Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-04-21
James Creeluan in PearSon's Mag
azine For A priI, 1908.

Mr.. Bryan is open and honest about
his business success. He makes no
secret OF his profits. There was no
other course open to him if he was to
continue his fight for the people accord
ing TO his convictions, with the rich
men OF his party bitterly opposed to
him. de had no favored corporations
to supply him with funds. He had no
millionaire admirers to pay railway
fares or take care of the cost of meet
ings. He had to make his continuous
crusade more than self-supporting to
put his political work on the footing
of a trade, or abandon the party organ
iZation to the so-called conservatives.
In this way Mr.. Bryan has made him
self independent of Wall street demo-
Gratis. He has even made it profitable
from material standpoint to denounce
and avoid them. So that even the
dullest radical can see that there is good
money in the service of the people as
well as in the service of their enemies
1t is easy to illustrate the point by an
incident: The richest and most master
full democrat In the East is Thomas Z
Ryan. Not only is he one of the might.
test captains in Wall street, with
Grover Cleveland, Paul Morton, Elihu
AbOOl anu OtHClS VI Iutll ike dulOU0
his trusted employees or advisers, but
Tammany hall is at his beck and call,
and it is believed that he controls the
democratic organization in many states
New, just as Mr.. Bryan had made his
tour of the world; after emperors, kings
and prime ministers had received him
after he had been the talk of the Rus
sian Douma and the hero of the Inter
parliamentary Conference; when his
friends wereNarranging in his honor q
reception in Madison Square Garden
on scale and with national distinc
ton almost unprecedented in American
politics; just at that critical time, when
Mr.. Bryan was preparing an address tc
his country, an odd and sipisScr thing
happened.
Thomas +. Ryan went from New
York to London under an assumed
name, accompanied by a prominent
magazine editor with Wall street con
nections. This editor secretly called
on Mr.. Bryan at his London hotel anC
asked him to meet Mr. Ryan. Mr.
Bryan promptly resented the sugges
ton.
1t is cot hard to imagine the dramatic
scene. The portly Nebraskan, in a
frock coat, towering up beside table
Uttered with newspaper clippings anc
messages describing the coming Madi
son Square Garden meeting, the eager
ness of democratic governors anc
United States senators to be present
the broadside enthusiasm of the press
the strong, shaven face so familiar or
Western billboards brown eyes ho
with indignation, mouth firm and jaw;
rigid-and the lean figure and anxious
countenance of the pleading editor.
Mr.. Bryan was adamant. Twice the
editor repeated his visit. He assured
Mr.. Bryan that Mr. Ryan had grown
tired of Wall street He had withdrawn
from every trust but the American
Tobacco company. He would with
draw from that, too, as soon as he could
Mr.. Ryan's nature longed for closer
association with the common people
for a more intimate approach to the in
effabilities of true democracy. He was
overcome by desire to do something
for his country. He wanted to meet
Mr.. Bryan.
There was no softening of the brown
eyes, no yielding in the implacable
mouth. Mr.. Bryan drew himself ur
and said with some sternness that he
would "have no communication of any
kind with man engaged in the con
duct of trusts +" The baffied editor then
retreated.