THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
"A'
FEBRUARY 26, 103.
to that city, circumstances threw us
together..
- Mr. Bryan was touring the state and
attracting such crowds that the Chi
cago Chronicle was sending with him
a special correspondent. This special
correspondent happened to be Mr.- F.
A.vStowe, an old school-mate of mine.
Mr. Bryan was also accompanied by
Mr. Chas. A. Walsh, ex-secretary of
the national democratic committee and
at that time chairman of the Iowa
state committee. With this gentle
man Iwas also personally acquainted.
Mr. Stowe,.. who represented an al
leged democratic paper, "was not in
harmony with Mr; Bryan's policy, he,
Stowe, being personally a gold demo
crat. Therefore Mr. Stowe was tin
concerned because of the fact that my
jine of work did not harmonize with
that of Mr. Bryan. Not so, however,
with Mr. Walsh, who, anxious to re
move all opposition to democracy,
thought if he could but get me under
the. hypnotic power of Mr, Bryan I
would see a great light and become
a convert to democracy. He took me
to Mr. Bryan and presented me to
him-and an hour's conversation or
rather controversy began, for I was
just as positive in my opposition to
fusion as Mr. Bryan was in its favor.
During the course of this conver
sation we went carefully over the sit
uation as it presented itself at Chi
cago and St. Louis, and it was during
this conversation that Mr. Bryan
stated, to me in positive terms that his
nomination at Chicago was not due to
his speech, as many supposed; but to
the fact that it had been arranged
for, some months before, through the
co-operation of the leaders of the peo
ple's party and the silver republicans,
looking to the selection of a candidate
who could unite the three elements
above classified. Mr. Bryan stated
that he had been chosen as the one
who would be the most acceptable to
all' parties, and that his nomination
at Chicago was due to that fact. t
It therefore follows that the people's
party national convention was pur
posely called to meet after the demo
cratic convention 60 that the logic of
events would be on the side of the fu
sionlsts as an argument, leading to
fusion. Everything ' worked out just
as had been planned. Teller shed
tears before the republican national
convention and walked out, all care
fully planned, even to the tears. The
democrats nominated Bryan at Chi
cago, and the silver republicans called
their convention to meet at the same
time as the populists at St. Louis.
Senator Jones, chairman of the demo
cratic national committee, was repre
sented at the seat of action and the
whole procedure at St. Louis was but
the fulfillment of the policy agreed
upon months before.
Now, Mr. Editor, I do not believe
that you will have the courage to deny
this and I know that Mr. Bryan will
not. Had these facts been known to
the members of the people's party in
1896 a disgraceful surrender of the
party organization and the party
strength, that was the result of sac
rifice and fidelity on the part of the
western and southern farmers, would
not have resulted. Any populist edi
tor who knowingly covered up these
facts is just to that extent a traitor
to the honest men who trusted in his
fidelity and honesty.
It is a poor time to attempt to re
vive the people's party after the dag
ger of treason has pierced its vitals
and its once powerful press and fol
lowing scattered to the four winds of
heaven. There are but two possible
things for the populists to do, one is
to go back to the old political par
ties, both of which are capitalistic in
their tendencies, or else join the so
cialist party and begin the struggle
for liberty anew.
The populist edition of the Appeal
to Reason is plain and explicit The
article oil the first page to which you
refer was written by me personally
and there is not a line in that paper
calculated to deceive anyone and ev
ery paragraph is touched in the bold
est and plainest language possible.
I think, Mr. Editor, I have an
swered your interrogations fully and
in justice to me and to your readers
and to the people's party I request
that you publish this letter in full and
display it as prominently as the ar
ticle which called it into existence.
Respectfully yours,
A. W. RICKER.
And Mr. Bryan's reply is as follows:
Baltimore, Md., Feb. 17, 1903. Dear
Mr. De France: ' I am in receipt of
your letter enclosing your article in
reply to the Appeal to Reason and a
copy of Mr. Ricker's letter to you. I
remember that, some years ago, I
spoke at Onowa, la., in the afternoon,
after a "middle-of-the-road" populist
had spoken there in the forenoon. I
do not remember the name of the
populist who spoke there, nor do 1 re
call meeting him. It is not, however,
improbable that I was Introduced to
him and talked, with him, for in my
tours, I have talked with many politi
cal opponents,; but I am sure that I
never said anything that could by any
reasonable construction be tortured
into a basis for the charge which he,
makes. Not remembering the con
versation at all I cannot repeat what
was said by either of us, but I would
not have stated what was not true
and It would have bepn both false and
absurd to have made-the statement at
tributed to me. ; z.
