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VOL ll.NO 29
.. bSTABLISHBD IN 1886
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PRICE FIVE CENTb
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' ""- ., LINCOLN NEB.. SATURDAY. AUGUST 1. 1 39G
DTTHXrOK OmCBATilHCOtW
AS COXD-CLASS MATT
'PUBLISHED EVERT SATURDAY
TK CMRIER PfilNTINfi MB NILISMM M
Ofie 217 North Elarenta St.
Jclephone 384
W. MORTON SM ITH Editor and Manager
SAR AH B. HARRIS Associate Editor
; Subecription Bates la Adrance.
s Par annum 92.00
' Biz months 1.00
Three months BO
; One month 20
' Single copies 6
7?
4j OBSERVATIONS i
... When, two weeks ago, we said in
these columns that before one month
had passed the conspicuous resident
of Lincoln whose present specialty is
. being nominated for president, would
f become an object of amused considera-
p tion, some, persons were disposed to
criticize our remarks for not according
'' to Mr. Bryan the serious respect which,
they claimed, was due him. They bb-
I jected to the Inference that there was
.anything absurd or amusing in his
I'foanddacy.
j&
We leave It to our readers if our pre
diction has. not(corne true and we have
. c.two weeks to spare: "Let us. In the im
mortal words called Into utterance" by
- .' the gentleman from Georgia who is
' running for vice president on one of
Mr. Bryan's several and separate
tickets, see where,"we'areat" or rather
! ."where .Mr. Bryan Is at." In the flrst
place Mr. Bryan crowded the sober,
' -serious, conservative element of de
J)e mocracy out of the national conven
ntion, and by a speech as pleasing In
frythm and ridiculous In logic as ever
tickled the ears of emotional men,
' turned the convention into a lurid, mel
odrama and in the general excitement
succeeded in having himself nominated
for president of the United States. Mr.
Bryan and his colleagues are fond of
telling us what "all history teaches."
We venture to say that all history
teaches that men have never ascended
unto the highest and most exalted
places by means of transitory tremors
such as Mr. Bryan Induced in Chicago.
When this remarkable gathering and
its results are considered in a dispas
sionate manner we are forced to the
conclusion that the American people
are become a nation of sentimental
ists, swayed by bathos and ruled by
Impulse, or that the Incident in Chica
go is one of those peculiar and rtdlcu
louis phenomena such as the Coxey
raid which now and then cause a tem
porary disturbance even when civiliza
tion is at Its highest point. And we
are not ready to admit that the lawless,
mocking element that crowded out the
Whltneys, Hills and Russells In Chica
go, and established a political pande
monium, in any way represents the
dominant spirit of this progressive and
intelligent people. Looking back to
the noisy mass meeting In Chicago we
can see the absurdity of a man being
raised up and made a candidate for
the high office of chief executive of
this great nation as the result of the
glib emission of fantastic folderol about
crowns of thorns and crosses of gold.
Was not Mr. Bryan an object of
amused consideration as soon as he was
made the hasty choice of spell bound
faddists?
But that was only the beginning. Mr.
Bryan immediately began a spectacu
lar tour that accentuated the unreas
onablness of his candidacy. And with
in twenty-four hours after the Chicago
melodrama. Mr. Bryan opened nego
tiations with another political party,
and caused still another to be organ
ized for his especial benefit. His per
sonal representative proceeded to St.
Louis and degraded the high office of
president by a bargain and sale of
nominations, and traffic in promises,
unprecedented In the history of
American politics, a species of whole
sale Jobbery that would be alarming In
its boldness were It not so absurd in
its climax. The whole transaction In
St. Louis, including Senator Jones de
liverance of the remnant of democracy
over to the greed of populism, and Mr.
Bryan's transparent bluff. a3 well as
the jumbling of platforms and vice
presidential candidates, with a Coxey
and a Vandervoort In, the foreground.
was a Saturnalia, a fantasy, an ab
surdity, and It will be remembered as
the crowning triumph of populist lu
nacy. Governments are not made and
maintained by such spasmodic out
bursts as took place in Chicago and
St. Louis, and the men who propose to
profit by such manifestations forfeit
their claims to the serious and honest
respect of thinking people. Mr. Bryan's
circus started out with too many side
shows and the side shows have swal
lowed the circus, and the whole thing
Is grotesque. Boy's play has brought
Its predicament and Mr. Bryan's wig
gling has been most amusing.
Ben Butler was up to his time, the
most amusing candidate for president
this country has produced. Mr. Bryan
has already outclassed Butler.
If the supporters of Mr. Bryan object
to his being considered lightly, they
also object to his being considered
seriously. The word anarchy ya been
mentioned In connection with the Chi
cago mass meeting. And Mr. Bryan
and his friends are outraged. They
say they are done a great Injustice.
Let us look into this.
