The Brunswick news., 1908-05-12
SENTIMENT IN POLITICS.

The Richmond-Times Dispatch very
strihngly and very truthfuIly com
ments on the remarkable hold thaf Mr..
Bryan and President Roosevelt have
npon the people of the United states.
and presents interesting and, we be-
iieye. correct conclusions in the fol
lowing.
Beyond any peraivenfure of doubt,
the two most poular and powerful
citizens in the United States today are
Theodore Roosevelt and William len
nings Bryan. Both are feared and alb
Hofrei by many Of their party lead
ers. and both are idollzed By hundreds
of thousands Of their fellow citizens.
It is This personal prestige and this
enormous hold on The masses nat
have given Pres' lent Roosevelt and
Mr. Bryan their extraordinary position
as leaders. The remarkable feature
in the career and power OF these two
men is the fact thar neither of them
are deep thinkers, wise counselors or
trained statesmen Mr.. Rooserelts
'pol'ciea e unchecked. would land rs
in 2 Bureaucracy, which for arrogance
e power would sarrass that Pfus-
aief a@saaism &c B.sraarcks cree ion.
A. q Ftatesman, Nr. bryan is also far
from Perfect His theory of free silver
has been abandoned as hopeless: his
government ownership Of railroads
plan has been laid aside ia response
% a popular demand thathe could not
Withstand; his call for initiative and
referendum has awakened no popular
response, and still his power and place
wi the masses is strong ana practi
cally untouched. There must be some
reason for the almost reverendal atu-
tude which the real followers OF Mr..
Bryan and Mr. Roosevelt feel towards
their leaders, and the explanation Is
70 be found in ahe fact that these Two
men have risen up to teach morals al
a time when morality was more need
Ell than statesmanship In preaching
their crusade against materiarsm both
Mr. Bryan and Mr. Roosevelt have
been led into declama ions with which
The Times-Dispatch can not agree
Both have made charges which can
moi be proved, and both have offered
RENE lies which would b entirely in.
effective or disastrous, but despite
these mistakes Nh Bryan and Mr..
Roosevelt alike have stood for man.
hood before money and for the IN
alienable aud glorious rights Of the
individual TO live his own life under
that free lom for which the fathers OF
the republic died But the heart OF
The American people understood and
sympathizcd With he READ motives Of
beth preachers, Ana the good sense
of the American people pierced
through the frequent clap;rap and
demaGogy to The underlying minci
pie. Again we have seen II demon
sras ed that the heart has It's r2asons
which the head does not understand
That is, unauestionably the condi
ton Of the peoples mind today. ana
that accounts for the prevalence ~
tha Bryan sem iment and the persist
enee Of the Roosevelt legend There
is an essential difference between the
tive however, far while Mr. Bryan has
ibeen spreading an evangel Mr. Roose
Welt has ben capitalizing a sentiment
Mr. Bryan is sincere, devoted. radi-
cal, and in many things n misled re-
former, Mr Roosevelt has caught jhe
trend of The public mind and put IL TO
political purposes. Tc the end Mr.
Bryan win contend for what he thinks
| is right for and beneficial TO the peo
pie Mr. Roosevelt viii contend for
what ne thinks the people want until
| they change their minds en- h. changes
his Judgment OF their views. And this
ldistinction the people are finding out.