Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-05-14
BRYAN Is SHOCKED
IN HIS OWN STATE.
FELL Flat as Likely Senate.
rial Candidate.
Lincoln, Neb., Dispatch to New
York Times.

desperate effort to rehabilitate his
prestige, which is waning RAPIDLY
and ism grave danger OF vanishing.
Just what condition Mr.. BRYAN ex-
peeted to find politically ON his return
IS known only to himself. What he
ala lind was the fact that the entire
democratic party of the state was>un
IN arms against him, and that the
movement organized by M. VIM. F.
Porter; ex-secretary OF state, having
Tor its object the election of Mr.. BRYAN
TO the United States senate was a fat
and miserable failure. Indeed loss
than ten democrats answered Mr.. Por-
ters appeal for fifty democrats TO
come forward and each contribute 81
TO pay the filing fee necessary to
place Mr.. Bryan in nomination for the
senate. Mr. Bryan's friends exnect-
ed the plea to be answered by a Aood
Of dollars and names. They MANNED
to have Mr.. Bryan announced as
candidate before he arrived in Lin
coin, and thought to scare off other
candidates by the action.
Shock to Bryan's Friends.
The complete failure came as =
shock to the Bryan family and friends
In the midst of their trouble NJ,
Bryan reached Lincoln Apparently be-
leVlng that his loss of prestige in
Nebraska was due to his stand unon
the liquor question, Mr.. Bryan promDt-
~ modified his stand. For nearly six
months the country had understood
that he favored county local on-
ZION. Within a few days of his arri-
val in Lincoln his newspaper edito-
rally announced that it was only the
principle for viii he stood
mat any county in the state shouId
have an opportunity of voting on the
subject, although it did not follow
that he, himself, would vote for
lhe county local option plan of pro-
hibition, even if he had chance. Not
an inkling of the way Mr.. Bryan woulo
vote on the liquor question was con-
tanned in the editorial.
Scarcely had the state time to gasD
over Mr.. Bryan's sudden change than
he brought forward another issue and
took the center of the state. with aIII
the spotlights in the house turned on
MIN. He demanded that Gov. Sballen-
berger call a special session of the
legislature to pass an initiative and
referendum act Personal letters wee
mailed by him to each democratic
member of the legislature asking ifI
the members would sign a call for a
session and also if the member would
vote for the bill if introduced. He
also asked the Direct Legislation
League 70 make the same request and
poll of the republican members Of
the legislature.
Refused to Sign Call.
Trouble began among the democrats
as soon as Mr.. Bsyan's letter was
made public. The first answers re-
ceived were those from the Omaha
delegation of state senators, all oil
whom are democrats. Without a sin
gle exception, these members told Mr..
Bryan they refused to sign a call for
a special session ard that they would
vote against his initiative and refer
endum bill should the bill be intro
luced. This delegation based its
position on Mr.. B vans speech of
acceptance in the last national cam
paign, in which he announced that the
party platform was binding in what it
did not contain as much as it was
binding in what it did contain. AS
the platform did not favor the initia-
tive and referendum, argued the Oma-
ha senator's, the party should not
now enact a law of that kind.
Speaker Pool, of. the legislature, said
he would favor direct legislation, "ifI
it was of the right kind" but failed
to say what he considered to be the
right kind" Representative Gerdes
opposed special session unless a
bank guarantee bill could be consider
ed. Senator Besse opposed the initia-
tive and referendum, but wanted a spe-
cial session to relocate the state cap
itol. Representative Shoemaker an
nounced that he would not stand for
anything in the way of special ses-
son or any Bryan legislation.
League VIII Not Give Aid.
The Direct Legislation League no.
titled Mr.. Bryan that it refused 10
assist in the matter, but was willing
to undertake a campaign having for
lis object the passage of the same
law. Others answered in the same
strain.
All of this goes to show the revolt
against Bryan in his home state. This
revolution is not one of 'talk" only,
but is one in which the members are
doing things"
After the receipt of the first half
dozen replies, Mr.. Bryan announced
that he would Immediately start a
fight against the writer's, his object be-
ing to show that the people were with
him, and that those opposed to the
iniatiye and referendum were not fol-
lowing the will of their constituents.
The faithful" say that those members
of the legislature who will not enact
the legislation he wishes viii be fought
to finish in the primaries, and that
a new set of representatives, every
one guaranteed to do Mr. Bryan's
bidding, will be elected.
incidentally, it may be said that
if MI. Bryan can have the choosing