THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1900. THE COMING CONTEST IN AMERICA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 42, 18 October 1900, Page 16

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1900. THE COMING CONTEST IN AMERICA.

UTSIDE of the United States the interest taken ia the approaching election for President — which is to be decided on the sixth of next month — has probably been less general and less keen than is usually the case, and under the circumstances this is hardly to be wondered at. In the first place the struggle in South Africa and the very serious situation of affairs in the Far East have for some time past overshadowed all other matters and completely engiossed public thought. In the second place when the election campaign was first com-

menced the outside world was led to believe that Mr. Bryan had not a possible chance and that the affair would be a 1 walk-over ' for Mr. McKinley, and that of course helped to make the 'prospect tame and unexciting. And finally, public interest in the contest has been deadened by the difficulty — the chronic difficulty — which non-Americans have in getting anything like a clear or definite idea as to what are the actual issues which divide the two candidates and their parties. Generally speaking the names of political parties give at 1 a3t a rough indication of the special policy or principles which they profess to uphold. Thus the terms Lioeral and Conservative, Freetrader and Protectionist, Moderate and Prohibitionist, explain themselves, and, at least in a general way, serve to indicate the special viewpoint of the respective parties. But the names of the two great parties in America — Democrat and Republican — do not in themselves suggest any essential difference or distinction and only help to further confound and befog the uninitiated. In spite of all this, as the time of the crisis draws near public interest in the struggle is becoming greatly quickened and all the more so as Mr. Bryan's chances of success have of late very appreciably increased. "We propose therefore to explain as clearly and simply as possible the present differences between the two parties and the actual issues involved in the great contest now pending.

Before doing so it may be interesting to our readers to have a brief description of the personal character of the two candidates. So far as Mr. McKinley, the present President and leader of the Republican party, is concerned, the accounts are very conflicting. His opponents in the Democratic Press, with the vigor and picturesqueness peculiar to American political papers, describe him in terms ranging from a * carpet-bagger,' a ' marionette,' and an * invertebrate,' up to ' England's cub ' and ' fetch-and-carry poodle.' His friends in the Republican Press, on the other hand, laud him to_ the skies as almost a second Washington. The truth lies, of course, between these two extremes. All impartial reports agree in crediting him with personal honesty, even temper, and when roused — but only when roused — considerable force of will. He listens to advice, but, like less exalted beings, he is slow to take it. He has an exceptional skill in the judgment of men, and his choice of colleagues and of subordinates has helped, far more than his own gifts, to carry him safe and secure through his Presidential term. He has two notable defects which will always prove a source of weakness to him. The first is that he is by no means a brainy man, his thinking capacity being very 'little, if any, above the average. As a Democratic Congressman rather caustically put it, the difference between Mr. McKinley and Mr. Bryan is, that Mr. Bryan's convictions are so strong that it is hard for him to let go of them, and Mr. McKinley's so weak that it takes him all his time to hold on to them. The other defect is that he seems to have very little independence of character. Even thoroughly unbiassed writers have declared that if popular opinion demanded it he would be willing to sacrifice his most fundamental political principles, and it is generally admitted that on all great questions and critical occasions he is almost entirely in the hands of his very able chief adviser, Mr. llanna, thus almost justifying the taunt of his opponents, who persistently refer to him as < Hanna's marionette.' It should be added that his experience as President, while it has served to show up his defects, has also had the effect of deepening his character, and he is certainly a better all-round man to-day than when, four years ago, he was first nominated for the Presidency.

Mr. W. J. Bryan, the Democratic candidate, thoimh perhaps less widely known thau his opponent, is certainly a much more interesting personality, lie is a Western lawyer who began life on a farm and left it, at the age of 15, to get education. After passing from oue academy to another he finally entered Illinois College, Jacksonville, and after a four years' course there graduated with the highest honors in 1881. He then studied law, and in 1889 he went to Nebraska, where he became a member of the firm of Talbot and Bryan. He never held any office until he was elected to Congress, and his career as a congressman has shown that he possesses exceptional shrewdness, ability, and tact. Mr. Bryan is only 40, though if the pictures published of him are like the original he must look old for his years.

The picture shows a very powerful head, with square brows and chin, and a large and well-shaped nose. The whole face expresses great keenness and determination. It is emphatically the face of a man who knows what he means and who will insist that his audience shall always know what he means. As is very generally known, Mr. Bryan is a great popular orator, and indeed it was by sheer power of oratory that he first forced his way to the front. When the Chicago Convention met in 1896 for the nomination of a candidate Mr. Bryan's name was not even seriously mentioued for the position. But on the second day he was given an opportunity of speaking in defence of the platform, and he delivered an address of such surpassing eloquence that the whole gathering was completely carried away. The Convention was adjourned in order to allow the effect of the speech to evaporate and to give other candidates a chance, but to no purpose. The first impression remained, and the orator was nominated for the presidency by an overwhelming majority. It was on this occasion that Mr. Bryan uttered the striking metaphor which, of itself, proved almost sufficient to make him famous : ' You shall not set on the brow of labor a crown of thorns ; you shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.' The words produced an effect that was simply electrical. They seemed in a subtle way to sanctify the Democratic cause, and from that time forth the members of the party were made to fed that they were engaged not in a mere political faction-fight but in a great and holy crusade. The hold which Mr. Bryan then gained on the Democracy of the nation he still retains, and we venture to think that, whether he be successful on the present occasion or not, the time will certainly come when the highest honor which the Republic can offer will be his.

