The San Francisco call., 1908-04-26

DOODLE DFfS PLAN
TO INDORSE BRYAN
independence League of State
Will Reject Program for
Hearst Supremacy
Faction That FayOrs Nebraskan
Determines TO Demand
His Nomination

Cor William Jennings Bryan to the na-
tfonaT convention of the doodle dees.
That is the extraordinary program
made in this city by members OF tle
Independence league. who interpret .its
.-independence" of name and action In a
fashion differing widely from that al
fected by william Randolph Hearst.
BRYAN is not popular with Hearst
The alrnost-near-ed editor politician does
not want the peerless one to capture
the doodle dee convention. Neverthe-
less. a controlling faction IN the lnoe-
pendence league of this city is made up
of stanch. enthusiastic Byranites and
il purposes TO make Hearst swallow
it's program.
That Hearst will make many wry
face before he has assimilated this dis
agreeable morsel goes without saying
that he may even, at the last moment,
beg for a sugar coating to make it
paiatable is extremely probable. But
the plans have been made, quietly but
carefully. with secrecy, but also with
determination. and the planners are
about ready TO ask Hearst-what are
you going to do about it2
Publicity at this time, however. is no
part of the, scheme, and it may be that
this publication of the jealously
guarded program will cause some ma
terial differences in the manner of car
rying it out.
The Independence league of Califor-
mia, like the Independence league of
other states, is generally regarded as
the private political property of Will
liam Randolph Hearst Certainly
Hearst himself so regards it The eX-
penses Of the league in this state are
contracted in his name. and the San
Francisco headquarters is in charge of
one of his newspaper employees. The
league convention will be expected to
take Hearst's program.
But there is a strong faction In the
Independence league which does not re-
gard that organization as something
which should be assessed wholly and
solely to Hearst This faction is most
decidedly not prepared TO take the
Hearst program.
This element in the league is directed
In its political activities by Daniel
O'Connell, attorney and democrat of
this city. With O'Connell are John
/. Polito. John T. Kelly. A A Odell,
John Robinson, J. J. Moriarity and 9TH
ers, all active members of the Inde-
pendence league, and all of them mem
bers at the same time of the Califor-
MIA Bryan club, which has for its pur-
pose the nomination of the Nebraskan
for president O'Connell has much of
the spirit which animated his name
Sc-nI anu -C4dNlRCs great
agitator," and his agitation is largely
responsible for the emphatic Bryan
sentiment in the league.
OConnell and his coterie object
strongly TO Hearst's assumption Of alb
solute suzerainty over the Independence
league As a matter of fact they might
point out, if they cared to, that Hearst
had no hand in the actual Incorporation
of the league under the laws of Cali
TOTn1S. They r6 fa leo
their political offspring and are not
prepared TO surrender their rights of
paternity at the bidding of Hearst.
SO they only acknowledged limited
sovereignty as vested in the editor
when it comes to ruling the doodle
oees- And at the same time they are
not unreserved in accepting the sup
port which the Examiner vouchsafes
the organization.
Rumor has it that their affection for
the local Hearst organ became luke
warm when Langdon's candidacy for
governor on the independence league
ticket brought about the defeat of
Theodore Bell, the democratic nomi-
nee- II grew colder when the Exami-
ner espoused the cause of the indicted
grafters.
Hearst has knitted the democratic
party once more" was the way the
bourbons summed up the Examiners
share in the last gubernatorial fight.
Is II any wonder that the bourbons in
the independence league should feel a
tempered enthusiasm for the local
Hearst newspaper? Or is II remark
able that they should not take kindly
TO Hearst's presidential ambition?
The independence leaguers are demo-
Gratis first and doodle dees afterwar rd
They have not succeeded in changing
their political spots as quickly and
= I1ns- -rrl7 - L =
their political designation And so IL
comes that they are in the independ-
ence league to take it away from
Hearst and present it with a flourish
TO Bryan.
When the independence league state
convention meets in this city on Satur-
day, May Is. it will have two pro-
grams. the Hearst program and the
Bryan program OF the O'Connell bel
iigerents.
The O'Connell forces are strong and
they are determined to win. They
counted on taking Hearst by surprise
and IL is no fault of theirs that their
plans have been prematurely uncov-
cred. They trust to the sentiment for
Bryan which they have found among
the doodle .dees to make their work
easy. but they are preparing to fight,
II necessary.
Already they are making the claim
that nine-tenths of the Ieaguers
throughout the state are Bryan men
and they go so far as to say that un-
less Bryan is the leagues candidate
in the fall the league will not poll
1000 votes in California In their
confidence OF success they already
promise themselves that the independ-
cnce league viii send to the national
conveTit,n of doodle dees a solid Cali
fornia delegation instructed to vote on
tho irst and last ballots and on all
the ballots between for William J.
Bryan.
Here is the guarded way in which
Chairman Daniel O'ConneH replied
when questioned as to these facts yes
terday:
No ore can foreteil whom the ma
fionsi convention will nominate or
pnat piar1orm It VIII adopt Various
sugzestious and predictions have been
made as is usual preceding every con-
vention. I am a great admirer OF both
Mr.. Hearst and Mr.. Bryan"
"Bnt,' O'Connell added Significantly.
warming to his theme. everybody
knows that personally ] am in favor Of
Bryan"
BROUGHT FROM PHILADELPHIA
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