The Washington herald., 1915-09-22
What Might Have Been.

President Wilson may have made mistake in
not appointing Mr.. Bryan Secretary OF the Treas
ury instead OF to the State Department. 1t will
be remembered that Mr.. Bryan first achieved fame
in the discussion of the money question-I6 to L
the cross Of gold cruchxion, etc; that he was the
author OF book the silver and gold dispute
and published many lectures binetalisn. He
also the author OF the money planks in the
platforms OF the Democratic, the Populist and the
Silver Republican national conventions OF 1896.
1900 and I9o4-al in praise of silver
1t is true his financial views were diamctrically
aycrsc to the great moned interests OF the coun-
try, the banks, the manufacturers, the merchants
and business generally in short to anybody who
had any money at all beyond a current pocket
book account. But these opponents were all
plutocrats and Mr. Bryan had not yet become a
uonied man himself He was still the boy orator
o the Platte and the struggling warfarer in linz
tcd law practice. He badly defeated by these
putocrats and their followers, whom he called
gold bugs, and it took several subsequent defeats
to convince himself, but his party associates,
that the country could not and would not accept
his peculiar financial views
When this was seen, and while his party took
up other questions, making them paramount is
>ucS-anti-impcriasm, the tariff "trust-bustng" "
ctc-Mr Bryan became engaged in career of
remarkable prosperity in the way OF money-get-
ting, editor and owner of the Commoner and
the prize entertainer the Chautauqua circuit.
Indeed, prosperous he in these enterprises
and ventures that he has now become capitalist
in his own right, the posScSsor OF considerable
personal property and landed proprietor, not
only in his State. Nebraska but in Florida
and the great State OF Texas, aboundng in fat
oxcn swine, cotton, wine and much corn and oil.
He was now reconciled, apparently, to the gold
bugs and became warm supporter OF the new
financial system provided by the last Congress, 4
system founded on the Nrecland- -Aldrich act one
OF the authors OF Observation-Disclosures an arch
gold bug of gold bugs Mr. Bryan indorsed this
measure along with the bankers and big business
men OF the country in general But, alas, fate
to will that Mr. Bryan shall not remain
long in accord with any ono, save, perchancc,
with few devoted and adoring followers who,
not without feeling OF awe, look upon him as a
dcmigod. AT the present moment he is again in
adverse position to the financial and business in
tcrcsts OF the country by opposing the loan to the
allies. In this. opposition there is, of course a
moral well economic question: not to men
ton politics. Paramount, is the moral or peace
dove policy, wherein nothing is to be done to aid
belligercnts, especially those of the triple entente
ne loan 10 'rrcat brtain and 10 france, aithough
by private parties in which the government has no
concern, would endanger neutrality and be
but little short of international crime in Mr..
Bryans view. He believes also with Senator
James Hamilton Lewis that the withdrawal of so
large from the country would bring about a
money panic like that of 1893 when much gold
was sent abroad. He does not seem to under
stand that no money is to be withdrawn from the
country by this loan and that merely credit is
TO be established for the purchase of our export
products-a large volume of which has already
gone forward
Mr. Bryan must have also forgotten that both
he and Jim Ham Lewis have been in the habit