The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-19
rHr TrME FOR PLAIN SPEAKING.

| issues, anu Auneo'
 Without those new issues, there are plenty upon which fight can De made, and, In my humble opinion, take some little time for the party as d whole to rehabilitate itself. find It. l self as 1t were. As said before. there Y are sore spots to be rubbed out: there
 ra binR tsat sli ehei this wifi if be S deHs With in four years, perhaps even sooner. | But If Democracy ever Is to be triun- phant 1t m1st frpre a5d t9 ha he %at 1t did not do this year.
 The Governor announced that he was not yet prepared to make any extended comments on the late election, or on political affairs generally. but what we have copied shows that he has q correct view of the situation, as well as of the future of Democracy. There are sore spots on the party, and they can only be rubbed out by applying the sponge of genuine Democracy toI them. For twelve long years the par | ty has been experimenting with forms | of populism, socialism and other up- | suit has been to weaken the party. dis rupt its following and destroy the country's faith in Democratic leader ship. The sober and conservative thought of the country has about reached the conclusion that modern Democracy does not mean anything but time serving experimentation. This belief can only be eradieated by plac- l ing the management and guidance of the pany in hands of genuine Demo- crats of the old school. of whom Gov ernor Johnson seems to be q fine typs By this method the un-Democratic ele~, ments and vagaries will be weeded out and the oldtimers who have been driven 1 to other parties or into retirement be- cause of the party's departure from I the faith will come back to their proper place in the politics of the country.
 l It is useless to be timid or evasive in the discussion of political affairs, past, present or future. The party must rid Itself of Bryan leadership, or drag out a hopeless and useless exist ence until .annihiiation ends It. ;.Mr. Bryan has for twelve years been . drag on the Democracy and an insuper- able bar to its success. He Is dream CT, a vagarist and time-server who has tried to be all things to all men, who has juggled with Democracy for his own purposes and dallied with the 1 false doctrines of other parties with the hope of winning votes for himself. Thousands and hundreds of thousands of lifelong Democrats have supported him in three campaigns when they had 10 confidence in his political steadfast- ness. no faith in his political wisdom and no hope of winning. They sup l ported him because of their loyalty to their party and not through confidence in him or hope of success.
 Shall this go on until there is noth- ing left of Democracy but memory? memory of what once was. what ought to have been and of what might have continued if the party had held fast to the faith and. not broken away from it's moorings and run after strange gods. For that is just what it has done, and the result Is known of all men.
 And this deadening paralysis of our party will go on to the end unless the party rids itself forever of Mr. Bryan. He Is just as surely a menace to Democracy now as he was twelve or eight years ago or this year, when he was leading It to an open grave. He is even now preening and grooming himself to become the candidate of the party in 1912 if Democrats will submit to again be deluded by him. Three de- feats seem to have no otheT effect on him than to increase his smbitien to lead. Experience fails to exert any in- fluence on him and he will force him self and his vagaries on the party four 1 years hence unless he igs made to see l GAh Gh1StSboAAo hG ID hoI HAhLOO and will not be tolerated as a leader. He gives no pledge or assurance that he will not again be a candidate and l we are justified in assuming that he will be if Democrats are willing.
 Why do we say that we are justified in assuming that he will be a candidate in 1s12T Reading his declaration in The Commener after the election any one can see that he does not abandon the hope of another nomination. His declaration made at San Antonio. print ed in yesterdays Advertiser. ought to satisfy any one that "Barkis Is wIllin'." and that he yet stands for everything he has advocated in the past. and that he expects the party to endorse his views and select him as their advocate and expositor. Will the party again suffer itself bound to the chariot of Bryan and Bryanism when there is nothing to be gained by it-not even the defense of Democratic principles?
 What a plain lesson we get from the late election. Take the States of Minnesota. Indiana and Ohio as strik ing examples of Democratic lack of