The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-01-12
ALLEGED SPLIT Of
BRYAN AND WILSON
OF LONG STANDING
Long Story Of AntagoniSm
Dates Back to Letter Writ
ten by President When He
Was Head of Princeton.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
ESPECIAL Correspondent Of The News
ScimtaF)


WASHINGTON, Jan. la.-This is the
story OF Bryan vs. Wilson. once upon
= time Woodrow Wilson, college prest-
dent. wrote letter expressing the pro-
FOUND hope that somebody would knock
The political personality OF William
Jennings Bryan into "a cooked hat"
The commoner had just come back from
a trip around the world and advocated
what then seemed socialistlc doctrine
namely government ownership Of
railroads. Not more than four years
later Mr. Wilson. president elect OF the
United States. was resolving that for
the benefit OF party solidarity. hygones
had better he bygones and that the
man who helped swing the Baltimore
convention for a progressive candidate,
could not be ignored. SO he made him
secretary OF state and. despite the in
ev1table conflict expected to arise daily
between the two men, they managed
70 stay affiliated for about two years.
Then they broke.
Mr. Wilson wanted to send and did
send a note TO Germany over the sink
ing OF the Lusitania and plainly inn
piled the use OF force to compel com
pliance with American demands, MIR
Bryan abhorred the idea OF war and
resigned Nevertheless, in the cam
paign Of 1915 Brother Bryan went from
the Mississippi river To the Pacific
coast extolling Mr.. Wilson on the he
kept-us-out -ot-war platform. For lit
Tie while there was a tendency toward
reunion Occasionally Mr.. Bryan dropped
Ia at tho White House, left his card,
expressed q few thoughts II the presi-
dent happened 10 be In. or wrote long
memoranda II he wasn't
Notes Are Fewer,
Presently the answers and acknowl-
Judgements got fewer and the COM
IN
aged. After the armistice he hoped to
have something to do with the peace
negotiations and even made some sug-
gestton about the personnel OF the
American peace commission. Mr., Bry-
an complained to his friends later that
since his advice wasn't apparently well
come, he wouldn't offer II any more
And he said sundry other things about
the unwisdom OF ignoring the Repuhli-
can party In the makeup OF the peace
mission and the terrible encumbrance
which the Democratic party was being
compelled 10 bear in the form Of VII
son arbltrarinesR and self sufficiency.
Indeed, Mr.. Bryan's observations DIFF
fered very little from what one might
hear In the Republican cloakroom, only
the commoner wept as a parent over
the Grant ways OF the Democratic
child whilst the Republicans rejoiced
over the discontinue OF their chief OPP
ponent.
Again and again, Mr. Bryan told his
friends that the president should accept
reservations TO the peace treaty, This
conclusion he reached after a careful
examination OF public opinion. He
deemed u much more effective help
for the president TO say that the treaty
should be ratified with reservations
than to argue for unqualified adoption
and hD dismissed by the press as a
mere eeho OF the Wilson chorus,
Mr.. Bryans idea when he resigned
from the cabinet was that he could
heln Mr. Wilson outside the cabinet by
building up a public opinion against
war that would aid Mr.. Wilson inside
the cabinet So Mfr. Bryan has been
preaching reservations And now be-
cause Mr.. Wilson isn't willing TO COM
promise-though Mr.. Bryan thinks the
country wants compromise--the COM
inuner plans 10 go on helping the presl-
dent by building up public opinion
that will help the president see how
wrong he is
Another thing: Mr.. Bryan campaIgned
IN 1912 with repeated mention Of the
sigle-term plank OF the Baltimore con-
vention. Soldier-like. he accepted the
verdict OF the st. Louis convention in
1916, not even being delegate Pri.
vately he hadn't changed his view that
one term was enough, Anyway. he
campaigned for Democratic success.
When Mr.. Wilson failed to say def
nitely on his return from Europe that
he wasn't a candidate for a third term,
Mr.. Bryan grew FESTIVE and impatient.
So he finally decided to help the presi.
dent again. this time by telling his
fellow Democrats what the issues
should be 50 that they could pick their
man to III the issues. A veteran poll
tlcsan Of the party, as candidate for
the presidency on the Democratic ticket
In 1896 when everybody being men,
toned for the presidency today had
not even been heard OF in public life,
Mr.. Bryan considered himself entitled
TO say a few words.
Mr.. Wilson says he Is willing to allow
the country to decide the treaty issue
1T "a solemn referendum" Mr.. Bryan
says we can not make the league
and treaty an issue in the next cam
pAign" All the newspapers speak of
this conflict as aN'break" But Is there
such thing as break between two
men who were never together except
as they walked arm in arm in those
ephemeral alliances which grow out Of
political expediency?
The differences between Mr.. Bryan
and Mr.. Wilson never affected the WI
son leadership Of the Democratic party
from 1915 10 1920. But Mr. Wilson's
hold on his own party is not as strong
as II used to be. And while Mr. BRYAN
gains prominence through the uupopu-
larity even In the senate Of Mr.. Will
sons unbending position. there is very
little chance that the 40 Democratic
senators who hold the balance OF power
in the Senate will pay much attention
to tho Bryan reservations as such. They
will continue their efforts Independent
OF the White House, TO get a satisfaC-
tory compromise, impslled not by any
new-found confidence In Brother Bryan
d. IL. III HI
position OF Woodrow Wilson in sticking
TO his principles but led by an over
whelming and powerful force arising out
Of the country at large-to have done
with political pickering and get the
treaty ratified
Slxty-six senators on both the Demo-
cratic and Republican sides can get to-
gether on compromise II the political
leaders will keep hands off. What Is
happening is demonstration Of the
utter unresponsiveness OF the two big
parties 70 the demand Of the nation for
Some kind OF action--not negation-on
a big matter OF foreign policy and the
only solution offered by leaders OF both
parties Is postponement
All this makes the foreign observer
wonder when America will introduce
flexibility into her institutions and pro
vide electoral machinery to determine
Immediately the popular will--not while
houses are burning. but before the fires
of unrest and economic disorder get
fully under way.
copyright. 1920, by David Lawrence