The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1908-09-17

sues Of the campaign Mr. Bryan
should devote little time to his own
record, from which he seems to be
to separate himself, with all
the adroitness acquired. in a 12-year
hunt for an issue upon which he can
be elected president The readiness
with which Mr.. Bryan in successive
presidential campaigns passes from
cne paramount issue to another shows
that the chief consideration which af-
fected his selection of an issue has
been its plausibility in attracting
votes.
Has Had No Responsibility,
HE presents the remarkable spec
tacle of one who has been seeking
the presidency twelve years without
success and without official RESPONSE
bility, and without the opportunity to
test the various propositions which
he has advocated for reforms, and yet
CT having events demonstrate what g
colossal failure he would have made
in each instance. had he been permit
ted to make his proposals the policies
of the country. He does not now say
whether he Is still in favor of the
free coinage of silver. He does not
now answer the question whether, II
he were president and an exigency
should arise in which he would be call
ed upon to exercise his discretion at
f1rmatively to maintaining the parity
between gold and silver, he would ex-
ercfse that discretion. He has not
permitted himself to discuss in this
campaign the Issue Of anti-imperial-
ism, which was the. paramount issue
In 1900, as he asserted, and in re-
spect to which the policy of the Re-
publican party has been vindicated by
events, 50 that tranquility and good
government exists In, the Philippine
islands, and even the Independistias
there prefer Republican victory to Mr..
Bryan's promises.
HE now says that he favors the
more rigid regulation Of the railroads.
In 1896 he expressed the view that
the railroads could not be regulated
because the railroads would own the
regulators appointed by law, and
therefore he was in favor of govern
ment ownership. We hear nothing
from him on this subject. Instead,
by describing his platform, not only
as an announcement Of principles, but
as protection against uncomfortable
issues. he has attempted to give bond
to keep the peace with respect to
government ownership, which by its
mere announcement showed its lack
Of the vote catching quality.
He Has Worked Against Roosevelt.
"He processes to have been the faith
er, and now to be the heir, Of the
Roosevelt policies and yet in no cam
paign, OF three in which he has taken
part, and two of which he himself
led, did he make them the paramount
ISSUE. Indeed, in the Parker cam
paign, he took occasion to. charge
Roosevelt with militarism and with be-
ing completely subject to the influ-
ence Of corporations, only to see him
win the greatest p4ace triumph Of the
world and secure such an affective
stamping out Of corporate abuses as
to elicit the admiration OF the entire
country.
''Mr. Bryan processes to be the great
friend Of labor and yet he was. one of
the chief supporters in the passage
of the Gorman-Wilson bill that made
labor helpless four years. Hel then
proposed. as "a remedy for the disas-
ters to which labor was thus exposed,
the issuing Of a fifty cent dollar, which
would have cut in half such wages as
there were and would have led to the
hardest kind OF struggles on labor's
part. to restore its wages to the prop
er equivalent under the gold standard.
The country has been most fortunate
that the fallacy of Mr.. Bryan's rail-
road propositions has been exposed
without the cost of putting them into
actual governmental practice and it
will be fortunate indeed If the danger
Of four years of depression, to whicn
1t would be exposed in case of Mr..
Bryan's election. may be, everted and
If by Republican success in November
and subsequent prosperity policies he
may be again shown tc be prophet
without honor"