THE COURIER.
X
lifetime chasing the fame which Mr.
Bryan has secured. Tbe qualifica
tion of a presidential candidate are so
nearly unattainable that most of tbe
inhabitants of the United States are
ineligible to tbe nominating conven
tions. Among them this household
word quality is indlspensible. Among
all the good and noble democrats that
go fishing wherc-ever they can find a
large enough and sequestered enougb
body of water, how many are there
who are known from the banks of
Salt Creek to the Amazon, from the
porch on D street in Lincoln Nebras
ka to the Albert Memorial in Lon
don? In the campaign of 1890' Mr.
Bryan .realized that he was a new
man and that tbe people were wildly
curious to see him. He was confident
enough of his winning ways and of
his speech-making gift to be willing
to travel up and down and across the
country so that all who had a vote
might be con .'inced that be knew how
to talk and was pleasant to look at.
Considering bis comparative obscuri
ty bis tour of 1895 was the only course
that would introduce him to the mil
lions who quadrennially have an op
portunity to elect tbe president. In
1900 the people knew him and tbe
democratic managers favored Mr.
Brpan's staying at home. By that
time Mr. Bryan had acquired the
travelling and speech making habit,
and it would have taken a stronger
man than Jones to make him stay at
home and enjoy tbe new porch and
the picturesque possibilities of bis
farm.
In discussing Bryan's successor it is
as well not to forget that be is tbe
only man who stands for tbe undefin
able cult of Biyanism a protest
against combinations against Bryan
ism, against trusts, against expansion,
against wealth, against tbe supreme
court, against the army, and against
our financial system. The party of
protest must have a leader and uo
man in America or in tbe world pro
tests so loudly, and so persisteutly
against everything as Mr. Bryau. The
republican" party has its arms wide
open to catch the democrats who are
republicans in everything but name
and a little difference over tbe tariff.
These democrats do hot belong in tbe
party they helped to defeat this sum
mer, especially as Mr. Bryan is still
and will continue to be tbe head of
the democratic party.
The Senatorial Situation.
The narrow margin -of majority
which the republicans will have in
the legislature renders the senatorial
situation decidedly uncertain. The
practice of republicans in this state
has bee'n to nominate the party's
choice in caucus, but the present out
lock forsuch a nomination is not at all
promising Naturally each candidate
will be desirous ot entering a caucus
-when conditions are favorable to his
candidacy, but whenever conditions
are satisfactory to two candidates tbe
others will face defeat and tbe field
-will be against a caucus. That one of
the leading senatorial candidates has
in the past reserved to himself tbe
right to bolt the nominees of the
part' at will, while he has never
bolted a caucus where he was defeated
because he lias never bee a acandi
date, operates against tbe probability
of a cauciis being held Several of
those who are candidates now were
aspirants for senatorial honors two
years ago and actively participated in
the contest; it has not been forgotten;
the occurrence is so recent, that not
all who submitted tbeir candidacy to
the caucus felt bound by its decree,
but on the contrary deemed an at
tempt to defeat the party's choice
entirely consistent with tbe honorable
conduct of an honorable gentleman.
These are incidents which will have
more or less weight with tbe candi
dates when they come to determine
tbe question of agreeing to a caucus
which shall include tbe candidacy of
those who, having failed in one camp,
will be equally active in the other.
Again it is said that the supporters of
Senator Allen are not in the condition
of those who are entirely without
hope A coalition between his forces
and one who has to some extent in
the past affiliated with the republi
cans is earnestly talked.
