10 Conservative.
NON 10 TO 1.
EDITOU THE CONSERVATIVE :
DBAH Siu : Hon. James Douton
Hancock gave a letter to the Pifctsbnrg
Post , Nov. 14 , counselling ignoring the
Chicago platform and the sixteen to one
folly , in order to get harmony in the
ranks of the democratic party for the
campaign of next year. The letter is
admirable as everything is to which Mr.
Hancock puts his pen ; but I do not be
lieve he will object to my saying that
the situation demands a much more
vigorous treatment than his letter ad
ministers. He advises harmony when
what we want is common sense. Wher
ever a democratic state has dropped
Bryan and Bryanism the democratic
party has been victorious ; and wherever
the republican ticket has run up against
Algorism and Hannaism and imperial
ism it has had a very dusty hunt for
success.
Cotirago Needed.
l\ But this does not give us any
definite idea of how we ought to make up
our minds when wo go to the primaries
for the selection of delegates to the state
and national conventions next year.
Three years ago we were told that if we
would keep quiet the anarchy and
populism that had thrust themselves in
to the management would subside and
things would right themselves. This
was when wo were afraid to denounce
Quayism because our money was in
vested and deposited in the banks where
Quay keeps the funds of the state
treasury. We were willing enough to
go in for sound money but we did not
care to disturb the deposits. Some of us
were directors in the bank. But "things"
are worse now than they svero then.
The federal administration has traded
the scandalous appointments to military
office for the scandalous support of its
Hawaiian job. It has robbed the mails
to get materials for the partisan accusa
tion of American citizens. The bulk of
the army and navy in active service is
employed to subjugate foreign people
who want to bo free and who have a
right to their freedom. So far as he has
been permitted to go the president stands
shoulder to shoulder with "the tramp
ing saxon"aud the army contractor. He
flies the flag of "benevolent assimila
tion" and "the advance of civilization"
which have been the mottoes of the
Turk and the Spaniard for five centuries
of the worst tyrannies the world has
known ; and ho abuses the stars and
stripes by consorting the flag of freedom
and independence with the methods of
slavery and subjugation. "Benevolent
assimilation" and "the advance of civi
lization" are the worn-out formulas of
insincerity. They servo the president
in his present effort "to busy giddy
minds with foreign quarrel. " So with
the position of the administration re
specting civil service reform ; nothing it
has done accords with the republican
party professions or the sound morals
of the president's inaugural. It has
evaded the law by invading the public
sentiment which compelled the law.
Harmony Not Needed.
But what are we to do ? If
Bryan is nominated and the Chicago
platform is again forced upon xis , what
can we do ? What can we offer to pre
vent the perpetuation of Quayism and
Hannaism ud Algeristn aud imperial
ism and militarism ? We cannot vote
for Bryan and the Chicago platform , or
for Bryan aud some other shifty plat
form designed to catch our votes. If
Bryan is nominated he will be the same
Bryan he was in 1896. Ho will be the
platform whatever may be the formula
adopted by the convention ; and he and
his platform are offensive to every demo
cratic principle to which we have been
born and bred. We cannot vote for
McKinley and the republican platform ,
whatever it may turn out to be ,
because we have not the slight
est faith in the sincerity of the
president or the integrity of the re
publican party. If Quay and Hanna
and Platt should think it advisable to
adopt the'Ten Commandments and the
entire moral law as the republican
party platform , they would not hesitate
to do it , yet no one would have any
faith in the sincerity of the president or
the integrity of the republican party.
Its recent exploitation of a currency re
form bill which it purposes to use as a
tentative measure for the seduction of
voters at the next election is another
pretence of an intention that is not
sincere.
But the nomination of Bryan either
with or without the Chicago platform ,
will not give us a decent alternative. Mr.
Bryan cannot raise a living issue. None
of the statesmen who are opposed to
the policy of the administration will
support him. The issue of antagonism
to trusts is the issue of tariff reform by
which alone the monopoly of the
trusts can be prevented and controll
ed. McKinley pretends to oppose the
trusts but he stands for the "protection"
of the Dingley bill which is the father
aud mother of the trusts. The issue of
currency reform is that raised by Mr.
Cleveland and Mr. Carlisle by a policy
which had the support of the whole
country. The most important issue of
banking reform is that which the
Indianapolis convention formulated.
Mr. Bryan stands for none of these and
they are the bed rock of democratic
doctrine. The Chicago platform con
tains no single sentence of sound practi
cal policy touching any of the real
issues. It is nothing but the silver issue
and anarchy. The silver issue is too
dead to skin and nobody but a fool
wants anarchy.
More Chastening Needed.
And yet ! what are we to do if Bryan
is nominated and the Chicago platform
is reasserted ? Or , better still , what
should we not do to prevent it ? Samuel
J. Tilden is dead ; ho would have given
us good advice and he would have shown
us how to follow it. Governor Russell
of Massachusetts is dead ; he would have
been our logical leader. Mr. Cleveland
has retired to the classic shades of
presbyterian Princeton. Here aud there
the gangrene of the Chicago platform
is working out its function. Sibley has
sloughed off and it is to be hoped that a
lot of the populism and communism for
which he stands , has gone with him. It
looks as if he sees that Bryan's nomina
tion will lead to certain defeat ; aud it
may be taken for granted from the
evident purpose of the republican
managers to bring it about.
I am inclined to think we do not want
"harmony" just yet. If we can get a
reliable candidate on a reliable platform
we shall have all the harmony we need ;
and to get this we want agitation and
conflict of the most vigorous kind. The
harmony that conies of the righteous
settlement of vexed questions is the
only harmony that is worth having and
likely to last. But what are we to do ?
And ho ware wo to do it ?
BENJ. O. POTTS.
Media , Pa , Dec. 19th , 1899.
NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY.
The annual meeting of the Nebraska
State Historical Society for 1900 will be
held at the chapel of the State Univer
sity on the evening of January 9th and
10th , at 7:80 : o'clock , with the following
program. It is desired that all interest
ed in old overland freighting will at
tend , on Wednesday especially , bring
ing all old maps of freighting routes
with them.
Tuesday Evening , January 0.
President's Annual Address J. Sterl
ing Morton , Nebraska City.
The State Ropublicau Convention of
1870 , and Incidents of that Campaign ;
a Character Sketch of Governor
Butler. Dr. L. J. Abbott , South
Omaha.
Ex-Senator Thomas W. Tipton. Hon.
Robert W. Furnas , Brownville.
Hon. Champion S. Chase Clement 0.
Chase , Omaha.
Our First Settlement of Nebraska
David Anderson , South Omaha.
Pioneer Days in Booue County John
Turner , Indtanola.
Wednesday Evening , January 10th Old
ITroiglitorb' Evening.
Reminiscences. Eugene Munu , Uni
versity Place ; William Fulton , Kansas
City ; R. M. Rolfe , Nebraska City ;
Thomas J. Majors , Peru.
This will bo followed by ten minute
talks by old freighters present.
Business meeting.
H. W. OALDWELL , Secretary.
Horticultural Society meets same
dates during day.
