Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-30
LODGE MAKES REPLY
TO OLNEY ARGUMENT
Continued From First Page.)

\SOHtliucu FIOul IL ST dsc.J
of the war victorious and In all the years
since the United States has stood forth a
living and evermore Impressive witness
that the party of Lincoln was right In
the days Of war. while. those WHO opposed
1t were hopelessly wrong.
These are unforgivable sins. and Mr..
Olney has never. I think. tried to forgive
the republican party for being guilty Of
them. In his eyes the republican party
can never be right and all 1t does must
be wrong. We may therefore feel certain
that when we read a political article by
Mr.. Olney the very worst will be said
about the republican party that a keen
and trained intellect can devise. and that
nothing which can help the democratic
party will be overlooked and everything
which could hurt 1t will be omitted.
Moreover. as one reads Mr.. Olney's letter
one feels that. although the writer ad-
dresses a large audience, the portion of
the American electorate which he Is most
anxious to persuade of the justice Of his
position is himself. and to attain this OBJ
ject he spares no pains and no effort
Who L. Roosevelt's Heir9
1.-The proposition in which the whole
letter may practically be summed up
and which Mr.. Olney labors to demon
strate. is that every opponent of Mr..
Roosevelt's policies ought to vote for MI
Bryan. If Mr.. Bryan were opposed to
would be as easy as 1t would be unanswer-
able. But Mr. Bryan is asserting stead
lily that he is the true heir OF the Roose,
welt policies. and the only man who Will
the country shouting to the vast mass OF
the American people who believe In MI
Roosevelt and his policies. like the tramp
in the "Old Curiosity Shop. when ne says
to Little Nell: 'Recollect the friend:
Codiins the friend. not Short. Short s
very we'll as far as he goes. but the real
friend is Goblin. not Short 1 shall not
push the comparison and say that the
American people might. II they trusted
Mr.. Bryan's siren promises. wake up as
little Nell did and find the country being
cheated as Goblin and his partner cheated
old Trent. .,
treme and almost the reactionary klnd'
He is a conservative by habit. training
age and profession. and Mr.. Roosevelt s
policies in regard to corporations are
utterly repugnant to him. That he should
desire to defeat those policies Is not only
natural but. from his point Of view. right
and consistent The difficulty arises when
he invites US to defeat Mr.. Roosevelt
policies by electing Mr.. Bryan. In one
sense, no doubt. this would ultimately
overthrow Mr.. Roosevelt's policies. be,
cause MI Bryan. If we may trust his
record and not his present ever-varyinP
declarations. would push Mr.. Roosevelt
policies to such violent extremes that they
| would break down and bring on perhaps
an equally violent reaction. The disaster
and ruin which this would entail would be
| too heavy a price for even conservatives
| like Mr. Olney to pay for bringing about
the reaction which they desire We. there
fore. are forced to conclude that Mr.. Olne!
| urges Mr.. Bryans election because ne
thinks, as he processes to think. that Mr.
Bryan would not carry out Mr. Roose
velt's policies. but would arrest them.
olney's Sole Argument.
This view reflects on Mr.. Bryan's sin
certify rather seriously. but Mr.. Olne1
probably does not regard his candidate:
sincerity as a very important asset. Ye
all questions of sincerity aside. how cal
we accept Mr. Olney's proposition that We
should support Mr.. Bryan as the man who
will stop Mr.. Roosevelt's policies wher
| Mr. Bryan himself declares that he and H.
| alone is the true heir OF the Roosevelt
policies, no matter what their author may
| say; that he Is claimant" but tn
genuine heir Of the estate and that 1t i
| an utter mistake to suppose that he Il
| merely a wandering voice. To defeat Ger
| tain policies by the election of a maj
who declares those very policies to be hi
own Is a proposition which 1t taxes evel
the ingenuity and ability of Mr.. Dine.
to defend and yet. in essence. that is tn
| one substantive proposition and the sol
argument Of his entire letter.
| 1.-THE weight of Mr.. Olneys attack
however. is directed against Mr.. Roose
welt. and is marked by bitterness which
would almost suggest that he either had
| q personal grudge to crafty or has beer
stung by something which the Presiden,
has said. He begins by sneering at wha,
he calls the Rooseveltian policies as