Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1908-10-08
'Bryan's Three Mad Schemes.

| noppy. having recently spoken of the
nation as gazing on one leg with the
gold standard. and he is now advocst
ing as earnestly as he once advocated
free silver that the national banks of
the United States shall be compe,,ed
to contribute to a fund to guarantee
against loss the depositors OF any IN
tional bank that may fail, He pro
poses to include state banks in his
scheme as well. thus bringing the
whole banking system of the country
within national control-the most 81,
gantic financial monopoly ever design.
ed or suggested.
Briefly. Bryan. making all due allow
ance for his habit Of qualified retrac-
ton. usually followed by qualified re-
assertion when he thinks the occasion
propitious for speaking out his
! thoughts. stands for three propositions
the free coinage Of silver. govern
ineht ownership of railways. compui-
sorry guarantee of bank deposits.
! Mr. Bryan asserts that the silver Is
sue Is obsolete, but at public dinner
! in London as late as two years ago he
, intinaated that the United States would
have made much better progress with
the double standard than with the gold
standard There Is no reason to he
liere that his views are different to
day. While as president he would
| have to obey the laws relating to coiE-
| age. he.coull have the country deluged
WIN silver now In the vaults OF the
treasury. ami every official handling
government money would understand
the feelings and wishes Of Bryan
administration in respect to silver and
would act accordingly.
The proposal for government owner
ship Of railways would mean. II car
ried out. a government monopoly, with
millions Of employees. nearly all Of
them voters and all of them interested
IN keeping in power the party which
had created the monopoly. 1t would
involve the United States in an indebt-
edness Of thousands Of millions and
drag down the credit of the country to
the level OF that OF the debt ridden ma
lions Of Europe. to wh0se methods Of
administration Bryan seems to have
become a convert during his visit
abroad. Bryan appears to have for
gotten that the state owned railways
Of Europe bear no comparison in mile
age ard Investment to the great rail.
way systems Of the United States and
that what has been effected there on
a small scale would be impracticable
here.
The significant and sinister feature
Of his suggestion is that, protesting to
be an antimonopotist be aims to ere
ate greater monopoly than the world
has ever known. ana while taking for
his slogan. THE people shall rule" be
proposes to create q government desc
potism. that would make 1t practically
impossible for the people to have any
thing to say about who should rule.
Bryan's compulsory guarantee Of
bank deposits would bring all the
banks Of the United States. both ma
tional and state. within the grasp OF
the secretary Of the treasury, and that
means Of the president. A vast sum.
amounting. 50 former Secretary Shaw
estimates, to $5O0.O0O.OOO, would be
withdraw from circulation to be held
In reserve as a guarantee fund. to the
embarrassment Of the banks and Of
every form Of business. and the re-
suit in the course Of q few years
would be financial ruin, not confined
to any locality, but extending through
out the land. Meantime the Washing.
ton administration would have the
banks by the throat, and they would
be forced to do its WILL
With his grasp on the railways. with
the banks helpless in the hands Of his
treasury department and every fed
eral official an agent to promote the
circulation Of silver. Bryan would pos
sess power that the founders Of the
republic never dreamed Of bestowing
on the president OF the United States.
He would be another Castro, with a
field many times more extensive than
Venezuela.
This is no more than a fair outline
Of Bryan's programme should the
American people give him chance to
experiment on them. 1t should be
needless to add that he will not have
the chance. The vast majority Of
American voters are guided by CON-
mon sense in casting their ballots. and
the election Of Taft and Sherman will
prove that the people Of the United
States have no more stomach for Bry-
anism now than they had twelve years
ago. before Bryan had adopted bis
more recent devices for attacking the
structure Of national credit and indi.
yidual and cOrDorafa achievement