Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1912-07-12
WILLIAM J. BRYAN.


is William ]. Bryan the storm cen
ter OF the Democratic party. Each
of them has received the highest
honor Of his party, and each is pas
sionately admired and passionately
hated; and each is the representa-
tive OF the most progressive-we
might almost say revolutionary
wing Of bis party.
To hear his enemies speak, Mr..
Bryan is the most ambitious, self
seeking and grasping Of politicians,
rude and reckless, careless whom
he treads on if'he may lift himself;
he would destroy and ruin bis party
if he could only raise himself. He
talks finely Of equality of right and
privilege, but it is only, they will
have it, that be may play the dem
agog, by denouncing the possessors
OF wealth. 1t is all hypocrisy, they
believe, even as Satan put on the
garb Of fair STRIPPING cherub, and
deceived Uriel, the sharpest sighted
OF the seven archangels. More sharp
sighted than Uriel, they penetrated
through his hypocrisy, though it be
the only evil that walks invisible
except TO God alone" To others he
is nothing less than Abdiel, the one
faithful among the faithless, or Thu
riel, the touch Of whose spear ex-
poses every false disguise, and shows
selfish greed in its own native hid
eousness.
1t is to be said of Mr.. Bryan that
those who belong to the other party,
and who have not felt the sting of
his lash, respect him much more
than.they did when he emerged into
sudden light, like new star out of
Nebraskan blackness, sixteen years
ago. Then he appeared as the apos-
tie of the silver heresy of fiat money,
which had its term, has proved a
fantasy and has passed away. Even
Mr.. Bryan and his party have glad
~ forgotten all about it, or it is re-
membered only to discredit the
Judgment OF peerless leader who
made bimetalism his slogan and cry
during two or three years of lectur-
ing after his first defeat by McKin-
ley. But most of us are ready to
believe that he has mellowed much
and has learned much since those
passionate years. He has travelled
about the world and has studied
other nations as well as his own,
and is a wiser man than he was
when be propounded that other alb
sudity. for which he found no dis
ciples, that the several States should
own and run the railroads within
their bounds.
Now, after three Presidential de-
feats, he stands before the Demo-
cratic convention at Baltimore still
the most striking and influential
and abused figure there. He no
longer presents himself as candidate,
at this time when the Democratic
candidate is most likly to be elect
ed. OF course, he has known that
there is a chance that the choice
might fall on him, but be has not
allowed himself to seek it, and he
has been perfectly true to the pro-
gressive candidates whom only he
was willing to support.
We are not Of those who regard
him as a reckless disturber and
wrecker of his party. nor as a self
ish demagog. So far as the ev-
idence appears, he has been hon.
est in his aims for the benefit of
the people, even when mistaken,
and very frank in his utterance
OF his views, even when it re-
quired courage and endangered bis
own ambitions. He is born lead
er. He has initiative. He does not
follow the crowd. but points out the
way and bids the people follow. His
course at the Baltimore convention
has been consistent and straight
forward. He has tried to conciliate
nobody, but has attacked what he
regards as the dangerous policies in
his party, no matter whom be might
hit. This is not the first time he
has done this. Before the conyen-
ton opened he wrote to the pros