south, in republican and in democratic
ranks, loyalty hangs by hair The re-
publican party, formed upon federallst
ideas and reborn and prospered upon the
| ideas Of abolition, has progressed beyond
! the federalist theory to privilege and be-
| yond the anti-slavery agitation to graft
THE democratic party has been re-
cruited 50 rapidly from the ranks OF the
mighty in trade that its platforms have
! truckled, and in the last campaign II nom
/ mated a candidate whose actual spoken
commendation was based upon bald and
Infamous confession, He was not offensive
TO the trusts
Times and Men Change.
But times have changed and men have
| changed with them. The cheap newspaper
and the rural mail delivery have builded
the clearest and most practical democracy
| in tho world
1.-THE practical citizen-and he is nine
tenths OF the republic-wants good govern
ment without regard to names.
What conservative democrat, save Alton
B, Parker, with his conferees. has been
strong enough TO put Bryan to indignity
and Hearst to shame? What republican is
strong enough 20 reduce the irrepressible
Roosevelt to the ranks OF the orthodox In
privilege7 And what republican save
Roosevelt can coerce the thronged mag
mates Of the trusts to proper humility
From the stalwart ranks Of either party,
from the opposite sides OF the republic,
the rich and finished east and from the
virlle and militant west there have risen
two great men, who, more than all others.
are prevailing now to dethrone partisan
and to uplift the patriot
'Mr. Bryan Is great. because in all his
life ne has never feared nor hesitated to
champion his convictions against his party
and TO put them in front of his personal
interest He is the first democrat Of the
world.
why Roosevelt is Great.
Mr.. Roosevelt has grown great because
he too has grown above the partisan.
Born and raised in the camps OF privilege,
he came with a brave heart and open
mind to Washington. He followed ortho-
dox in the weke OF his party and in the
path OF his predecessor. But one day, VIII
liam r. Hearst flung at his feet an array
of unanswerable statistics to prove the
iniquity of the trusts. The challenge rang
against the brave mans shield, and Theo-
dore Roosevelt was never the same man
again. He buckled on his sword and went
forth to war with the merger of railroads
under Hill and Hartman. He has never
sheathed since then the blade ne barred in
democratic battle against corporate greed
and proht.
There they are-these great men-the
two greatest men in all the world. They
are American statesmen and patriots in
every pulse One or the other should be the
president and pilot Of the people in these
tremendous times.
III II was never true before In all our
} history It is true today that these two
} men, leading opposite factions, have on
: their lips the power to change the face
: OF parties, and to regenerate the political
life One word from Bryan would send
Roosevelt omnipotent to the White House
One word from Roosevelt would most surely
make Bryan president and clothe him with
, the power of reform. Roosevelt could elect
Bryan almost as easily as Bryan could
re-elect the president There was never
such power-such responsibility in four
American hands before.
IF Bryan from defeat will not retwine
the laurel upon Roosevelt's conquerinR
brow, then from the great height Of VIC
tory let Roosevelt reach down to lift the
patriot Bryan up to power and to duty"