The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-09-10


time of the day or the night at this
Kansas City station, came to a place
a little less crowded than elsewhere
and there in a corner alone and un-
noticed by any Of the vast crowd save
one young man. I came suddenly upon
William Jennings Bryan. He had lee
tured somewhere in Missouri last
night and was going to lecture in an
other town near Kansas City tomor-
row. I watched his grip for him
while he went into a telephone booth.
Then he shook hands. remarked that
he was interested In watching the way
the Republican conventions were
adopting the Democratic doctrines
and edged his way through the
throng to catch his train.
Inexpressible Thoughts.
And he left me with some mighty
thoughts surging through my brain.
which my typewriter Is wholly un-
equal to, so they will not be inscribed.
Not all of them will; but, do you
know that I have been sitting all this
day looking out of the car window
and wondering if it is really true
that Truth is mighty and will prevail,
at least wondering If it will during
our generation. Here I saw the man
who would have been president Of
the United States instead Of Roose-
welt If 1T had not been for Wholesale
and criminal corruption of the cleo
torate in 1896, the man who first
gave national voice to the great pol
icies which Roosevelt took up after
his election had twice been bought
for him. the man whose champion
ship for such measures as the inita-
tive and referendum, railroad regu-
lation and others since come to be al
most universally recognized as inevi-
table as we'll as right was taken as
an excuse for denunciation by the
very men who bought the presidency
for Roosevelt-here was this man
in one Of the great cities Of the coun-
try alone and unnoticed, while the
one who had profited by the cor
ruption, himself caught in one Of the
most scandalous political intrigues in
the history Of our country, and who
now has taken up the Bryan policies
because he sees them inevitable, Is
hailed as almost a god. Had the
great monied interests Of the country
not put their many millions into the
hands Of Mark Hanna to purchase
votes. directly and indirectly, in 1896,
which money was used to corrupt the
electorate in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
in several far Western States, Nc
Kinley would not have been elected
and Roosevelt would never have been
president. The great impetus of his
picturesque and vigorous personality,
the dissatisfaction Of the people, es-
pecially Of the Middle West. with the
methods employed In the nomination
of Judge Parker and the sentiment
about the assassination Of Mckinley
which kept men in the Republican
party might have elected Roosevelt in
1900 anyway But to make his elec-
tion sure he called upon Hartman,
the railroad king, to help him raise a
corruption fund, and he entered in
toa scandalous bargain with the Nor
mon church, which agreed to turn
over to him the electoral votes Of
several States in return for his guar
antee that Reed Smoot would hold
his seat In the United States senate.
When I see the continued adulation
of Roosevelt printed in the newspa-
pers throughout the country, in many
OF whose Offices I know the editors
and reporters to know the many such
facts as have named above concern
Ing Mr.. Roosevelt, do you wonder that
I sit down and look out Of the car
window and ponder. asking myself
over and over If the time will ever
come when the American people will
open their eyes to the truth, whether
II the newspapers Of the country will
ever get the consent of their owners
to print the truth about this man,
and then again asking myself wheth-
er after all old Barnum wasn't right
about the American people. that they
want to be humbugged and are will
Ing to pay for it?
Is Mr.. Bryan SOured?
Suppose there had been a fair cleo
ton In 1896. or suppose two years ago
the voters Of Ohio. Indiana, New
York and some other States had not
been coerced, as have recently found
out for certain that they were coerced.
by the threat Of losing their Jobs
should Bryan be elected would such