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VOL. XV., NO.XLV1I
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LINCOLN. NBBR., SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24. 1900.
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8 OBSERVATIONS.
1
Yesteday Tomorrow.
Not many thought it would happen
in Nehraska, but it did. In Novem
ber, 1896, half tbe voters of this state,
plus thirteen thousand, registered at
the ballot box their approval of tbe
Chicago platform and the presidential
candidacy of William J. Bryan. At
in modern times. By its Kansas City
platform the democratic party de
clared that this year our constitu
tional republic was at stake, and that
tbe decision to be rendered at the
polls would determine whether our
children are to enjoy the blessings of
free government. But the people had
come to disbelieve Mr. Bryan; they
knew bim to be a false prophet; un
terrified by tbe evils which he pre
dicted they condemned him to defeat
and executed judgment. In that con
demnation and execution the young
man Absalom, for whom upon the
stump he had evinced great vocal
solicitude, actively assisted. Other
causes contributed, perhaps in a
lesser degree, to the result. The dem
ocratic candidate traveled extensively
and spoke repeatedly; he appealed to
passion and prejudice rather than to
patriotism; he sought to awaken that
spirit of envy which too frequently
possesses the proletariat. Great mul
titudes greeted him, cheered him, and
voted against him. His speeches like
his platform were literary parricides,
they killed their father He sat down
at the right hand of Richard Croker,
Tammany's chieftain, and making an
alliance with that enemy of good gov
ernment, not only raised a question as
to his own good faith, but opened the
eyes of his adherents to his insincer
ity. Notwithstanding the fact that to
day Mr. Bryan is the most grievously
disappointed, the most completely
crest-fallen public man in tbe United
States, he is the most powerful per-
of declamation at Chicago and that
refused to follow their party when
Lt consorted with populism and allied
itself with the lawless, establish
themselves without party lines, or
find a bonce within the repub
lican party, where for two presi
dential campaigns they have ren
dered effective service, the better
for them and the better for tbe na
tion. To them Mr. Bryan will never
permit his party to do obeisance or
extend the hand of welcome. He will
if he wishes, be tbe party nominee in
1904. If he does not desire the nomi
nation, an improbable possibility, he
will designate the nominee and he
will not name Mr. Olney, Mr. Morton,
Mr. Cochran. Mr. Hill, or any man
mode. It is not now good form for
the author of a novel or a short story
to show either sympathy for or ani
mosity to his heroines or hcroea
That the race has attained to a tol
erable degree of altruism is shown by
this literary standard. The intrusion
of the author's opinion and taste is
egotism and altruistic virtues arc the
last to develop in individual and in
race. Grace Darling, the Boy on the
burning deck, Abraham Lincoln and
Sir Walter Raleigh were once Infanta
with whatever ego they possessed
centered on themselves." Their su
preme self sacrifice was an evolution.
A story must be good enough in itself
to be worth telling, or else the style of
telling must be matchless. In either
who has denounced Bryanism or sug- case the twentieth century demands
Kansas City last July, the principles
of tbe Chicago platform were reaf- sonality, the most influential Individ
firmed and endorsed and another plat- ual within the democratic party
form also adopted. On the sixth day the blast of his bugle the party
of this month half the voters of Ne
braska, plus seven thousand, rejected
both of these platforms and tb3 can
didates who stood upon them. What
wrought this change of twenty thou
sand votes? It may be ascribed to a
combination of causes the most effect
ive of which was the universal pros
perity enjoyed by the people since the
inauguration of President McKinley.
The Chicago convention ascribed the
then prevailing prostration of indus
try and general business stagnation
to the coinage act of 1873, and pro
posed as a remedy the free and unlim
ited coinage of silver at the existing
legal ratio. Republicans attributed
the disastrous conditions which had
obtained during three and a half
years to tbe unrestricted control of
the government by a democratic ad
ministration. As an efficient remedy
tbe republican party proposed its own
restoration to power, in the last
paragraph of its platform adopted at
St. Louis in 1896, it said.
"Confident alike in the history of
our great party and in the justice of
our cause, we present our platform
and our candidates in tbe full assur
ance that the election will bring vic
tory to the republican party and pros
perity to the people of the United
States." When was there a more
complete fulfillment of prophecy? Not
reform its lines upon his plan. Gold
democrats, Cleveland democrats, old
line democrats are suggesting if not
demanding a reorganization of the
party. There will be no such reor
ganization. To their credit be it
written that those who make this de
mand are not of the party as it now is.
