The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-22
.HRYAN AND CULBBhS0S
TEXAS.

AUSTIN, Tex. June te.-It h quite evident
from q careful peruSal Of the Texas news
papers. especially those which most hyster-
caIiy worship the Bryan fetch. that there
is nothing really substantial or tenacious
in Bryan's claim upon the reverence or the
Affections Of the Southern Democracy. He
10 vorshipped, to be sure. but with Vocif-
GRAFTON rather than sincerity. southernors
have always revealed in eloquence. and In
proportion to their thoughtlessness they
value it by the standard OF Its sound and
fury. Bryan has always catered to this
moro or less intelligent appetite. He has
Initiated the rustic ear with ingenious re-
v~erberations and pinned the rustic fancy
with the aid OF novel and romantic overture.
One can rec how unstable the arrangement
10. however. by considering the ease with
which Mr. Roosevelt has diluted this &C.
stasy through the medium Of . still noisier
and more impetuous defamation and the
agency Of an even mor hectic gesticula-
ton. In Texas. as in Kentucky and Ten
nessee. the quondam Bryan adulators have
divided themselves and their raptures until
Theodore Roosevelt now holds a good half
Of what wal once all Bryan's. They have
come TO see two s~aviors. two masters Of
melodramatio effect. two beaver born de-
tenders Of the people against their natural
enemies and oppressors. And it IL q signal
commentary on the feeble and fictitious
nature OF the Bryan lien TO state simply
the circumstances under which it has been
transferred in such great part TO Roosevelt.
What would be the effect OF another Rich
mond in the feld-this a Southerner Of high
character and proved courage, obvious in
tegrity and known devotion to the Hottest
Democratic ideals-who shall say?
Certain it is that only a small element of
the Texas Democracy really share Bryan's
philosophy in respect Of Government own
ership. the initiative INT referendum. dc.
And it is still more certain that an even
smaller element would follow to any practi-
cal conclusion the fantastic theories which
MIR. Roosevelt ventilates with such fire.
quency and emphasis. One 10 bound TO
suppose that both these gentlemen are ad-
mired chiefly on artistic grounds. and that
what seems on the surface to DO a demon
stration Of im~passioned loyalty Is a mere
tribute OF honest II evanescent gratitude
for theatrical entertainment.
Presumably the men who. whether in
private or Official station, VIGOROUSLY enjoy
the respect and confidence OF their fellow
citizens are best qualified to speak for the
real underlying sentiment Of the Texas
people. II this be true. as it doubtless is,
Charles A. Culberson is to-day by all odds
the strongest man in the State. There may
have been a time when the Hon. Joseph W.
Bailey divided popular applause and esteem
with him, but that time has gone by ir-
~revocably. Culberson has gained all that
Bailey has lost, and more. 1t is inoon-
ceivable that Texas Democrats, asked TO
choose between Culberson on the one hand
their leader in the campaign Of 1908. would
hesitate for 80 much as the fraction Of an
instant. Culberson has steadfastly opposed
the Government ownership schemes OF
Bryan. and, significantly enough. not a
single Democratic paper in Texas has ever
criticised him on that score. Mr.. Bryan
has been a%pplauded, apparently because Of
his eloquent and persuasive way Of put
ting things. Mr.. Culberson has been ad-
mired and respected because Of his sound,
sensible and earnest ~antagonism OF those
engaging fallacies. He ia not an idol. His
is not the fibre Of which popular idols are
made. 1t is perhaps true that Texans are
not seriously considering the possibility Of
nominating a Southern man next year.
That fact, however. lie easily applicable on
the assumption that the idea has not been
pressed upon them, But as between Bryan
and Culberson they would not hesitate. and
II the latter were once formally proposed
in Maryland. Kentucky, Virginia or Ten
nessee, thus really confronting them with
the alternative. they would not give Bryan
a second thought.
Bryan holds, in Texas. as he does in most
other Southern States, because the Democ-
racy there has not yet had its supersti-
ton challenged by a tangible and genuine
substance by way Of IN alternative.