One of the planks In the platform
adopted In Chicago reads as follows:
"We denounce the arbitrary Interfer
ence by federal authorities in local af
fairs as a violation of the constitution
of the. United States and a crime
against free Institutions." When the
word anarchy is used in connection
with the Chicago platform, on which
Mr. Bryan stands with so much assur
ance it is this plank that Is particularly
in mind.
We have been advised that it Is a
dangerous thing 4to discuss the ques
tion of anarchy In Nebraska. We can
not see why It should be. The people
of this state are not anarchists. They
have nothing in common with an
archists. They are peace-loving, order
preserving people. They do not coun
tenance lawlessness In any form. If
there is any place In the union where
the denunciation of anarchy finds a
hearty response it is here In Nebraska-,
where, the blue sky of heaven and the
bright light of the sun and the cool
breezes of the prairies ennoble and up
lift and make men devout and God
fearing and man loving. There Is no
reason why we should hesitate to study
this question here.
This plank would not occasion com
ment or be objected to If It were not
for the history back of It. It Is the
outcome of the Chicago riots of 1894.
That strike started in a little settle
ment. At first there was a principle
involved, and people differed as to the
justice of the position of the strikers.
But the strike grew to immense pro
portions, and the principle was lost
sight of In the tremendous destructlve
ness of the strikers. A leader rose. He
incited all railway men In Chicago to
quit work. Volunteers offered to take
the p!aceof the strikers and they were
attacked. Trains were ruthlessly de
stroyed, lives were taken and men and
women were wounded. The business
of a large section of the country was
paralyzed. The condition In and about
Chicago was that of the wildest dis
may and danger lawlessness, open an
archy. Governor Altgeld ,of Illinois
was appealed to preserve order, and
protect human life, but the man who
pardoned the Haymarket wholesale as
sassins turned a deaf ear to the ap
peals. "He refused to do anything to
maintain order, and the United States
authorities were compelled to send
troops to stop the rioting, which
threatened to spread widely and start
a carnival of mobs all over the coun
try. It was the president's duty to see
that the malls were not obstructed.
The rioters thought that the govern
ment should be content to send out a
mall car now and thn alone instead
of as part of a regular train as usual,
so that they could be free to attack
the ordinary cars without Interfering
with the mails, and they were ex
tremely bitter because the president
would not become thus a silent partner
In rioting. But aside from the question
of mails, the president had a duty. The
Chicago mob was as much In rebellion
In 1894 as th people of Charleston were
In 1861. and Mr. Cleveland was as much
under obligations to suppress lawless
ness In spite of the governor of Illinois
as Mr. Lincoln was In spite of the gov
ernor of South Carolina. He did sup
press It, and the house of representa
tives approved his action by a vote of
125 to 27."
Is it. then, an extravagance of speech
to say that the Altgeldlzed platform
upon which Mr. Bryan stands is an
archistic in its tendency.?
The enthusiastic glee with which Mr
Bryan has exploited his nomination Is
a good deal like the noisy vociferation
of the small boy with a new top. The
manner In which the youngest man
who was ever nominated for president
has conducted himself since his return
home has Impressed upon his neighbors
certain characteristics which were not
so conspicuous before the melodrama
tic feat in Chicago. For six or seven
years the people who have known Mr.
Bryan have recognized In him a con
summate actor. His star engagement
of one day unsettled him. and now for
a couple of weeks he has been exposed
to view in his true light. In all the
hubbub and hurry since the singular
gathering In Chicago Mr. Bryan has
not thought of rehearsing. He has
been too excited to think of hiding
himself under the cloak of art. He has
appeared as h Is.
Mr. Bryan In his new role, realism
Itself, Is interesting and to a certain
extent attractive. Youthful enthusi
asm and vigor when exhibited In any
wholesome form are always attractive.
It Is a pleasure to witness the small
boy toot for the first time his new horn
or hold at arm's length In admiring
contemplation his new top, gaudy with
color. One of the first things the boy
does when he gets a new horn or a
new top Is tocall in his friends or go
out and And them and tell them ail
about how he got the bauble and what
a fine thing It is and what he is going
to do with It. and" this is pleasant to
witness also, for there Is ycuthfulness
and Ingenuousness in the spectacle.
But Mr. Bryan In showing his youth
has shown his immaturity. His im
maturity as exhibited in the last two
weeks Is deep and expansive. If he Is
the youngest man ever nominated for
president he Is also the most impulsive,
testless. uncertain, undignified man
ever named for the high office of presi
dent by a great political party. All of
the boyish traits and fidgety instincts
cf youth unformed are retained la
this candidate, who In law, reached
man's estate fifteen years ago. There
is one element which great men pos
sess In common that of repose. Mr.
Bryan is singularly lacking in this
quality. He does not Impress people
with the Idea that there Is reserve
force back of his nervous energy. He
seems to be a man of little self-restraint.
He decides, but does not de
liberate. The fleeting thought of the
moment Is his rule of action. His
brain is active and the product Is re
leased at once for gratuitous distribu
tion. Mr. Bryan has been praised with-
