The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1908-09-18
FARMER WRITES TO Bryan.
In Terss Terms Tells Peerless On
Why He Won't Contribute.

mere - q letter Sent Dy an llllno1o
farmer in response to the Democratic
appeal for campaign contributions:
Hon. w. J.. Bryan, Lincoln, Neb.:
MY Dear Sir-As a farmer, In my
reply to your request that the farmers
contribute to your campaign fund, I
will say that l cannot give you any
thing, as your speech accepting your
nomination shows that, as President,
you could not accomplish anything.
You say that, If elected, you will only
serve four years, and that promptly
after your term begins you will can
Congress in extra session, 50 that you
can begin to reform the abuses at ones.
But II. as you say, nothing can be done
while Congress, or even the Senate, 10
under Republican control, why convene
an extra session. as all know the Sen
ate cannot possibly change in less than
four years, ii then?
II frankly admit your many good
qualities and generous impulses, but it
seems to me that a man who would Sc
riously propose your dangerous free
silver and government railroad owner
ship schemes, as you have done, has no.
that practical business tact required to
make a safe President. You did well
to drop these lunacies from your plat
form, but when, to still public alarm
lest, If elected, you would call them up,
you promised in your speech to only
S,,-ar ~ D.o.;l.-& ,-},,t -,or -, yn,rW
platform, you made a most serious mis-
take, which effectually ties your hands
and disqualities you for the presidency,
as scores Of issues and subjects outside
Of your platform, and which are vital
to the country's interests, may press
themselves upon you for action.
mo presidential candidate ever made
such a promise as that before. The
fear of these two mistaken hobbies
married your whole speech. 1t was
another fatal mistake when, to draw
attention away from these two hobbies,
you declared there had been great pop
ular growth in your views and policies,
when, in fact. these two, which were
your only prominent Ones, had been left
out If your platform. We have never
had a presidential candidate before who
proposed to bring in such a Millennium
Of reforms. who had to make SO many
quirks in his speech Of acceptance to
conceal and cover up his most import
ant views rather than to justify and
explain them.
1.-The abuses Of which you speak are
the fruits Of the evil inherent in hu-
man nature, which are present in n
form or another under the rule Of all
parties, and republican rule no more
created them, as you charge, than 1t
created your abuse of your party's con-
tidence, or the crimes Of your party In
robbing a large element Of III voters
Of their ballots in several states, and
which, though claiming that the peo-
pies rule or rights was the issue,
you were afraid to even mention in
your speech, much less condemn.
1T was a great abuse of our party's
confidence when, with your speech for
free silver before a former convention,
you deceived it into nominating you
for president with your false claim
that the country would be ruined vita
the gold policy Of the republican party
unless you were chosen to destroy it
with your free silver plan. But you
now see it would have wrecked the
coumtry's interests, and you have even
kicked that lunacy out of your present
platform and, inferentially, made 4
solemn promise in your speech to never
call it up again. That abuse was more
dangerous than all the other present
abuses combined; but you will agree
with me that republican rule did not
create 1t. That was a bad business,
u you are just as confident now that
the nostrums in your present platform,
with you as president to apply them,
will bring in the political millennium
as you were when running before, when
your success would have ruined the
country. .
"If you are afraid that Mr.. Taft will
be too tardy in publishing his am
paign subscriptions, or that If the rich
people give his campaign fund anything
it will prevent him, IL elected as presi-
dent, from reforming the abuses, why
don't you publish the vast gifts of the
barons and silver kings to your cam
paign fund. when a former candidate;
or why did you take them? Or per-
haps you would have been too good for
such gifts to have corrupted you had
you been elected president.
1T Is a pity that every other candi-
date Is a rascal but you. If you are to
be elected the outlook Is not auspiciOus.
With a man for president who is afraid
to put his chief views OF policies in his
platform, and her to draw attention
from the fact by claiming a great
growth for them, and running on the
assumption that he is the only honest
candidate, and for a party which the
people have only intrusted with the
power for a short interval In nifty
years, and which wrecked all ~intor0nta