The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-10
ELECTION RETURNS AN ENDORSEMENT OF WILSON, SAySBRyA Secretary of State Summar- izes Political Situation in
 Official Statement PROGRESSIVE SLUMP
 FEATURE OF RESULT Numerous Causes Operated Against
 Democrats, Declates Csmml aer. | War Partly Blamed--Reyiews the Situation

Washington, November 9-Seeretary
 Bryan, back at the state department to- day after his campaign trip west, issued formal statement summarizing election results and declaring they could not be considered other than an indorsement
 of President Wilson and his policies.
 Pointing to the progressive slump as the outstanding feature of the election re- turns. Mir. Bryan said that this had re- suited in no change in the leadership of l the regular republican ranks that Sena- tor Penrose and former Speaker Cannon would represent their party in Congress
 and the progressive returns to the repub- lican party would have to accept all they had protested against and more. The statement reads:
 ''The 1914 election cannot be considered
 other than as an indorsement of the President and his policies I am so con vinced of the merits of the remedial meas ures enacted under the Presidents lead ership and of the righteousness of his ] foreign policy that l expected the voters 1 to support the candidates who represented | his views. There were q number of causes which operated aaginst our party; namely, the efforts of the beneficiaries of
 
 | to make the tariff law obnoxious; the disturbed conditions caused by the Euro pean war. and the fact that the excellent 1 laws passed by Congress had not had time | to prove their worth. Then, too, more progressives returned to the republican party than we expected-this alone ac- counted for most of the republican gains I in the House of Representatives. The victory, however, was sufficiently com- I plete to show that the people are with 1 the President, and he Is now able to con tinue the splendid programme upon which he has entered.
 i Gains Gratifying
 | '"rhe gains in the Senate are especially 1 gratifying-not single democrat defeat ed for reelection, and three senatorships
 taken from the republicans.
 l "There is every reason to believe ths administration will grow. In popularity
 as the laws go into effect, and as demo- cratic policies bear fruit. The new cur rency law is just beginning to operates; l before the next election 1t will have vim 1 dicated its claim to public confidence. ] "The new tariff law cannot be repealed until after the people have had chance to try it out and now that the election | is over the protected manufacturers are
 already resumed work. Some of them suspended operations or cut down their iforce before the election and they did 1t under conditions which left little doubt l that they hoped to arouse opposition to the new tariff law. Seeing that the law l Is here to stay they will now proceed to demonstrate the fallacv of the argu-
 ments which they used In opposing re- Iduction
 l 'The Presidents foreign policies are | indorsed and his hands strengthened.
 Progressive Slump
 l fo oo{ fy, ba lat Ia al ton returns is the slump of the progress 1 give vote. A large percentage of the pro- gressve republicans have returned to ths Il republican party and that too, without | any surrender on the part of the stand l patters' and leactionaries The leader 1 Ship of the regular republican party has undergone no change. Senator Penrose land ex-Speaker Cannon will represent T that party in the Senate and House and 4 the returning progressives must be pre- Il pared to accept all that they protested il'eEainst and more for the standpatters Ii after they have overcome the detection II are even farther from reforms than they lwere two years ago.
 'The democratic party deserves the sup port of 'all progressives and Tn the nex' 1.-two years 1t will draw to itself thos, .progreesives who understand the radica nature of the issue which separates ths
 democrat from the aristocrat and thu < plutocrat."