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Wilson. Although Mr. Bryan has Bald ho will
not push himself forward, his namo Is placed
first. This Is because, with democratic success
indicated on a radical platform, Mr. Bryan Is
tho logical leader of tho democracy. Tho boys
down In Washington aro rocognlzlng this fact
right now In letting him dlctato tho democratic
legislative program. In case, howover, tho
stigma of threo defeats should bo considered
& hopeless handicap, Mr. Bryan would havo to
chooso between Clark, of Missouri, and Wilson,
of Now Jersey. Whether Clark will bo in tho
ollgiblo list next year would scorn to depend
on what happens in congress In tho meantime.
If Mr. Clark could go through tho extra session
with tho samo degreo of crodit with which ho
started ho would havo much stronger claims to
tho nomination than Wilson, who will havo
beon working in a limited field. And oven if
Clark should stumblo, thoro is no certainty
Wilson will bo able to qualify for tho Bryan '0.
K.' Wilson is a sophomoro in politics and an
aristocrat rather than a commoner. If both
Clark and Wilson should fall to qualify Mr.
Bryan, howover roluctant, might havo to veto
both and put it up to tho convention to nomi
nato a triod and true radical leader. In that
contingency ho might bo forced to take a fourth
nomination, and It might not require tho ex
penditure of a vast amount of forco."
BRYAN IN TJIE MOUSE
Washington dispatch to tho Now York Times:
"Half an hour before tho sound of tho gavel
would bo heard calling tho houso of the Sixty
Becond congress to order William Jennings
Bryan camo into tho chamber from tho speaker's
lobby, smiling benevolently and easily at homo
in tho midst of applause. He made his way for
ward to tho diagonal alslo and advanced to the
seat onco occupied by his political godfather,
William M. Springer of Illinois, the man who
opened wide for him tho door4 of opportunity
when he made his advent as a now member in
tho Fifty-second congress in 1891.
Tho doors had hardly swung shut behind Mr.
Bryan beforo scores of members saw him and
a shout went up that made forty-five glass coats
of arms 'In the' coiling quiver. Everybody roso
to his foot, and tho scene began to look -like
Bomo of thoso that the peerless and his demo
cratic brethren have gone through in numerous
national conventions. For the next twenty
minutes members . crowded around him and
shook hands with him, while ho greeted ono
.after another in rapid succession.
Washington dispatch to the New York World:
"And over on the democratic side in his old seat
was William Jennings Bryan. Ho was looking
much older than his lastest familiar photo
graphs. His hair is whitening. He, in common
with the other democrats on the floor had a
little flag and waved it. He waved it with a big
display of vim. He had como to Washington
as champion, Nestor and Warwick of Champ
. Clark. He has made It apparent that he would
llko tho new speaker to be the new president
in 1912, always presuming, of course, that tho
party couldn't bo induced to give him a fourth
start in tho white house race.
"So there Bryan sat in the house with tho
most benign of approving expressions, study
ing and applauding Champ Clark."
FROM THE PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC
LEDGER REPUBLICAN
THE WRECKER
"Mr. Bryan rounds out his last few days'
delightful political activity by calling on tho
president. Mr. Taft, presumably interested, as
a good party man.n the success of his party
ought to make much of Mr. Bryan. Ho is a
genuine ray of hope for tho republicans. Their
courage and confidence visibly grow as his acti
vities increase at Washington.
"Ho invades the floor of tho house and coun
sels congressmen as to the right principles and
policy. He seeks democratic senators and warns
them that they must not take such and such
leaders. They must be progressive; they must
shun democrats who look liko republicans; they
must have a forward policy; they must tte
Bryanlstic. Democrats havo an opportunity for
tho first time since 1893, is the Bryanistic mes
sage. Lot them beware of the conditions under
Cleveland and avoid those perils. Let them re
member the long, lean years from 1896 to 1911
"Tho republicans will remember them and
regard with something like affection Mr. Bryan
and his present effortB. But will the democrats
remember them -anti Bryan, the wrecker'
'M' memory is .-nob-fallacious tho democracy
had -formed -habitat -winning elections under
The Commoner
Cleveland, and then the blight fell. Its name
was Bryanlsm. It split the party; it menaced
the country; it caused a fear so great that no
republican folly and no republican abuse was
too shocking to prevent the country from avert
ing its countenance and vote from the democ
racy. The struggle back to confidence for the
democracy was a long and hard ono, and success
camo juBt in proportion, as it was evident that
Bryan was receding into tho dim distance, into
the Cavo of Adullam with tho recognized Adul
lamites. "Can ho 'como back,' and will tho democrats
permit him to como back? The republican party
awaits tho answer with breathless interest. An
enthusiast from Memphis, Tenn., pleads with
Mr. Bryan to como to Memphis to live, and de
clares that ho Is sure $2,000,000 could be raised
to capitalize Mr. Bryan's printing plant and Mr.
Bryan if he would only come. Bryan thrust
the offer aside as if it had' been stage money.
No wonder; its trifle; it's an insult. Bryan
is worth billions billions to tho democrats if
they can shake him off; billions to tho republi
cans if the democracy can't."
Thomas McCarty, Des Moines, la.: I oncloso
you a clipping, taken from the Des Moines
Sunday Register and Leader of April 9, which
gave mo great pleasure to read, and, feeling
that it would give equal pleasure to the other
readers of Tho Commoner, I send it to you
for publication through Its columns. I hopo
you will not consign it to the waste basket.
FROM THE DES MOINES (IOWA) REGISTER
AND LEADER
"Washington, D. C, April 8. Developments
of the past several days in Washington have
made clear ono great fact with respect to the
democratic party. This fact is that the strongest
single individual force in that party is William
J. Bryan, of Nebraska.
"It is a strange and unprecedented situation.
