Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-17
Democracy Will Go to Denver2United

tee concluded his letter by declaring
that he knew well that Mr. Ryan had
no knowledge of the contribution or to
the purposes TO which it had been put.
AS for the story that the money was
paid as the price of Bryan's support of
Parker | can speak with some personal
knowledge. Before he left St Louis
after that most disastrous and not
wholly creditable convention he per-
sonally told me that he would go into
the campaign for Parker notwithStand-
ing his opposition to the New York
mans nomination. The money re-
ferred TO was not sent 10 Nebraska for
many weeks after that conversations ]
might note in passing also that Mr..
Bryan volunteered TO speak in New
York state for Judge Parker. but the
sapient managers of that gentIemans
campaign asked the Nebraskan not to
come. The state was lost by the big
geSt hostile majority ever given in a
presidential campaign.
Chandler of New Hampshire.
Former Senator Chamberlain Chan
der. as he is better known-is in
grave danger of becoming a Demo
| crat. and Il radical Democrat at that
In Il speech before Il negro audience
| in Washington the other night he
urged his audience TO impress upon
their fellow men of color the necessity
| of voting the Democratic ticket in the
event that MIR. Taft should be nominal
| ed. But he went further than this.
He insisted that the present situation
| of the negro in the south was due to
| the fact that the men of that race had
| always voted the Republican ticket,
would always be expected to vote it..
and that for that reason they might
not expect any favors from the party
to which they We're shackled by wrist
and ankle. Senator Chandler wound
up by urging the voters of the colored
race to break away from the Repub-
lican party and by a certain manifes-
tation of independence wiring either
from that party or from the Democrat
lie party, to which he urged their vote
should be given, political concessions
for themselves.
Nobody has ever accused Chandler
of being other than machine Repub-
lican. He was one of the great factors
in the Louisiana returning board which
finally and fraudulently seated Ruth
erford B. Hayes in the White House
True, it may be said that he is out of
office and expressing the vindictive-
ness of man who has lost, first. the
place of a United States senator and.
second, a high place under the appoint
ment of the president of the United
States. But a railroad beat him for
United States senator because he was
too frank and outspoken. The presi-
dent dropped him from his executive
position for precisely the same reason
In these days of equal autocracy in the
White House and i'll railroad offices
the man who thinks for himself and
who speaks according to his thought
is exceedingly liable to suffer That
has been the case with Bill Chandler
And that now from his station as q
mere private citizen, but with his ex-
tended acquaintance and his brillian,
intellect, he continues to keep up his
fight shows surely that he has in him
the stuff that heroes are made of The
negro vote to which he appeals holds
the balance of power in the states
which border the northern side of the
Ohio river. The fight which he has
begun may be of vital Importance In
the pending presidential campaign.
Washington, D. C.
WILLIS T. ABBOT.