Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-01-09
BRYAN COMEBACK
HAS WISEACRES AT
CAPITAL GUESSING
The Atlanta Journal News Bureau
62S Riggs Building.
By THEODORE TILLER

WASHINGTON, Jan. S-Emerging
from the foliage and palm trees of
his winter home in Miami, William
Jennings Bryan suddenly is again
the most talked about man in the
Democratic party, and every candi-
date for president is figuratively
trembling in his shoes over the
mysterious moves of the Nebras kan.
The average Democrat here be-
lieves-or fears-that Mr.. Bryan is
a candidate. The situation may as
we'll be faced as it is, they say, and
there has been more Bryan talk in
the cloak rooms at the capitol with
in the past few days than since 1912.
This talk is by no means all ia
vorable, but it is unquestionably
true that the big Interrogation Today
in Democratic quarters is:
What about Bryan?"
There will be a dozen speakers at
the Jackson dinner here Thursday
night-most of the speakers being
national figures-buH the headline
attractions of that dinner will rank
as follows;
The letter from President Wilson
and the speech Of William j. Bryan.
The Bryan comeback is one of the
mystifying things of Democratic
politics. Mr.. Bryan dropped off the
FROM page with his resignation as
secretary of state. Everybody as
sumed he was dividing his time be-
tween Asheville and Miami, or MAX
ing prohibition lectures, and let 1t
go at that.
Today, merely because he bobbed
up in Washington two weeks ago
and held a conference with Demo
cratic senator's, ostensibly to dis
cuss the peace treaty, and because
he is a Jackson-dinner speaker and
was quoted at length in a Baltt-
more paper on national issues, VIII
liam jennings Bryan is right back
on the front page and getting more
publicity than the president.
1.-THE fellows seem to think he is
a candidate" was the remark Of a.
Democratic senator who had recent
ly left the cloakroom. He spoke re-
signedly. But he/ can't be nomi-
Mated" he added, bit more hope
fully.
Bryan's Sample Case
''Why not?" suggested the inter
viewer. Look what he has in his
sample case-all good stuff, except
government ownership of railroads. -
And then there followed this
resume of the situation at it is play
ing into the Bryan hands, to wit:
The silver dollar has caught UP
with the gold dollar, or, in the ords
of Bryan, "the silver dollar is no
longer a cheap dollar; it is the gold
dollar that is cheap, if we may bor-
row the phraseology employed by
fnanciers twenty-five years ago"
Woman suffrage has been recog-
nized by congress and the states are
rapidly Fatifytng the suffrage amend
ment. Bryan was talking and adj
vocating woman suffrage when some
of the suffrage leaders of today
were yelling about states -iIhts and
petticoat politics.
s National prohibition is here. Bry-
ap was ''dry" when some of the re-
cent converts were slipping mint ju-
leps in the back room and reluctant
~ admitting that local option might
The Democratic leaders don't want
Bryan; that's a certainty today. But
more than once they've not wanted
Bryan, only to see him land, right
side. up, in some party situation.
Hence the worry over the emery
ing Nebrask who was thought to
be permanently submerged.
With what misgivings and alarm
Champ Clark, Oscar Underwood, At
lee Pomerene, Governor Cox and
other Democratic aspirants for White
House residence will view the per-
Torrance of Mr.. Bryan at the, Jack
son day dinner-and thereafter-is
readily to be imagined, in view of
the disturbing comeback of the gen
tleman from Nebraska and Florida