The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-16
Is SOUTH TURNING
 AGAINST BRYAN 2 Some of the New York Papers
 Declare That It Is PROBLEM OF A CANDIDATE World Puts Up Senator Daniel Only to Knock Him Down-Talk of
 Rayner and Watterson's
 Dark Horse.
PROBLEM OF A CANDIDATE

New York, June 15.-(Special 1.-The New York newspapers are busy these days try ing to pick a presidential nominee for the democratic party. The discussion how ever. is not prompted by solicitude for | the welfare of the party, but by desire | to shelve William Jennings Bryan. The 1 World began the agitation by asking 1 What is a democrat?' and has carried It l along, getting expressions from various democratic leaders as to what should con- stitute the issue in the next campaign. I About the only result of the Worlds agi- tation was the starting of feeble boom for Senator Daniel of Virginia. One day a lot of interviews with southern men favoring MT. Daniel were printed and ths | very next day the World proceeded to smash the boom of which 1t was the fa- 1 ther. It declared that the support that l had developed in, Wall street for the | southern senator would defeat him. The l World seemed sorry that this was true, l but offered no apology to MT. Daniel for | putting him on a pedestal one day and knocking him down the next. The Sun seemed kindly disposed to MT. Daniel, but no matter whom the demo- | crats nominate the Sun will not support | him. which fact is probably lucky for the | democrats. The Sun committed itself to 1 Secretary Taft months ago and MT. Taft | seems to be a certainty in the race for the republican nomination Discussing 1 Senator Daniels interview in which he | said in effect that the democratic party should return to the ancient party creed | and make the fight upon ground they can | occupy with dignity and self-respect and | In advocacy of principles and policies of which they need not be ashamed, the Sun | said:
 l These southern democrats have had l enough of populism and socialism, to say 1 nothing of occasional dalliance with an- I archy, and are now resolved that for the l future they will at least fight under the white banner of Anglo Saxon civilization, whatever may be the consequences It has. occurred to them that something IS 1 due to the founders of the republic and the framers of the Constitution. They are 1 ready therefore, to assume the too long neglected functions of the high priests of I American ideals and to battle against the | tide of mingled autocracy and mobocracy 1 threatening our political structure.
 Senator Daniel speaks not only for l himself and for the thinking men of Nir. ginia; he speaks also, we implicitly 1 believe, for the intelligence, the substance
 and the responsibility of the southern people. Southern democrats are weary of l blind leaders and their deluding and false philosophies.''
 By this the Sun means that it believes | that the south is drifting away from MT. | Bryan. A few days later 1t said editorl- | ally;
 l Speaking, it believes, for the south, l the Baltimore Sun intimates to MT, Bryan 1 that he Is not wanted as a candidate for 1 president. The reasons are stated frank l ly as If the time for considering MT. | Bryan's feeling had passed. In the opin- ! ion of the Sun his favorite Issues, ulti-
 mate government ownership of the rail- | roads and the initiative and referendum are not acceptable to his party. It de- clares that he does not advocate the kind | of democracy the south Is accustomed to. | Government ownership would be a blow | at the rights reserved to the states that | should not come from the hand of dem- ocratic president. With MT. Bryan's pol l ley written on the statute books 1t is | urged by this newspaper which has 0 1 large circulation In the south that there 1 would be nothing left of the states and 1 the President would be autocrat." l MT. Bryan's lukewarmness on the issue 1 of tariff reform at time when 1t Is dl- l viding the republican party Is cited as a reason for distrusting his capacity for lead | ership. The tariff. says the Sun, touches | ten men where the railroads touch one.
 It Is significant that MT. Bryan has lately
 shown disposition to admit that there | may be more in the issue of tariff revision
 than he had supposed. but only under | pressure and to fortify himself as re- | ceptive candidate.
 "Such shift of position implies an l eagerness on MT. Bryans part to be the
 candidate of his party which he affects
 not to feel"
 All this, the Sun believes, is not lost on | southern people. It continues:
 l They are beginning to suspect his sin-
 cerity when he repeats that he would
 gladly support any democrat who might
 prove a stronger candidate than himself,
 but conveys the impression that he does
 not think such democrat can be found | The Richmond News-L Leader, commenting | recently on MT. Bryans declaration that
 his appearance at the Confederate reun-
 ion was in no sense political, said:
 "He has shown himself as publicly
 and as frequently as he possibly could,
 and we think we can observe signs of a purpose to make the country believe that he Is the idol of the southern people which he is not
 .It must have occurred to the southern
 people that MT. Bryan, born In Illinois in
 1860, was out of place In Richmond during
 the reunion of Confederate veterans and
 
 exploitation in his appearance a friend
 of the south on such an occasion as the
 dedication of a statue to Jefferson Davis.
 It may be suspected that If the old sol
 diers had not sterny frowned upon the
 call on MT. Bryan for a speech he would
 have responded in his most fluent style"
 The papers also seem disturbed about
 finding an issue on which the democrats
 could base a campaign with any chance
 of success, which Is not an easy problem
 since the republicans have appropriated
 most of the democratic doctrines, The | World laments that while MT. Bryan
 was prattling about the initiative and
 referendum the republicans were stealing
 the last remaining democratic economic
 issue-tariff reform" Continuing the | World says
 "To the Washington correspondent of the World Senator Taft says frankly
 and without qualification, I am a tariff | revsionist. No man can win the next | election who does not favor changes in the tariff Secretary Taft Is not speak
 ing merely for himself or for his personal | followers. He is the administration can
 didate for president, and he Is speaking
 both for Mir Roosevelt and for the repub- licap national administration.
 "When MT. Bryan returned from abroad in August the democrats might have made the Issue of tariff revision their own. In-
 ernment ownership and operation of rail- roads When democratic resentment against this socialstic proposal became so ~Af< tene