The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-27

leader who had the temerity to
 openly protest against the nomina- ton of William J. Bryan at Denver and to challenge the democracy of MT Bryan, and tidings on the political Rialto are to the effect that even John w. Daniel has surrendered to what appears to be the in- eVitable and is now a captive in the tri- umphal train of "the peerless one." No other man of our history-not Jackson nor Clay. nor Roosevelt-ever held his party in such abiect slavery as does Will liam J. Bryan hold the party of Jefferson and Jackson Tilden and Cleveland this good year of 190S. Even the south, that defied and destroyed Van Buren and Douglas. loves to fetch and carry for the man who learned Democracy at the feet of Lyman Trumbull the author of the forever infamous southern reconstruction legislation of 1S65-75.
 And this. to, despite the fact that MT. Bryan is a statesmen with a single idea. and that the augmentation of federal power, and a leader without a single vic- tory When Grover Cleveland last led the democratic party it gained the most sig nal victory of it's history, except that of 1852. The south was solid California, Connecticut. Illinois. Indiana. New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin were demo- cratic. Michigan, North Dakota, and Ohio were doubtful There was a large democratic majority in the House of Rep resentatives, and the Senate had a small democratic majority. There was but a single republican Senator from the entire south-Anthony Higgins of Delaware. There were two democratic Senators from New York, two from New Jersey, one from Ohio, two from Indiana, one from Illinois. two from Wisconsin, one from California. one from Kansas one from North Dakota. and one from South Da- kota.
 By 1894 the Democratic party deposed Cleveland from the leadership and set up Richard P. Bland, who found in William ]. Bryan his favorte and best-trusted lieutenant With what result? solid republican north and divided democratic south From tn. south of 1908 are five re- publican Senators, and they will be rem forced by another republican from Ken lucky in the Sxty-first Congress. From the north-or what is called the north in our political nomencature-we have two alleged democratic Senators, both recent ly recruited from the republican party One is Henry NJ. Teller bloody-shirt republican until 1896, who voted against the continuation of Melville W. Fuller as chief justice because he did not then believe that any democrat was fit to sit on the supreme bench The other IS Francis C. Newlands, who is on record to this effect: T am a democrat on the silver question, and republican on the tariff question:" Teller is also "a repub- lican on the tariff question:
 To that complexion has Bryanlsm brought the democratic party. And then the knaves have the insufferable effrontery to lay the defeat on Grover Cleveland, and the country is full or fools who drink it all in. Had they s1f sfnrs half resulted, there would have been some sense in holding Cleveland responsiblei but they followed Bryan, and are get ting ready to set him up again.
 Hark'ee. democrats. if William J. Bryan is defeated for President by Will liam H. Taft the republicans will re- wise the tariff, and whatever that re vision," the country will accept it for the succeeding dozen years. Then what will the democratic party do? It will do the only thing it can do-lay down and die, and its epitath will be, "Died of mental assininity and moral inani- tion."
 Anybody with sense enough to come in out of the rain knows that to elect a democrat President in 1908 some I 100000 voters must be received from the republican ranks in Connecticut hf Indinaa, Illinois and Wisconsin. There is just one way to get those votes, and that is to up with the banner" of tar if reform and make the issue as para mount. as it was in 1892 MT. Bryan could have made that paramount, but he refused, and it is absolutely impos- sible for anything but his fads of gov ernment ownership, the initiative and referendum and other worthless chips afS o p nqr be the candidate. If you eat the devil you must drink his broth no matter what the platform bill of fare con- tains.
 John Warwick Daniel sees the thing that very way, and so do nine of every 10 democratic leaders of she south see it that way. All these folk know that William J. Bryan stands no more chance to be President of the United States than he does to be Pope of Rome and he would make better Pope than he would a President.
 Now there is nothing more certain than that the republican platform is going to promise the negro curtafl- ment of southern representation in Congress. because the south refuses to be represented in Congress by negroes, just as the north does. That would be kettle of fish set before the south l by her own trusted leaders, who were | too timid to venture their political lives ] and attepmt to bell tn ecat. Before 1 Bryan got here last winter, our friends talked mighty brave of the brave 1 things they were going to tell him! | but as soon as he arrived in this town i all of them shut up like Gackknife i and fell in with the other captives in 1 his train. When I contemplate that ! course of conduct by southern men, l | can only rejoice that southern leaders were of a different kidney the dark days of 1S6575.
 Senator Daniel was a boy under 20, at school when the war between the | states began. He volunteered and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the |