That a man three times defeated at the polls for
the" presidency Bhould still loom up as a power
ful factor in his party hardly seems a possi
bility. It is against all the laws of politics, as
men aro accustomed to read them. But Mr.
Bryan appears not to bo amenable to tho ordi
nary political laws. He is a law unto himself
and it is an amazing fact that in spite of his
repeated defeats he was never moro of a factor
in affairs at Washington than he is at this
minute.
"Not many months ago, they were saying
hero and elsewhere that Bryan was dead. His
defeat in the ID 08 campaign, followed by his
rejection at the hands of tho democratic ma
chinery of his own state, as many people viewed
it, ended him. But Mr. Bryan is one of the few
politicians who are not overcome by defeat.
On the contrary, he has learned the lesson that
defeat is oftentimes good fortune in disguise.
"At any rate, a series of defeats has not
served to lessen the hold he has on vast num
bers of tho democratic voters of the country.
And because he has a hold on tho voters, he is
regarded with tender consideration by the demo
cratic members of congress, especially by that
element that classes itself progressive and is
responsible to the progressive sentiment of its
constituents.
"Mr. Bryan has a greater influence with the
democratic party of tho congress of the United
States today than any other living man. He
has been twico in Washington this year to
confer with the democratic leaders in house and
senate. He has advised with tho leaders about
the legislative program and he has urged that
the committees in the house be headed by pro
gressive democrats and not by conservatives
or reactionaries. Ho mad a fight on Fitz
gerald for chairman of Qie appropriations com
mittee and was not in favor of Adamson for
chairman of the interstate commerce committee
It Is true that he did not succeed in preventing
these men from getting their chairmanships
but to a large extent the democratic program in
the house was shaped as he wished, and on the
whole he had influence in pushing the radical
or progressive democrats to the front on com
mlttees and holding back the conservatives Ha
mixed up in the fight between the two factions
of senate democrats, and though he did not suc
ceed in preventing the election of Martin as
minority leader, ho at least has given much
encouragement to the progressive democratic
"No democrat in congress by this time has
any doubt that Mr Bryan holds the key to toe
niJltUSlon 8 iar 8 mocrats are con
cerned. . He .can. destroy the.chances of demo
cratic success if he will and the result is -that
VOLUME. 11, NUMBER 15
H . '
no man is likely to be nominated for presi
dent who has not the Bryan approval. That- ia
why Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio has "a
rocky road ahead before he encompasses the
nomination.
"Nor is it beyond the posibilities that Bryan
himself will onco more be nominated and that .
. ho will be the candidate in 1912. -Mr. Bryan ,
is in fino physical health.
"He is almost as young as ever. He expects
democratic victory in 1912, and he would not
be altogether human if he did not look long
ingly on the nomination. Strange stories are
afloat here that clo'se friends of Bryan in vari
ous parts of the country are holding aloof and
are not committing themselves on the presi
dency until they find out definitely what the
Peerless Leader wants. y
"The political vitality of Mr. Bryan in itself
is enough to stamp him as a man of extraordi
nary capacity and character. His enemies will
never get over the habit of sneering at him as
a' man of showy but limited talents, as some-
thing of a charlatan, something of a dreamer,
but as lacking in depth and solidity. Be that
as it may, one runs through the history of the
republic in vain to find a man who has shown
such power to attract and hold men to him as
this man. Roosevelt, indeed, has a wonderful
faculty for attracting men to him. But for the
most part Roosevelt has held them to him in
success and not in adversity. i
"Something of the hold Bryan has on the
house may he Judged from the experience he
encounters whenever he sets foot inside the
chamber. He has never appeared on the floor
but twice since he was a member of the body.
Having been a member, he has the floor privi
lege. Early in the winter of 1896, after he fiad
been beaten, he came in on ,the floor. The
democrats arose as one man and the roof re
sounded with the echoes of the old rebel yell.
The official reporter made a note of it in this
wise:
" 'Mr. Bryan appeared on the floor and was
greeted with great applause.'
"The next morning Speaker Tom Reed read
this in the Record. His republican blood boiled
and he reprimanded the reporter. The obser
vation as to Bryan's appearance was stricken
from the Record. Bryan did not feel kindly
about it, naturally enough, and lie .has never
since appeared on the floor of the house, thpugh.
he has been in the cloak rooms, until Tuesday,
the opening day of congress. Then, he made
his appearance in a democratic house and was
given a demonstration calculated to warm the
i2??? of nIs heart The rebel yel1 comingled
with the cheers and applause of northern demo
crats and there was no Speaker Reed to frown
down, upon it. It was just one more reminder
that none, need to try to measure the demo
cratic situation or to scan the democratic pros
pects without keeping an eye on Bryan."
OM MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER ANY
THING TO BEAT BRYAN ORGAN
"Why should William Jennings Bryan attempt .
to overawe the democratic caucus of senators,
and to browbeat the democratic caucus of repre
S0antiVieS4? ? house? wht right does he
S Vnnwyngt?ias a dictator the -democratic
party to force his views upon the men who
democraPcrye? entrusted wi the destinies of
"The greatest single menace to the future of
?L? t0r;, The one S which can pre-
dominatTon ranf1C 5?Ce5B In ?12 ls absolute
domination of the democratic party by the
wSoutdfcfntniCafdidate for e Presidency!
3nfi aacommI?sIon and In the role of a mar
Son in GJf n,0W. in Wa8ktagton sowing dlssen-
S-ac nS?v ne PeatGst nours that the demo
cratic party -has known since 1896 when ha
neaHve
nearly every pivotal state because the indonon-
dent voters believed that the Xty was rid of
FkKr Err s&
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