The daily sentinel., 1908-05-05

not uncommon with those custodians
of power who have within themselves
the germs of absolutism.
He began the career of an auto
crat. Having taken Miles upon one
knee, Schley upon the other, and
bumped their heads together, he
thought that he could do the same
with Hartman and Morgan. Then,
enjoying the big stick, and maybe a
little vain of it, he took the senate
and the house by the ears and
bumped their heads together. At
last the spirit of absolutism, grow
ing on what 1t feeds, he tackled the
supreme court of the United States,
where, as the saying is, he struck a
snag. But, the average man loving
fighter and ever carried away by
daring, the unthinlSing among the
people threw up their caps, failing
to discriminate, even to see that the
very form of their government was
put to menace by this resolute fed
eralist, this intrepid centralizationist,
this bold revolutionizer of systems
and destroyer of constitutions by ju-
dical construction and executive as
sumption
at will be remembered that twelve
months ago, when we sat out to try
party a volume of opinion sufficient
ly strong to impress Mr.. Bryan and
his friends that it were wiser of him
to play Warwick than king its pur-
pose was not 10 divide, but to unite
the party.
Guyed His Dark Horse.
THE entire summer and autumn
were wasted on tomfooling about
dark horse. Did he have a mus
tache?' wired Scott Bone. Was this
blonde or brunette? joined in the
chorus. Then it leaked out that the
Democrats in reserve was the gov
ernor of Minnesota, and, iterating a
line in famous old play, we had
deal of guying which may have been
humorous, but was certainly i'll
timed, about a party by the name of
Johnson.
1T grew a trifle tiresome. Ex-
cept to an angel it would have been
exasperating. Yet it seemed De-
mocracy. Governor Johnson de-
clered himself out of it. So did Gov
ernor Folk. So did Senator Culber-
son. We were put in for the costs
and left to hold an empty bag. Nat
urally. it threw up it's hands in dis
gust and took to the woods. And
then? Why, then, right out of the
open mouth of Wall street came
stentorian voice, Johnson,
"What chance would Johnson have
over the dead body of Bryan? What
chance would Johnson have of carry
ing a Wall street tag? What chance
would Johnson have using the un-
democratic two-thirds rule to defeat
the viii of the majority, and that at
the behest of the east, defying the
wact and worl.inp tha cputho
THE thought is preposterous.
Too Late for johnson.
Mark the sequel. The time has
passed for some one else Mr..
Bryan retaining the field; it is too
late for some one else the condi-
tions what they are; and | confess
that / am in sympathy with Mr..
Bryan in refusing to be ruled off the
track by a group of New York news
papers-whose motives are, to say
the least of them, uspiciious-which
will support no ticket except one
| framed by themselves, and which do
not agree with one another touching
the ticket to be named. Whatever
his claims may be, or may not be, Mr..
Bryan has his rights, and no
thoughtful man can, or will, say that
he cannot be elected the ipse dixit
equally of the unthinking, the inter-
ested and the prejudiced to the con-
trary being of no weight whatever.
In American politics anything is pos
sible; assuredly Mr.. Bryan may be
elected; as an affair of dinner pals,
If empty, he will be.
But among Democrats who know
why they are Democrats there ought
to be other and higher considera-
tions: some arrest of the breacknecS
speed on the highway toward the
| Capitalization of power; some real