The issues involved in the present struggle have been denned in elaborate ' platforms ' published by the Conventions of the respective parties. The platform published by the Republican Convention, though very lengthly, is at the same time very vague. Stripping it of its generalities one finds that the only two planks that are clearly and definitely stated are the continued allegiance of the party to the Gold Standard and the re-affirmation of its fairh in the policy of Protection. The platform approves Mr. McKinley's course in regaid to the Philippines, but does not venture on a defence of his action which certainly constituted a departure from the Monroe doctrine and from the traditional policy of the United States. The Democratic platform is much more definite and outspoken. It contains a great many planks, the most important of which are, unqualified opposition to Inip-rialiam, by which is meant the policy of acquiring and holding sovercignity over large areas of territory and large numbers of people outside the bounds of the United Sta es, the special reference being to Cuba and the Philippines; a scathing denunciation of 'trusts' or monopolies, and .a demand for their suppression ; and a reiteration of the demand for the free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the iv.t io of 1(5 to 1. Both platforms con tain a reference to the Transvaal trouble. The Republican platform expresses an 'earnest hope that a way will soon be found honorable to Great Britain and the two Republics to terminate the present strife,' an aspiration which a Democratic editor describes as being nothing more than ' a pious hope that a speedy peace may be arrived between the wolf and the lamb without too much injury to the mutton trade.' The Democratic utterance on the same subject is as follows : — ' Believing in the principles of self-government, and rejecting, as did our forefathers, the claim of monarchy, we view with indignation the purpose of England to overwhelm with force the South African Republics. Speaking, as we do, for the entire American nation, except its Republican oil ice-holders, and for all free men everywhere, we extend our sympathies to the heroic burghers in their unsqual struggle to maintain their liberty and independence.'

The main issues, then, which divide the two parties in the present struggle are : (1) The question of Imperialism ; (2) the treatment of ' Trusts,' which the Republicans dare not suppress, since it is on the owners of ' Trusts ' that they depend largely for their support ; and (3) the money question — i.e., the question whether there is to be a gold and silver standard or a gold standard only. "We have not space to go into the very interesting question of Bimetallism involved in this last issue, but we" may state very briefly

what it is precisely that the Silver party demand. At present gold is the only legal tender in America, and all debts above a trifling amount are payable in gold coin. The supply of gold is, of course, limited, and the effect of this and of its being the only legal tender is that the value of gold is steadily rising, so that a debtor whose debt extends over any length of time is in reality compelled to pay far more to his creditor than is actually due. Mr. Bryan and the Democrats believe that this injustice lies at the root of half the troubles and difficulties experienced by the farmers ami the industrial classes, and they propose to remedy matters by the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of 1G to 1. That is, they propose that silver shall be legal tender to any amount at the ratio named, so that a debt which formerly could only have been paid in the money represented by an ounce of gold could under the new state of things be paid also in the money represented by sixteen ounces of silver. That is, very briefly and baldly, the position taken up by the Silver party, and it was in giving expression to these views that Mr. Bryan made use of the metaphor : ' You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.' Of the three issues above mentioned, undoubtedly the great outstanding paramount issue in the present struggle is that of Imperialism. The Democratic platform, while enumerating a great many important planks, emphatically declared this to be the burning question, striking as it did at the very structure of the government of the country. The Republicans were at first quite willing to have it so, but they have apparently found that they are not very safe on that issue, as tne late cables published in the daily papers indicate that they are making strenuous efforts to divert public attention to the Silver question as the dominant issue. Such an attempt, made at the eleventh hour, is in itself a flag of distress.

Will Mr. Bryan win ? A few months ago there would have been only one answer to the question, but even the Republicans admit that the result of the election is low quite a matter of doubt. It is true that the forces arrayed on the Republican side are very strong. Mr. McKinley will have the unanimous support of the capitalists and merchants who are interested in maintaining the gold (standard ;' of the 'rings' and ' trusts' who look to him for a continuance of their lease of life ; of the representatives of army interests, who have everything to gain from his Imperialistic policy ; and of the great army of office-holders who depend on him for all they have in the world. The interests at work for Mr. Bryan certainly do not look quite so formidable. He will have the support of the great body of Western farmers and a large portion of the middle classes. He will secure the lion's share of what is called the German- American vote, which has hitherto been cast on the Republican side, and will receive also strong support from the anti-English party, which is very numerous in the United States. These will at least enable him to make a heavy poll. But there is an influence at work for the Democratic cause which is more potent than any of these, and which sooner or later is bound to tell. Mr. Bryan's true strength lies not in the support of this or that section or party, but in the fact that he is the leader of the huge army of the toilers, who are filled with a ' noble discontent ' with the hardships and inequalities of their lot. They work hard, they are free citizens of a great Republic, and they believe they have a right to something more than food and lodging. They want more comfort, more freedom from care, more command of the things which make up the dignity of life, and Mr. Bryan and hia party alone hold out any promise of giving what they want. The influence of labor may be slow in growth and organisation, but its effect will be all the more sure. The American Republic has its own destiny to fulfil, and it was not established and fcaved at the cost of a million lives and a thousand millions of money merely to produce successive crops of Astohs and Vandeubilts. The revolt against the tyranny of capital, which has been so consistently and heartlessly abused in the United States, is destined to play an important part in the future of the country ; and even though the Democratic candidate should fail "on this occasion, the indications are that Mr. Bryan, or his successor as leader of the party, will be a sure President in the election of 1904..