The Washington herald., 1920-04-30
Omaha Democrats Dislike Bryan;
Hold He Makes Use of Nebraska
To Test Sell; J;Boosting Schemes

lOEtH arc Some Ol the lssucb lHdl hc
championed in Nebraska when they
were looked upon as mad dreams"
Needless to deny that william
Jennings has a habit of stepping
upon some folks feet at the same
nerves, and Omaha has its share OF
Bryan trodden pedal extremities.
Senator Gilbert NJ. Hitchcock,
owner of the World d-Herald and on
cial apologist for the Wilson ad-
min!stration. once employed Will
lam Jennings as a three ee-day-a-week
managing editor. He paid him 500
a month. This was in the early
( '90s. about the time Bryan was
sporting a twO-karat diamand ring
given to him by Ed Rothery. an
Omaha saloon keeper. when Bry-
ans public statement, 1T is not my
province to say what other men
shall eat and drink" was generally
accepted as evidence of his liber-
ality upon the liquor question.
1t is shown in Nebraska that
Bryan only took up prohibition
when he found that an initiative
and referendum program he was
supporting had been blocked in the
State legislature by the liquor in
terests acting in concert with other
interests. Both political parties
then yielded to the initiative and
referendum rather than accept
county option. A few years later
Nebraska went dry, and thus the
people got both direct action and
prohibition.
Booms Complimentary.
An impartial judgment upon Mr..
Bryan's career in Nebraska have
notebook full Of its successive
stages supplied by his friends and
his enemies-is that he got away
early and vigorously upon many ex-
cellent measures that subsequently
were written into the life of the
nation. His motives for support
ing them is matter that rests be-
tween Mr.. Bryan and his Maker.
Political interest in Nebraska for
the last few weeks has largely CEN
tered in the Presidential candidates.
of Senator Hitchcock and Gen. Per-
shing. neither of which was ever
considered seriously. both being
largely complimentary.
In 1893 Gen. Pershing. then a
young lieutenant. was loaned as a
military instructor by the War De-
partment to the University of Ne
braska at Lincoln. He remained
there three and a half years. and
organized the Pershing Rifles"
crack cadet drill company, which
walked away with all the prizes
at the various State fairs. defeating
even the famous 'Thurston Rifles"
- nF,,oho
the bar while in Nebraska, and
State University. His father and
sisters came from Laciede, Mo-,
where he was born, to live in Lin
coin, while he was at the univer-
sity.
Il consider Nebraska my home
and always feel myself to be a citi-
zen of Nebraska" wrote the general
to a citizen OF Omaha in 1898, at
which time he was seeking to get
command of a regiment of Nebras-
ka volunteers for the Spanish
American war. His sisters, Mrs, d,
M. Butler, a widow. and Miss Mae
Pershing. still live in Lincoln, and
Master Warren Pershing, when not
with his father stays with his
aunts. Since the armistice the gen.
eral visited Lincoln, where he re-
ceived a tremendous ovation.
Supporters Poor Politicians.
Here is how the Pershing boom
for President started in Nebraska:
Charles Dawes, the Chicago banker
and corporation attorney formerly
in the Mckinley administration,
once lived in Lincoln. He happened
along there some months ago and
made a speech lauding the general
to the skies. Among his auditors
were local friends, the three Woods
brothers-Mark, George and Frank
who are successful financial spe-
cialists.
A few days later the Wood
boys" opened a Pershing headquar-
ters at Omaha, and took full-page
advertisements in the Omaha news
papers signed by Lincoln business
men. An eastern headquarters was
opened and closed In New York
City.
Aside from the warm support of
friendly neighbors and admiring
friends the Pershing boom, from
Its inception, has awakened small
Interest In Nebraska outside of Lin
coin. The Woods brothers are
corking promoters Of independent
telephone companies. but they do
not shine as political experts.