It has been suggested that an article
which appeared in an evening paper
this week was intended to prepare tbe
way for such a combination. Tbe
writer attempted to excite the cupid
ity of the people of Lincoln by sug
gesting that Omaha had received sub
stantial aid by reason of congressional
appropriations In this senatorial
fight politicians who might prefer
that Nebraska should be represented
in the senate by two republicans, are
to have no say; the business men of
Lincoln are organizing a non partisan
movement which is soon to be made
permanent to advance the candidacy
of a man who sold out his business in
terests in Lincoln to engage in busi
ness in Omaha. The non-partisan
feature of the business men's organ
ization is what lends force to the sug
gestion that the people of Lincoln
ought to be satisfied by having one of
Its citizens elected senator even if
that election shall result from a com
bination which shall give Senator
Allen the other term.
A New Party.
Mr George F. Washburn of Boston,
president of the Bryan club of Mas
sachusetts, has issued an "appeal" ad
dressed " To the Reform Forces of the
Country," upon which he invites com
ment He advocates the formation
of a new party by tbe unification of
those whom he designates "Bryan
democrats, Bryan republicans, popu
lists and other small bodies." The
new party which hi proposes he
would have operate on "a high politi
cal plane absolutely clean and far
above the mire of machine methods."
Embodying the reform forces of the
country this organization is to be led
to victory by the late Mr. Bryan, of
whom Mr "Washburn in his "appeal"
writes:
"Although unsuccessful at the
polls, Bryan is a mightier man today
than his successful opponent. He is
the greatest- political crusader tbe
world has ever seen. He stands alone.
tie is enougb of a political genius to
become the founder of a great, a new
party, even as Jefferson was the
founder of the democratic and Lin
coln tbe republican party. Millions
of men would enthusiastically rally
to his standard under these new con
ditions. It is not extravagant to say
that Bryan-could thus hold two-thirds
of the democratic party and very soon
attract at kast one third of tbe re
publican party."
If Mr. Washburn is well versed in
political history he must have in
dulged in sarcasm when he suggested
that Mr. Bryan Is enough of a politi
cal genius to become the founder of a
new partv, even as Jefferson and Lin
coln were the founders of the two
great national parties of today.
Neither of these statesmen formed
either parties designated. If Mr.
Washburn was not indulging in sar
casm be should get wisdom,- get un
derstanding of political history.
What is there in the political action
of Mr. Bryan that marks him as the
man who can lead the reform forces
to victory? Is it his close connection,
his intimate association with such
men as Altgeld of Illinois and Till
man of South Carolina? Claiming
that his purpose was to give the peo
ple a better government, he went to
New York and there voluntarily ex
tended the glad hand to Richard
Croker, the bead and front of tbe
worst political element, tbe most
active enemy of reform. In the gray
of this November evening he sits in
bis home and -vainly attempts to
square that act which so serlou&ly
affected his candidacy with his pro
testations of purity and love of good
government. In the face of this in
cident where will Mr. 'Washburn find
tbe millions who will rally to the
standard of Mr. Bryan when be as
sumes to lead the reform forces of tbe
country? Certainly not in Nebraska
where nearly twenty thousand voters
who expressed their confidence in
him and his declarations four years
ago voted for his undoing and his
banishment as a leader this year, al
though he pretended to marshal tbe
forces of reform.
If, as Mr. Washburn writes, Mr.
Bryan is able to hold and enlist under
his banner two-thirds of tbe demo
cratic party, that entirely removes
the question of reform under his
leadership. It will be essentially the
democratic party. Over and above
all things Mr. Bryan is a democrat.
Inherently and completely he is of
the democracy. Reform is progressive;
it ever advances; always it presses
forward to the front. The democrat
ic party is retrogressive and reaction
ary; with a crab-like motion it moves
backward; its perpetual and unalter
able purpose is to exchange good con
ditions for worse ones; continually it
seeks a lower level. These baleful
tendencies of the party are all pre
eminently characterized in the per
son of Mr. Bryan. He wrote the
Kansas City platform and therein
limited the declaration of his own
and his party's constitutional allegi
ance to tbe constitution "framed by
fathers ot the republic," intentionally
renouncing allegiance to the constitu
tion amended since the civil war.