It Is not true thaC "MrJ Bryan and
the populist leaders arranged months
before so that peQple$ party would
be placed in this humlliattog position"
(that Is, ; be ' compelled -i6 nominate
Mr. Bryan); ..The resulf bl the Chica
go convention was riOtfc anCl could not
have been, arranged in advance. I do
not remember to have talked with
any populist ;leaaenabouis one candi
date prior to our convention and I
knew that there was no "plan among
the populists to have me nominated at
Chicago. : !
As to my convention speech I have
been disposed to attach less import
ance to it than the press did at the
time. I had been identified with the
silver fight since 1893 and became
personally acquainted with many of
the delegates in my trips through the
south and west and a number of the
delegates had announced their pref
erence for me before 'the speech was
made, but there is no foundation what
ever for the statement that my nomi
nation was the result of a deep laid
scheme entered into by the populist
leaders and myself. As there was no
such scheme I prefer to believe that
Mr. Ricker's memory is at fault, or
thtt his political hostility led him to
p.' ace a false construction on what
I paid, rather than believe that I out
lined a scheme that did not exist.
Tours truly, W. J, BRYAN.
To Plutocracy
By way of preface, in order to get
acquainted quiekly, I want to say to
the plutocrat, to the monopolist You
look like a fool to me.
For several and sufficient reasons
You look like a fool to me.
The first one is that you fail to
recognize that the protection . of your
great property interest depends upon
the honesty and integrity of -what you
are pleased to term the eammoh herd.
You fail to recognize that the honesty
of the great mass of people is your
protection, and your only protection,
in your property rights.
In this You look like a fool to me.
You reserve to yourself the right
to play the part of thief or "robber,
and then appeal to honest people to
protect you in your rascality. In this
You look like a fool to me. In
your acts of outlawry, in your utter
disregard and defiance of law, and
then in your cowardly appeals to this
same law for protection You look
like a fool to me.
For years past the whole mob of
you have been bending every energy,
have been spending millions, in the
effort to corrupt the moral sense of
this people. Through the medium of
corrupt publications, and corrupt pub
lic speakers, and in thousands of oth
er ways, you have sought to destroy
the honesty and integrity of this peo
ple; yet in all that time you have
never thought of what would be the
consequences to you if you should
succeed in your attempt. In this
You look like a fool to me.
In your assumption of superiority,
in your claims of proprietorship of the
common people, and in your exhibi
tions of hostility toward them You
look like a fool to me.
True it may be, true it is, that in
the last two elections, the majority
of this people bent both neck and
knee to you, that they entered your
service politically. But that was only
voluntary, on their part; they can
put an end to their term of service
any time they get ready. And" what
would you do about it? How would
you help yourself? How would you
keep them from it? You have been
preaching and teaching the doctrine
that "might makes right." Have you
figured out how you are going to con
troll this people by might; when the
might resides not with you, but with
the people? You look like a fool to
me.
Suppose that you could get the peo
ple to believe your teaching of this
"might makes right" proposition,
where would your protection como
from? You look like a fool to me.
Now, if you had a large army at
your command, you might accomplish
your purpose of the enslavement of
the people; but that you haven't.
When you demanded of the president
that he employ the army in shooting
down striking miners, he refused to
do your bidding, and I want to switch
off my subject long enough to say
that I think I can appreciate to some
extent the manliness and heroism of
the stand the president took in that
matter. t He had no assurance that
even the fool people would sustain him
in his position; he has none yet that
they will; he is slated for political
punishment for that very act. I could
criticise a great many of the presi
dent's official acts, but I am not go
ing to do it; for the reason that I ap
preciate the hardness of the position
he is placed in. He is not a king
he is president, and as president heJs
in duty bound to carry out the ex
pressed wishes of the majority. He
cannot do that and do the right thing
at the same time.
But I believe if he had the assur
ance that the people would back up
and support him that he would lead
reform in any direction they would
indicate, with all the strenuosity of
his nature.
At any rate, by his action in the
matter of the coal strike, he has
earned the admiration of all lovers of
fair play.
.But to return to you, my pluto
monopolistic friend. In your exhibi
tions of selfishness You look like a
fool to me. In your hogishness, not
satisfied that you have many times
the amount of wealth that you are able
to use; you must root and roll in the
trough of plenty and destroy, for the
use of others, what is left You look
like a fool to me.
You labor " not to bring happiness,
peace and contentment to the mass
of the people. But to show yourself
off as something grand, as a superior
order of being. And you think you can
best accomplish that by bringing dis
content and distress and trouble on
the people, the people that you are
indebted to for everything that you
have You look like a fool to me.
