, 1908-06-15
A MAN OF ~EXPEDIENCY.

Mr.. Bryan Is showing himself more
n more to be a man Of expediency.
When he returned from his trip abroad
he boldly announced government OWL
ership of railroads as a problem that
must be wrestled with by the democrat
ic party. Such a howl went up from
the faithful that h question was drop
ped like a hot potato. After some
e~quivocation about state ownership,
he shut up like a clam and has not
since been heard to speak his piece
about government ownership.
Now they are pressing Mr.. Bryan
rather closely upon the matter of pro-
hibition II he is just as ~evasive and
uncertain as upon the matter of govern
ment ownership. 1t is a state ques-
tion, he says, and should be settled by
the states. This is a sample Of his
e~quivocation:
Il have received many letters from
prohibitionists and many from oppo-
nents of prohibition and / have an
swered them all in the same way. l
have told hem that l did not regard
the question as a national question.
While 1t Us an issue in a number of
states l do not expect 1t to be made
an issue by either the republican or
democratic national conventions. l
have made it a rule not to discuss
questions outside the platform be-
cause the candidate has no right to
inject issues which his platform ex.
rludes.
In answer to questions about my
own record on the subject, l have
stated that sc far as my personal
habits go l am a %teetotaler, never used
liquor as a beverage, but in 1890 l vot-
ed against the state prohibition amend.
ment because | thought the license
system We have, with local option, was
better suited to the conditions we have
10 meet in our state.
When an attempt has been made
TO draw conclusions from this as to
what ought to be done in other states
/ have called attention to the fact that
state laws ought to be made to meet
the conditions existing in the state
and hat what l did in Nebraska could
not be a guide in states where condi.
lions were different.
In other words. | have refused to
give advice on the question in other
states because | am not sufficiently
informed as to the conditions in the
various SldltS, anu L nave TtluSeQ 70
discuss 1t as a national question be-
cause as have said. l do not ex-
pect it to be an issue in the cam
paign."
This attitude is a little new for Mr..
Bryan. Hitherto he has held that the
candidate should make the platform,
not the platform the candidate. Upon
that proposition is just where he has
split with the eastern wing Of the
democratic party. He injected so much
or populism and his own personality
into the platform that they were COM
PEELED TO. bolt. He was the platform Of
1896 and 1900.
Upon the question Of prohibition, &C.
cording to the foregoing. it would ap,
pear that Mr.. Bryan is unable to state
his position in ali the states at the
same time. In a prohibition state he
is qualified by personal habit to say tc
the people, Watch me. Follow my ex.
amble and you will put the saloon out
of business" And over in a high IL
cense state he can turn a fipfop AMI
say to the dear beloved. my record. is
all right. / voted against prohibition
because l believed that your system
was better" He would simply catch
them gcdng and coming. And then no