The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-19
Presidential Campaigns
xx-.Tne Mckinley Bryan Race Of 1900
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By Frederic J. Haslin.

Long before the national conven- tions met in the summer of 1900 every body knew that the Republicans would renominate President Mckinley. and that the Democrats would again fol- low the leadership of MT. Bryan. McKinley's renomination was made certain because of the great prosper fty which blessed the country, because of eIae successful Issue or the war with spain. and because of the per lection of the organization of the and the coteris of Republican senators that stood with the administration. Bryan's renomination was made cer- tain by his popularity with the rank and file of his party. notwithstanding the bitter and intense opposition of the. gold" Democrats.
 The renomination of Bryan in 1900 Is the only instance of the renomina- tion of an unsuccessful candidate for president in tho campaign next after his defeat Jackson was candidate in 1928 after his defeat in 1924, but as he had the plurality of both popular and electoral votes in the first race, and as there were no party nomina- tions then. his case Is not precedent. Henry Clay was three times a candi- date for president, but only once was
 
 and that was in the campaign after the one In which he was defeated for the Whig nomination by General Har- rison. Grover Cleveland was nomina- ated in 1899 after his defeat in 1888, but he had served one term in the White House he could not be consider ed wholly unsuccessful candidate, q No man who has met defeat at every turn of his career fin national politics has been able to retain the leadership of one of the two great parties with The single exception of Mir. Bryan
 < Between the presidential campaigns of. 1896 and 1900 things had happened which were to change the whole course of American national life. The struggle of Cuba for freedom from the yoke of Spain appealed to the senti- ment of the American people and there was great popular demand for in- terference in Cuba by our government. , If the American people had known as much then as they know now about the nature of Cuban rebellions and re- volutions the whole story might be different But be that as it may, the horrors of the administration of Butcher" Weyler in Cuba could not be permitted to pass without protest.
 MT. Mckinley and the administration resisted the demand for war for along time. but the demand was too strong and Spanish biuniers precipitated strained relations. War was declared and in less than four months 1t was over. The American victory was conn plete and the United States had sud- denly become a world power, in the sense that the phrase is used in Euro pean chancelleries.
 As the result of the war the United States found itself in possession of several things it had never had before. There were the colonies.--the Pilip- pines, Porto Rico and Guam. There was the protectorate,-Cuba. There was the church lands question. There was the extra-territoral tarff pro bIem and the question, Does the Constitution follow the Flag?" In ad- dition to these bran-new things. the nation also had new crop of War Heroes. Chief among these was Theo- dore Roosevelt Others were Admirals Dewey. 5chley. Sampson and Lieuten- ant Hobson. MT. Bryan had enjeavored to become a War Hero. too. but the regiment which he commanded was not permitted to get further away than Tampa. EA
 Admiral Dewey was the great Naval Hero. Naturally, he was discussed as a candidate for president. He made the fatal mistake of taking the first mention" as seriously as if 1t had OeGH a Cdll lIOil tHS hotAHShtAVH COttl- mittee of national convention He accepted nomination in advance of it's being offered. and was promptly laughed into oblivion. Sampson and Schley was involved in a controversy that removed both of them from the Hero class. General Joe Wheeler had been a rebel general and was out of the question politically General Nelson A. Miles and Colonel William J. Bryan being Democrats. did not get to the front
 Thus 1t happened that when two years had gone by and the country faced another quadrennial struggle for the presidency, it found that the War with Spain had produced but one genuine War Hero who had lasted. That was Colonel Roosevelt He hadn't been high in command in the army, but he had organized picturesque regiment aud had done many pictures que things. He had actually partici- pated in a battle and han proved his eagerness to fight.
 The Republicans of New York state had taken him up and had elected him governor, not so much because they wanted him. but because he was the only man who could win. As has happened since, the Republican bosses found that a governor so selected might be entirely too self-willed to rule the roost at Albany to suit the organization. Tn those days the will