The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-29

tan newspapers are going to press IL
takes pretty big suicide or murder to
get into the New York morning news
papers when that suicide is not report
ed until after midnight. In this partic.
ular case while undoubtedly almost all
of the morning newspapers would have
been willing and glad TO have accorded
more space to Col. Bryan s address in
Brooklyn the task of reporting without
an extra edition made the problem
difficult one. 1t was wild rush to get
a column or 80 of matter into print and
in tho rush Mr.. Bryan as usual appears
to have been given the ''worst of 1t.
How It All Happened.
1t all happened in connection with
| discussion of the initiative and refer
endum-a proposition better understood
! perhaps in political circles Of the South
/ and West than right here in New York
where abstract, abstruse, and academic
| political questions are not as likely to
! be discussed as to who is TO handle the
| patronage or who is to handle the cam
paign funds. Mr.. Bryan declared dur
ing the course of his address that ono
Of the things that was Jeffersonian, one
OF the things that was coming and that
in the long run no man could retard 1T
| was the initiative and referendum. He
explained to his hearers that the initi-
ative and referendum really meant the
right of the people to rule. And when
it came to the discussion of the qucs,
tion as TO the right of the people to
rule no man worthy of the name OF
being a Democrat would oppose it.
Drawing himself up to his full height
voice he said that if any man opposed
that, he would if he could drive him
out of the Democratic party,
What Mr.. Bryan really was talking
about was the right of the people to
rule; what some of the newspapermon
thought he said was that he would drive
out of the Democratic party any man
and the referendum. And within the
next twenty-four hours papers of the
standing of the New York Evening Post
and the New York Times were bitterly
attacking Mr.. Bryan for saying that he
would drive out of the Democratic party
any man who dared to oppose the initia-
tive and the referendum. Yet all the
time the strange thing appears to have
been that the Times at least did not
intend to misrepresent Mr., Bryan's po-
sitIon Ill the matter. In the very edl-
tion of the "Times'' which contained
the editorial attack was found an ac-
count of how the paper understanding
Thomas F, Ryan had sent a reporter 10
Mr.. Bryan and Mr.. Bryan had explained
Just what he did say and that he had
not thought Of Mr., Thomas +. RYAN or
any individual at the time he had used
the expression about driving out of the
party men who did not believe i'll the
right of the people to govern.
Was Unjustly Denounced.
And yet it cannot be said to have
been the fault Of the Brooklyn Demo
cratic club. Harry Walker and the 9th
ers who planned and perfected the ar
rangements, would have been willing to
have given Mr.. Bryan his choice as to
time. But it happened that he was to
lecture at a church in Brooklyn upon
the subject of his trip round the world |
and he preferred the late hour because
OF the lecture engagement with the re-
suit that he woke up the next day to
find the leading Democratic papers of |
the metropolis denouncing him for de-
claring that he would drive out of the
Democratic party men who did not be-
lieve in the initiative and the referren
dunn.
Mr.. Bryan, who was at one time a
writer on the Omaha World-llerald |
takes all of these things which perfect
good nature, He says that he has
learned that accuracy cannot be in
sisted upon where the newspapers are
made up in a fashion so hurried. And
yet it would appear as though some
persistent i'll luck did dog his footsteps
in his dealings III connection with the
daily papers.
OF great interest to Democrats. both
McClellanites and Tammanyites, is the
question as to whether the Mayor will
order any investigation of the city de-
partments. The Mayor called upon the
Governor for an investigation, and the
Governor retorted that the Mayor had
the power to conduct the investigation
and that If in any particular case he
did not have the power that he would
gladly do what he could to secure ef-
fcient legislation.
Work for District Attorney,
The Murphy men say that the pur-
pose of Mayor Mcclellan in planning
to have the departments looked into
was to make capital in his fight against
Murphy out Of certain facts in connec
tion with certain selected departments.
but the Murphy people assert that If
the financial transactions OF some of the
heads of departments closest to the
Mayor arc looked into sharply enough
would probably take part in the sub
sequent proceedings and that perhaps
as many Mcclellan as Murphy men
would be forced into private life. The
present administratio is not only the
most costly that New York City has
ever known, Inc grand lOIal or eH-
penscs sinking fund and all running up
to more than third Of billion dol
lars, but in several instances like that
of street cleaning has been found to
be conspicuously deficient. This is ow
ing not directly TO the quarrel which
the Mayor has with Leader Murphy and
the Tammany Hall organization, but to
the scandalous fact that the patronage
Of the New York City government is
being used as a weapon in the hands
Of the Mayor to wreak vengeance upon
his enemies and TO reward his friends.
Important offices under Mayor McClel.
Ian arc, it is sald being bestowed with
an eye to the effect that such bestowal
will have upon the primary elections to
be held in September.
Instead of being A partisan admins
tration, which might have been expect
ed, inasmuch ns the Mayor Is an
avowed advocate of partisan govern
ment, the claim is now everywhere be-
ing made that ii is factional admin