Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-07-26

nent, che would have been a hero q
the kour, merely for the hour. He
would haze been publicly hailed as
the egeatest statesman by the bosses
who would secretly have held him in
cortemgt for his9hypocrisy and by the
people who later would have cursed
his memory when they awoke to
find that even he had betrayed th@
into the hands Of their enemy.
Rather than do this Mr. Bryan cue
ated a disturbance. He compelled
men to so en- record 70 theiga political
deatA. He had forced the interests
that have manipulated PARTIES fE
years, out into the open, and render
ed Their work ineffective by making
ii public. O
He focused public attention, for the
first time In history, upon the scat
folding, the mSh behind tie Ge6es,
theCreal machinery of a convention,
rather than upon the painted actors
the artificial LANDSCAPES and OIL the
other pleasant things that have Nth
erto been supposed to be the most
important part of the ahow.
HARMONY DRY ROT.
And far worse than all else, he
made men think He has shown that
what parties have heen calling, har-
.mony is dry rot. He has made men
discontinued with their lot, and when
men become discontented, they act,
they progress He rendered it i'm
possible for the democratic party, as
1t has been constituted for years, to
win thu coming election He also
made it impossible for the republican
party to win. He has, however, mad
it possible and altogether likely, that
the people will win.
1t takes a real man to destroy" a
party, almost single-handed,' and out
of the pieces re-create force for DOT
ular government. But it begins to
look as though Mr., Bryan about sue
ceeded in doing tie
You, my many readers, may not be.
lieFe me, but sometimes a disharmon
izE. or dehamoni0err as you may
prefer. can appear grand. Ard sure
ly,'as this man rode the storm Of his
own raising. he. took on majestic pro
portions. It was soon found that In.
stead Of having been driven into ST.
lence by the preliminary bout, he
held the scepter as a ruler. He never
temporized. he never3 rendered any
compromise with the self-constituted
harmony walkers; he talked as ore
conscious Of the rectitude of his atti-
tude and spoke a language that all
who heard could understand. No long
el tie boy orator" dealing in glow
ing phrases. he dawned upon the con-
vention a giant who could not be
cowed and whom abuse co'&d not
swerve. Before the balloeing had be-
gun. he had put through a second res
olutlOn. deternng the adoption Of the
platform until afeer the nomiHation
had been, made: then he himself
wrote the platfoHn and dared the as
sembled enemies Il progress to name
a man who would not fit 10 the splen
did proportions demanded. Instead,
derided. attached personally when in
his seat at a delegate. he never lost
sight Of his purpose and never waver.
ed IN his endeavors.
HE NEVER STOPPED
old-time friends joined with old
time enemies In criticism and deuun-
citation. but he never stopped. When
he arrived at Baltimore. he was CON-
mitted alike to Clark and Wilson,
After Tammany had cast It's vote Cor
the former. after the foul touch Of
Tammany had shown through a fair
record as a splotch. he hesitated not
Tor moment to leave Clark to the
ruinous friends who had taken him
up and proclaimed Wilson his prefer
ence. At the time Clark was far in
the lead. and his nomination was ap-
parently assured. Bryan called q
halt. and the Clark progress came to
a dead stand In the meanwhile, the
busy wires over countless miles. into
every hamlet. were carrying the stOry
Of the conventions proceedings. The