Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-08


Even democrats - excepting, of
course, those who have adopted Claim
everything as their motto-will have
difficulty in raising intelligent obiee-
ton to the first official forecast of
the result in November, just published
by the republican national committee.
This estimate gives Mr.. Taft 3O7 cleo
toral votes, Mr.. Bryan,15S and places
eighteen in the doubtful column. In
diana and Nevada are classed as
doubtful. MIR. Bryan is allowed all
of the ex-slave states excepting Mary
land. Delaware and West Virginia. He
is allowed Missouri, which the repub-
licans carried in 1904, and Kentucky,
which was carried by the republicans
In 1907. IL both Of these states it is
a matter of common knowledge that
the republicans have better than a
fighting chance and the republicans
placing them in Bryan's column is, to
say the least, generous.
The table gives Bryan eighteen
more electoral votes than Parker had,
including, of course, Governor Has
kell's state of Oklahoma with it's seven
votes, which have been added to the
electoral college since Parker's defeat.
In placing Indiana in the doubtful
column, the republican committee has
doubtless taken into account the local
conditions in the state which have
operated to the disadvantage of the
candidates for state officers. 1t is
not only possible but quite probable
that the state may still give Mr.. Taft
a healthy plurality, even if the demo-
Gratis succeed in electing their state
ticket.
In all fairness, the table gives the
democrats all they can reasonably ex-
pect. They will claim that they are
going to carry Illinois. New York,
Wisconsin and any other states that
may be needed to give the Nebraska
leader a majority in the electoral col
lege, but they do lot believe their
claims themselves. The democrats are
faced by conditions instead Of theories
this year and they have no reason to
expect that Mr.. Bryan will get any
considerable number of votes that were
cast against him in 1900. On the
contrary, they must realize that he is
going to lose thousands of votes that
were for him in 1900, but which will
now go to Debs, Watson, Hisgen or
some OF the other candidates who are
harping loud on the strings which Mr..
Bryan twanged heaviest in 1896 and in
1900 and which he has now dropped
entirely. Mr.. Bryan is feeling the
staggering blows that have been dealt
to him recently, exposing his chum-
miness with Haskell and other tainted
associates. These disclosures have dis
gusted thousands of sincere friends of
Mr.. Bryan and have done much to
counteract the effect of his specious
pleas for higher political morality. 1t
has come as something OF a shock to
find Mr.. Bryan, whose voice and pen
have always been active in preaching
platitudinous morals, hand in, glove
with "Fingy" Corners, Roger Sulli-
van, Joe Bailey, Governor Haskell,
Tom Taggart. T. Fortune Ryan and
the active workers in all hat has been
corrupting' N d~isgraceful in Ameri-
can politics.
1t should be remembered that Mr..
Bryan has at one time or another
denounced all of these men. He is
using them now to keep his anvass
from ~collapsing and they are in line
for Bryan in order that they may
show regularity and have a hand in
the reorganization of the party after
they take part in his third political
funeral.