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hurt. Our quality of democracy is now meas
ured upon the low plane of the men who were
instrumental in his defeat and who are not now
representative of a progressive democracy. We
have been measured and found wanting, no
matter what our protestations are. There is
nothing that Nebraska could have dono more to
unhorse Governor Morehead's chances for the
vice-presidency nomination, than the defeat of
Bryan. Southern states that furnish the demo
cratic votes, and where prohibition is their lull
aby, will not be found looking with favor upon
a vice-presidential candidate coming from a
state that repudiates W. J. Bryan, becauso he
stood for the same kind of government that they
themselves enjoy. Had Bryan been selected as
a delegate, Governor John's chances would have
been indeed rosy. Today they are in the dumps
and the governor knows the crowd that placed
them there. All along the line there is evidence
of the utter contempt of the crowd upon the
back of 'Bryan, to make success possible in the
coming campaign for a single Nebraska demo
crat. Then why should we care. Riverton Review.
Those who opposed W. J. Bryan as delegate
to the democratic national convention in the
hope that his defeat would hasten his political
death and thus give them added cause for re
joicing, must feel their innate insignificance
since the numberless evidences of devotion dis
played toward Bryan by truly large democrats
of other states who have offered to surrender
their delegate privileges to him. ThoBe who
entertained the silly belief that they had suc
ceeded in killing Bryan off are ignorant of past
history, evidently. With many, republicans in
particular, the celebration of Bryan's political
annihilation has been a cause of jubilation an
nually for the past twenty years. And he still
lives in the hearts of all but the booze gang
sters. Ulysses pispatch.
I am for Keith .Neville, heart and hand, and
wilV'be with him .and for him all the way in the
approaching campaign, but at the same time I
can not join in the chorus of hilarity let loose
by the influences which slandered Charley Bryan
during the late primary campaign. Charley
Bryan is playing the part of a gentleman. He is
not crying over the result. The noisy fellows
who were engaged in the harpooning business
during the primary campaign will make votes
for Neville by ceasing their abuse of Charley
Bryan. ,. Their post-election jibes never touch
Bryan, but they are touching his friends hard
enough to make sore spots which may not heal.
Horse sense suggests an immediate hibernating
of the fellows whose only mission on earth is to
damn Bryan, Columbus Telegram.
The democrats of Nebraska as shown by the
vote for senator, are either uniformed or else
are insincere. Senator Hitchcock received so
large a majority that it would appear that ho
was the undoubted choice of the democratic
host. The vote accorded President Wilson showed
that the voters were back of him. How it is
possible for one to support both these men is
beyond our ken. Hitchcock has opposed the
President in every way and manner that he
could. Any announcement of a policy from the
President was at once opposed by Hitchcock. He
joined Senators Stone and Reed of Missouri and
others who objected to appointments, made by
the President and held them up. These sen
ators tried and did take from the President his
right to make appointments unless those ap
pointments accorded with their political ma
chine. And now Hitchcock is supported by all
the lawless forces that go to make poor govern
ment, and now after his long fight on Bryan and
his followers, he is putting the soft pedal on,
because he will need their votes. We doubt if
he gets them. Upland Eagle.
"What will Mr. Bryan do?" is a question
often, asked in Nebraska these days. Mr. Bryan
will do what he thinks is right and do it just as
hard as he can. So what's the use of worry
ing. York Democrat. .
New York democrats are expressing their dis
gust over the selection of a bunch of Tammany
politicians as a part of the New York delegation
to the national convention pledged to support
Wilson, claiming that it will lose the party votes.
Evidently the "Baltimore idea" still possesses
considerable vitality.
THE DEFEAT OP W. J. BRYAN
From The Omaha Daily News.
No doubt the defeat of W. J. Bryan as a del
egate to the democratic national convention will
be heralded by his enemies as an out-and-out re
pudiation of Mr. Bryan and all his policies.
But as a matter of fact, the vote for Mr. Bry
an demonstrates but one thing that the demo
cratic party in Nebraska is very wet. Nothing
more. '
Naturally, with the democratic party nomin
ating wets like Senator Hitchcock, Arthur Mull
en and Keith Neville, Mr. Bryan stood no chance.
He had come into the state for a month, had
stood at the battle front of the dry forces in an
effort to put the democratic party in this state
on the dry side, and the undertaking was too
much. That is the right and logical explanation
of the result of the election as it pertained to
Mr. Bryan.
It is unfortunate for the democrats that Mr.
Bryan will not be at their next annual conven
tion as a delegate. Bryan is the man who placed
the democratic party in power. He is the man
who caused the nomination of Woodrow Wilson
instead of a reactionary. To h'm must go the
credit for the party's adoption of many progres
sive policies. Although unable himself to lead
his party to victory, he was able to keep the or
ganization right on the great questions and
bring it victory by championing another Mr.
Wilson.
The progressive national leaders say that
amalgamation with the republicans can easily
be accomplished by each convention adopting a
platform prepared by a joint committee and
then joining forces with each delegate having
half a vote. As there are bound to be some
progressives in the' republican national conven
tion and no republicans in the progressive con
vention, thus giving the progressives a majority
in the joint convention, it can easily be conjec
tured how strong an appeal ti Messrs. Penrose,
Smoot, Barnes, et al., this proposition will possess.
