Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-07-27

1
| resulted in failure of the Missourian
to get the necessary two-thirds of the
! convention and in the designation. of
| Wilson.
| Mr.. Bryan and Mr.. Wilson held
many ideals in common. When Mr..
| Wilson was elected President he ap-
pointed Mr.. Bryan secretary of state
| The two years Mr.. Bryan occupied
a place at the head of Mr.. Wilson's
| cabinet were years of perplexity and
| stress. The Mexican embroglio, the
| Japanese anti-alien land controversy
| in California and the correspondence
with Germany and Austria-Hungary,
| antecedent to Americas entrance into
| the war. were problems that gave the
Nebraska statesman many sleepless
nights.
During his term of office, because
| of an insult to the United States flag
| and the refusal Of Dictator" Huerta
of Mexico to fire a salute as an apollo
gy, American troops were despatched
| to Vera Cruz. which was captured
| April 81. 1914. subsequently the SOL
| diers and warships were withdrawn
Huerta was deposed and .Constitu-
| tionalist government under Venusti-
| ana Carranza, who was favored by the
| stead.
At the height of the anti-alien land
| controversy in California, Mr.. Bryan
| journeyed to the Pacific coast, where
he held several conferences with the
governor and delivered speeches be-
| fore the state legislatur
Relations with Japan during this
period were reported as somewhat
strained. The upshot of the matter
! was that new measure, known as
the Webb bill, was drafted and pass
ed. 1t modified the restrictions
against the japanese but evoked a
protest from Toxic.
| Mr.. Bryan's resignation from the
cabinet, which occurred on June 8.
| 1915, came as a thunderclap out of 3
clear sky. 1t was known there had
been disagreements between the
President and his chief cabinet Of
f1cer but that the breach had gone
beyond healing was not realized by
the public mind. Germany's agrees
sions and her ruthless U-boat policy
were daily drawing the United States
into the vortex of war. Mr.. Bryan
seemed pledged to peace. The time
came when President Wilson's notes
to Germany had to take a final tone
and, with the sinking of another
American ship and an ultimatum
from the United States, Mr.. Bryan,
who had previously declared There
Is nothing final between friends"
sent his letter of resignation to the
President. Mr.. Wilson, deploring
his action as personal loss" in
reply, accepted his Secretary's with
/ drawal from the Cabinet stating that
they both sought the same end but
by different methods"
| The zeal of Mr.. Bryan to bring
about world peace, led him in the
excess of his enthusiasm, it was said.
| 10 public speech and acts that
brought upon him a great deal of
| hostile criticism. Before the United
| states entered the war the NeSras-
kan mad pledged himself to accom-
pany an expedition financed by Hen
ry Ford, the Michigan manufa cturer.
10 Europe for the purpose of get
ting the boys out of the trenche I"
Mr. Bryan later changed his plans
ana did not go. Subsequently he
was accused of unintentionally aid
ing the propaganda of the Ceatral
| Powers by his speeches and writ
ings. Early in the war he declared
1t was "fomented" by profit seekers.
IN an address in San Francisco he
said that for the United States to
go to war with Germany would be
nke, challenging madhouse."
sometime before this he was re-
porteds as being opposed to permit
TUG the United States to make any
loans TO the belligerents. When the
Snlteo states picked up the gage of
Dattle thrown down by Germany.
however. Mr.. Bryan promptly de.
clared "she must be defeated at al,
costs" and offered his services to
President Wilson as a private SOL
dier.
While secretary of state, Mr.
| Bryan was often absent from Wash
ington as lecturer and this sub
1ected him to no little amount of
raillery in the press. In a public
statement he said the $4,000 salary
he received as a cabinet officer was
| insufficient to meet the ordinary
household demands upon his purse
and he felt obliged to supplement
his income in other ways. One of his
: most popular lectures was "The
| Prince of Peace"
When he entered the cabinet. Mr..
| Bryan astonished Washington by
! announcing that grape juice would
| be substituted for alcoholic bever-
| ayes whenever the secretary of State
| and Mrs. Bryan entertained the
| members of the diplomatic corps. In
deed, Mr.. Bryan in his long advocacy
OF teetotalism was credited by MANY
| with having done more than any
other American outside of the Pro-
| hibition party, to force the adoption
of the Eighteenth Amendment to
| the Constitution making the United
| States a dry" nation. From March
| 1913 he was president of the Nation
al Dry Federation.
| Mr.. Bryan's leadership of the
Democratic party definitely was
broken at the national convention
at San Francisco in 1920, when he
was defeated in his efforts to have
a dry plank included in the plat
| form. Throughout the campaign he
| remained silent and afterward said
it was the first time in 40 years that
| he had made no speeches for a
Democratic presidential candidate.
The reason for his action, he said
was that he did not agree with
James NJ. Cox, the party's candidate
who was defeated by Warren G..
! Harding, and that he did not want
| to debate with the candidate of his
| own party.
After his defeat on the convention
floor relative to the proposed dry
plank Mr.. Bryan said: my heart
| is in the grave with our cause. 1
| must pause until it comes back to
me-"
| Soon after the election of Presi-
dent Harding, Mr.. Bryan suggested
| that President Wilson resign because
| the people had voted against the
League of Nations, one of the DOM