They went out as a protest against
dishonesty, against repudiation of
obligations, against a debased cur
rency, against lawlessness and disor
der, and against a virulent attack
upon the judiciary. They are not
prodigal sons who went out to feed
swine, although the future may con
vince a few who ostentatiously re
turned this year, that they would
have retained a greater degree of self
respect bad they remained out, even
at the expense of engaging in that
occupation. For those who refused
to accept and endorse tbe platforms
of 1&96 and 1900, there is no place
within the democratic party and Mr.
Br an will see to it that none is in
the future provided for them. He
will continue to be what he is now,
the dominating power within the
democratic party and all talk of his
elimination by those who have aided
In his defeat when he has been a pres
idential candidate, is idle. The earlier
the democrats, that were not swept
from their moorings by the temptst
gested its elimination.
In confirmation of the foregoing
Mr. William E. Curtis of the Chicago
Record says: "The democratic mem
bers of congress, astheycometo town,
do not speak favorably of the plan to
reorganize their party. They are de
termined in their opposition to any
reorganization by John G. Carlisle,
Don M. Dickinson and other members
of the Cleveland wing of the democ
racy who voted for McKinley. Thev
say sarcastically that the democratic
party as it stands is good enough, and
Mr. Morton, Mr. Carlisle, Mr. Dickin
son, Mr. Herbert and others can re
main where they are, in the republi
can ranks. It may beset down as
certain that there will be no reor
ganization. Senator Jones and the
other leaders of tbe recent campaign
show no disposition to retire and no
At one is big enough to throw them out."
Will TVio Wnolilncrtnn f.nrrpnnnflnt nf
the Chicago Times Herald, Mr. Walter
Wellman, says: "The president ex
presses warm gratitude to those dem
ocrats who supported the republican
ticket. He believes the number of
such democrats this year was greater
than in 1896. There may not have been
so many of the leaders as four years
ago, but the best leaders the democ
racy has were with the republicans
this time, as before. More of the rank
and file of that party supported the
republican ticket than in 1896.
"Analyzing the returns the presi
dent can see that he had the votes of
democrats from the stores, tbe farms,
tbe shops men in all walks of life
democrats who said little or nothing
as to how they were going to vote, but
marked their ballots right."
J j
Form.
Mr. W. D. Howell's interesting
series of articles on nineteenth cen
tury heroines has reached Becky
Sharp, Beatrix, Esmond, nester
Prynne and Zenobia. In discussing
other men's heroines Mr. Howells is
convincing and illuminating. Thaok
eray's habit of interrupting bis nar
rative to discuss his heroine with his
readers is not in the modern style,
ant if Thackeray were writing now
he would be obliged to conform to the
that the author keep out of sight. He
cannot stand with a stick as Thack
eray did, and as the barkers in front
of the Midway shows do now to point
out the attractions of their company.
Humour, pathos, contrast, must be
discovered by each reader for himself
without a guide. No Moses would be
possible to this generation of Ameri
cans. They will not be lead and any
one who shall aspire to or c!2in in
spiration, and for that reason the'
right to lead, will be overwhelmed by
the votes of the American people.
Because the book says so or because
the preacher, says so, pr berause tbe
President says so, does not settle any
thing for tbe thoroughly modern
adult American. He must know it
from his own experience, he must
have made his own sylogism and ac
knowledged its soundness before be
makes it a part of the separate set of
principles which each good American
citizen finally adopts. As a rule of
conduct the intrusion therefore of an
unknown author's personality into a
story wbich'is otherwise readable and
in tbe way of proving itself, is tbe
signal for disgust and the tossing
aside of tbe book by the free and inde
pendent American reader. There are
certain very popular authors
whose presence in their narratives it
tolerated and even welcomed by their
old acquaintance,' the public. But i
is a liberty for a new author to cross
his own stage, while the curtain is up.
We are easy-going and not very insist
ent upon convention, outside of Bos
ton and Philadelphia, but we bare an;
appalling (?) dignity when convinced
that another has encroached upon it.
Mark Twain, at the present time is
the most popular writer and literary .
personality in this country and in his
role of hmourous commentator upon
men, manners and early Missouri in
stitutions he might easily introduce
himself more than he does without
offending. But it is hard to find Mr.
Clemens in his books, and it is harder
to find Mark Twain in Mr. Clemens.
Whether or not be learnt in Missouri
to "keep things sep'rate," he learnt it
early and has practiced it late.
There are so many talented writers
In Lincoln, some of whose productions
the editor of this paper has the con-
