New-York tribune., 1908-07-06
BRYAN WAVES BEAT
ON HOUSES OF SAND.
SKATER THE PLANS OF
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS.
Fallen Chieftains Reduced to Posi-
tions of Critics of Sub
Committee.
[By Telegraph to The Tribune. ]


building houses of sand by the seashore and OBJ
serve the elaborate care with which they exc
cuted their architectural conceptions, the deft-
ness with which they constructed walls and
towers. turrets and battlements, bridges and
drives? And then have you great wave.
higher than it's predecessors. come rushing up
the sands and instantly wipe out the result OF
so much effort, and. receding, leave the shingie
smooth and blank. ready for builders who
come to take the place Of the discouraged ones
whose handiwork has been so ruthIessly de-
stroyed? If you have seen these things you
have seen the prototype of all that Is occurring
at Denver. but here the children are replaced
by grizzed politicians, and the wave which IN
an instant destroys their carefully executed
plans comes from Lincoln, and is propelled by
William Jennings Bryan
Eve will have safe and sane platform" ar
nounces Charles F. Murphy. the great Tam
many chieftain. and he and his friends put their
heads together to construct planks dealing with
injunctions and railways and campaign funds
and finance pIanks with which they almost hope
TO regain for the Democracy the respect and
confidence of sensible business men and sound
financiers. Then comes the ruthless wave from
Lincoln, and the beach is left blank, ready for
the work Of other hands.
I'VE should nominate Californian for Vice
President. for then we can take that state from
j.
tive element exclaims Amen" and Lewis and
Nixon and other Influential leaders" hold
solemn conference and decide that it shall be
Franklin K. Lane: but again comes the wave
and the Lane Vice Presidential boouIet is no
more
We cannot write the financial part OF the
platform as we would but we can furnish evi-
dence to the East that the Democratic party
has abandoned the free silver heresy through the
wording of the resolution Of regret the
death of Grover Cleveland" asserts Alton b
Parker. and Immediately he spends hours writ
ing on the sand. But that was yesterday or
the day before. and to-day in apofogetic tones
Judge Parker is explaining that he never
meant it.
Many other things have been written on the
Democratic sands. There the late lamented
Johnson boom and that Of Gray, Of Delaware.
There was the Towne Vice-PresidentiaI boom
and the Pugsley Vice-PresidentiaI boOmlet: it
was young and feeble. too All have gone
gIimmerfng: all must be classed among the
things that were. They have perished before
the heated atmospheric waves from Lincoln, and
did men learn by experience, the children
sometimes do. plans would be made in
Denver without the approval Of the great Ne
braska wave producer. But there are indica-
tions this evening that Murphy has grown wiser.
that he purposes to father no more booms until
he has heard from Lincoln and that he will not
even indicate opposition TO any platform plank.
however radical. until he has been assured the
Nebraska simoom Will not sweep his opposition
from the sands
Even the widely vaunted harmony programme
which seemed to have the tacit approval Of "the
great commoner' was laid low at Lincoln yes
terday before blast of hot air discharged at a
gathering of Pennsylvania satellites. and the
vitriolic rejoinder of the indignant national COM
mitteeman from Pennsylvania. who has thrown
prudence to the winds and met Lincoln
tvphoon with an exposure of brutal truth which
augurs i'll for the success of the Democracy
I'VE are Just putting our heads together and
trying to frame things up said Pennsylvania
delegate when asked for news to-day.
"And trying to hear what Bryan thinks ar
Lincoln" added a franker member OF the dele
cation.
.'The platform will be here tomorrow" de-
c1ared a New York delegate this afternoon 1T
will leave Lincoln this evening" he continued
But thought Governor Haskell had 1t with
him and was rewriting certain planIzS," spoke
up another.
'You thought wrong was the reply. Has
kelI is lust writing on the sand: the sand"
And so 1T goes all day. rumors told as facts
one moment vehemently contradicted the next:
men murnuring vengeance against Bryan in
incautious statements in the afternoon: Vice
Presidential boomlets a-dying every hour. until
the famous ''hfty-seven varieties" has already
| been exceeded: Injunction planks radical that
they startle even the extremists authoritatively
| announced and denied within the hour. And
| from this medley of fact and fancy. chiefly the
| latter FIVE score more OF newspaper CORE
| spondents are struggling to construct accurate
dispatches
! Colonel ]. Ham Lewis, than whom there IS
/ no more affabIe or entertaining Democrat.
| graphically described the situation to-day.
| This gathering" he said. reminds me Of GER
tain parts of Hawaii. where the inhabitants
| said to make living by taking in each others
washing. Newspaper man No meets news
paper man No. and says promptly. What
news have your No. 1 eircumstantially relates
an idea furnished him by No 8. and No rushes
! off TO telegraph cable it
i Colonel Lewis. by the way. is always ready to
/ give advice to newspaper men. and one injunc-
ton which he gets of to all who consult him is
this: Boys. remember always that a man fOs-
ters a Presidential boomlet at a national
convention In order that he may go home and
| capture the nomination for his state Legis-
lature." And the colonel always bows low 20
Representative Pugsley when he sounds this
| warming
| Deprived OF voice in the actual counseIs OF
| their party. some OF the broader gauge leaders
in Denver. chiefly tried and true Bryan men.
have found a new field for their activities
They have decided that the subcommittee on
arrangements has departed widely from the
principles and practices OF genuine Jefrersonian
Democracy. and that its members have been in
dulsing in lavish expenditures. wholly unwar-
ranted by the present prospective state OF the
nd Thaxr haxre bea Of