The strenuous opposition of the eastern press
and financiers to all propositions that the gov
ernment manufacture its own guns, explosives
and powder is a pretty fair indication of the
depth Of their patriotic fervor. For weeks they
have been insisting upon Immediate action In the
matter of more guns, more explosives and better
equipment all around, but they seem to have a
choice as to who should have the profits of this
proposed activity, the people or the munitions
makers.
The threat of the trainmen on a number1 of
railroads to strike unless given a reduction in
the hours of labor, with no corresponding reduc
tion In pay, is a very fair sign that the railroads
are not in the hard financial lines they have
been picturing themselves as being hampered
by. It has been noted that when railroad work
ers want more pay it is because they believe
they are entitled to a Bhare in the prosperity of
the roads.
That eminently practical administrator, Form
er President Taft, is continuing to push with all
the vigor at his command his league to enforce
peace. In view of the fact that it involves the
maintenance of a strong force on the part of
the United States to enforce international peace,
his plan ought to find a more cordial support in
those preparedness quarters, a support that it
now lacks.
National insurance through national pre
paredness is the slogan of one of the societies
organized by the manufacturing Industries to
commit the nation to a big program of large ex
penditures for a period of years. There is a
very general feeling, however, that the premiums
ought to be paid by those who will collect the
insurance if loss occurs.
It id the impression that General Leonard
Wood was not only too self-deprecatory, but
that he was rather harsh when he said .that the
nation, in time of stress, could not depend upon
the volunteer system to replenish its army. It
will be remembered that Colonel Roosevelt and
General Wood came up that route.
As proof of the increasing wisdom of the re
publican leaders it may be not6d that all of
them have dropped the "anybody-can-beat-Wilson"
line of talk that marked their political
conversations during the past year or two.
FUNNY THINGS
We find them in the same of politics as well'as
in other places. One of the funniest features of
the late primary contest was the claim of Sen
ator Hitchcock that Mr. Bryan and his pro
gressive associates were not friendly to President
Wilson. Our reactionary friends appealed for
votes on the grounds that they wore tho divine
ly appointed guardians of President Wilson's in
terests in Nebraska, and they begged the voters
to beware of Mr. Bryan and other false friends
of the President.
No finer piece of political comedy was ever
played on any political stage. The answer to
the claimed friendship of the reactionaries for
President Wilson may bo found in the figures
of tho voting in the democratic primary in Platte
county. In some of the Platte county voting
districts the race between Woodrow Wilson and
Robert Ross for the presidential preference vote
was very close. In some other districts It was
three-to-one against the President. Each of tho
districts which humiliated President Wilson by
casting a majority preference vote for an un
known freak opponent was absolutely under con
trol of tho elements which opposed Mr. Bryau
and the progressive primary candidates.
How do we know that Senator Hitchcock's
friends cast those votes agninst President Wil
son and lu favor of tho horse-Jockey? ' We know
it because of tho positive fact that in one town
ship which slapped tho President In the face at
the rate of 2 to 1, all of the democratic ballots
with four lono exceptions were marked In favor
of Senator Hitchcock and all his reactionary
mates on the ticket.
We do not claim to hold any brief for Pres
ident Wilson, but we suggest to Secretary Tu
multy that If he is committing the interests of
the President to Senator Hitchcock hero In Ne
braska, one glance at the primary election re
turns from Platte county ought to send the
whole presidential family to Its knees in recita
tion of the prayer: "God save tho President."
Indeed funny things do happen In the game
of politics, but none so funny as the funny do
ing of reactionary democrats in Platte county.
Columbus (Neb.,) Telegram, April 21.
The terrible disasters attendant upon Amer
ican industries as a result, of the enactment of
the democratic tariff lav are shown In this
statement: Exports of wool Increased 828 per
cent in 1915 over 1913, exports of hides in
creased 5G per cent; exports of leather and man
ufactures thereof increased 1G9 per cent. Most
of the increases were in exports to countries not
at war and to markets once controlled by the
present belligerents.
President Wilson should not be misled into
believing that so many of those who hampered
him, as senators and congressmen, in his legis
lative program of last year are for him now be
cause they agree with him on his preparedness
propaganda. He should remember that they
want to be re-elected and regard his coat-tails
as a very handy thing to grab hold of this year.
The next time somebody waves the Japanese
menace in your face, point out to him that the
American navy Is three times as large as that of
Japan, not taking Into account superiority of
guns, and that the task of guarding sufllcieni
troops on board transports would be impossible
of accomplishment across 5700 miles of ocean.
Besides which, Japan is our friend.
Those republican editors who were asserting
last July that the number of idle freight cars
was a sure sign of the business depression they
said was brought on by the democratic adminis
tration policies, have not yet made up their
minds how best to explain the fact that there is
a tremendous shortage of cars at the present
writing.
Secretary of Commerce Redfield, under an
act passed in the summer of 1914, maintains -trade
commissioners or commercial attaches in
ten of the leading commercial countries of the
world. This is mentioned to show that the
democratic idea of increasing foreign business
is to first find out something about the markets
available.
A machine has been devised which will lurn
out 1,800 pies an hour. Commendably swift as
this Is, it would be totally inadequate to supply
the demand that would be made upon it ifth
republicans would surprise themselves by Car
rying the next national election.
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