That platform discloses a purpose of
depriving ten million inhabitants of
this country, citizens under the con
stitution, of their right of representa
tion as well as their right to partici
pate in the government which they
are taxed to support and in whose de
fense they must enlist if cause shall,
arise. There is disclosed a backward
movement which shall operate to the
detriment of a race of darker hue
whose condition is to be made infin
itely worse than it now is. Only the
enthusiasm of a hero worshipper can
excuse the assertion that soon one
third of the republican party will re
nounce their political allegiance to
unite with the democratic party
under the leadership of a twice de
feated candidate. The opportunity
to enlist under that banner was of
fered them this year and Mr. Bryan
was most anxious to lead them; they
declined the offer. Mr. Washburn
says the democratic party lost this
year because it failed to make inroads
in tbe republican ranks. It will
make the same failure in the future.
The democratic party, even under the
leadership of Mr. Bryan, cannot be re
habilitated under the name or pre
tense of a reform party; it will not
succeed. "For of thorns men do not
gather figs, nor of a bramble bush
gather they grapes."
BaDsThelmpowbk."
The story of "Babs, the Impossible,"
by Sarah Grand, which is running in
the Harper's Bazar, makes the arrival
of that magazine on Saturday of each
week a momentous event in the day's
history.
In early acquaintance with Babs.
she is seldom impossible, only a
charmingly pretty, healthy girl, gen
erous, but without any feeling of re
sponsibility, and possessing a bright
but untrained mind, full of venture
some and mischievous ideas. In the
last several numbers "Babs" appears
in a new role. She is not '-natural,"
but Mme. Grand has most cleverly
forestalled this paramount of criti
cism by her title, " The impossible."
If "Babs"' affaires de coeur were
planned with mere coquetry on her
part, they would be as wholly disgust
ing as they are unnatural, were it not
for a certain naive artlessness and in
nocence in her point of view, that
leaves one incomprehensive but not
uninterested. "Babs," though only
sixteen or seventeen, without any
feeling of personal responsibility or
knowledge of the world, is still too
old to seek caresses after the fashion
in which she does from Lord Caden
house or St. Lambert.
"Babs," however, in her evident in
ability to understand her own nature,
moderates criticism of her one char
acter, acting as she does merely from
her peculiar instinct, frankly confess
ing her lack of feeling and wonder
ing calmly, as a mere matter of curios
ity, whether or not she possesses a
soul. That "Babs" shall awake to the
understanding of deep feeling is evi
dently the purpose of the story, but
into what she will develop with
this new feeling is a conundrum to be
answered only by "Babs, The Impos
sible." Variety in literature is a pleasure
and a relief and this tale without
emphasis upon the vexing problems of
wealth, poverty or caste is a luxury.
Mrs. Kingconstance, little Miss Spice,
Mr. Jellybond, Lord Cadenhouse.
Montacute, and St. Lambert form an
interesting background for the
heroine. Tbe story is now in book
form. Having read, however, only the
magazine numbers, which are not
ended, as yet, it is not possible to
speak of the book as a whole, except
that, thus far, its arrangement has
been sufficiently artistic to so com
pletely hide the technique that one
must read carefully from the begin
ning, in order to discover, even in a
small way, the skill and grace of the
author in the presentation of such
difficult characters.
loiter
THE ENTITY OF "ELIZABETH."
LangouBte, which suggests Provence
ia the pen name of a writer in the Peb
ble. She draws charming sketches,
which in these days of half-tones and
lineles smudges of gray and black, are
very attractive. Her recent appreciation
of "Elizabeth" are herewith reprinted:
"Still we speculate about it, still im
politely hazard guesses, and still is dis
appointment oure! Impolitely, because
there is something bo personal in the
atmosphere which "her gracious lady
ship" wreathes about herself, she moves
through it with such convincing lady
hood, that it is almost a breach of the
civilities to try to penetrate her mystery.
We have really no business to ask her
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