You remind jne of the glutton who
enjoyed his feast all the more be
cause hungry eyes were looking at
him You look like a fool to me.
No right-thinking person envies
you the possession of your great
wealth, if you behave yourself with
it. But it is in your disposition to
use it as a weapon for the destruction
of all human rights and liberties that
you lay your wealth liable to con
fiscation and yourself to imprison
ment. And finally in your fatalism,
in the blasphemous impudence of your
claim of partnership with God You
look like a fool to me.
' " SID FOREE.
A PHILIPPINE OUTBREAK
"Ladrene." Capture Three Detachmenti
of Constabulary War Breaks
Out Anew
Some time ago The Independent
quoted from a private letter from a
resident of Manila as follows:
"Civil government here so far has
been a huge joke, but a very expen
sive one, for the cost of living is out
rageous, and the whole country is
paralyzed, what with the currency
question, cholera, ladronism, etc. They
are not called insurgents now only
ladrones. There is general discontent
among all classes, including Ameri
cans, at the situation here. Taxes are
higher than ever before, and every
one grumbling. The whole thing is a
farce, and I should not be surprised
before many months, that 100,000 sol
diers will be needed here, unless things
change rapidly for the better. ... it
is not safe to drive to the waterworks
now, and the constabulary had a fight
the other night with ladrones at the
powder magazine, which you remem
ber, just across the San Juan bridge
The troops should never have-been
reduced so soon, as the work will
probably have to be done over again
some time." 6
This was the opinion of a republi
can who believes that the military
government should have been main
lined. How well he foresaw that the
work" would have to be done over
again is best told in the following
Associated press dispatch:
"Manila, Feb. 22.-A force of la
drones under San Miguel reappeared
m Rizal province yesterday. Tiey
avoided an engagement with the main
force in the south, but captured three
small detachments of constabulary
The enemy surrounded the towns of
Cainta and Taygoar, eleven miles east
of Manila on Saturday and captured
thirty scouts and ten men of the con
stabulary, whom they disarmed and
set free.
"Today Inspector McIIwaine, at the
head of ten constabulary, was sur
prised and captured near Montalban
sixteen miles northeast of Manila. The
ladrones promised to release them if
the constabulary would surrender
their arms. While they were con
ferring on this point, McIIwaine made
a dash or liberty and he and all the
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constabulary effected their escape.
"When the news of the reappear
ance of General San Miguel's force
reached Manila reinforcements of
scouts and constabulary were hurried
into Rizal province. General Allen
and Colonel Scott went to Antipolo
and assumed command of the forces
there. They met with small detach
ments of the enemy and a few skirm
ishes took place. They were unable to
locate the main body of ladrones, but
continued the pursuit and hope to
overtake the released prisoners.
It is said that General San Miguel's
force consists of 300 men, armed and
uniformed. The zone of ladrone activ
ity extends from Caloocan, four miles
north of Manila, eastward to the
mountains of Rizal and skirting the
northern limits of Manila.
"The Manila police co-operated in
Saturday's efforts to corner the en
emy. Secretary Winthrop, in the ab
sence of Governor Taft, requested
General Davis to furnish additional
scouts and General Davis has ordered
another battalion to report to General
Allen. It is expected that additional
troops will be ordered out.
"San Miguel's force is small and the
governor is determined to suppress it.
San Miguel claims the insurgent lead
ership and fights under the Katihunan
flag.
According to news from Albay, Lu
zon, a force of ladrones attacked a
small detachment of constabulary on
Friday. The constabulary retreated
leaving two, but killed eleven of the
enemy."
A change of names has not helped
matters. From "criminal aggression"
to "benevolent assimilation" and
thence to a "stable government guar
anteeing the greatest liberty" the
Filipinos are capable of enjoying;
from rebels into "insurgents" and la
ter into "ladrones" (Spanish for
thieves); and from "soldiers" into
"constabulary," a change in names
has made no real change in the situa
tion. It is bloody war yet
Only four miles out of Manila!
Think of that No matter whether
they are called ladrones or insur
gents, they have been able to surround
towns and capture scouts and "con
stables" and come within four miles
of the capital. The cry is sure to go
up, "Increase the army and put down
this ladronism" but will it ever be
put down? Spain tried it for hun
dreds of years and wound up with
actual control of, about the same
amount of territory that the Ameri
cans control today that is within a
radius of about four miles surround
ing Manila.
Is it statesmanship to persist in a
mistaken course, simply because a
wrong start was made? Is it wisdom
to hold the Philippines at suc h enorm
ous cost? The United States has nlen
ty to do at home, with a race question
of great magnitude, without attempt
ing to force republican carpet-bag gov
ernment on an unwilling people.