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Show BRYAN ONCE LIEU PARKER r Change Doe to Letter From firover. .Could Not Find Any Par-. Par-. ticular Fault in Him. I Until His Arch. Enemy Smiled on the Judg-c, and Then All Was Off Brynn Will Bolt. Special to The Tribune. WASHINGTON, May 5. Bryan's attack on Judge Parker, at the time when the Democracy of the country was preparing Itself to accept the Parker candidacy as a matter of fact, has stirred up more trouble hmuthe politicians arc able to handle, ami some of them are well nigh frantic. Some of JTr. Bryan's closest friends denounce the Chicago speech and say it was not only not called for nor becoming, becom-ing, but that by it Mr. Bryan has proved that he Is guided by his enmlty for Hill and Cleveland nnd not by a high sense of public duty. Once Was Pleased With Parker. It is pointed out that Bryan wanted Parker for his running mate early In 1900. He had several friends write to Jurige Parker and obtain an expression frotx him on the subject of the Vice- Presidency. One of these, J. T. Woods Merrill, prominent In business circles in Kansas City, says that Mr. Bryan requested him to communicate with Parker on this subject and he says he has Judge Parker's letter in reply. This letter, so far as it deals on the subject, rends: "The compliment implied In your telegram tele-gram Is very much appreciated, but I have no ambition whatever for political ofTlce, whether Executlve-or Legislative. Indeed, my only ambition is to serve the people of the State faithfully In the Judicial ofllce to which they elected me In 1897." Early in this year Mr. Merrill says he wrote to Mr. Bryan and asked if he had any objections to Judge Parker ns u candidate for the Presidency, and Mr. Bryan replied: "I am Investigating Judge Parkor. but I do not think there is any general objection that applies to him." Cleveland's letter Fired Him. Now it appears that Mr. Bryan continued con-tinued to entertain no "gencrai objection" objec-tion" to Judge Parker, even vthile he vas known to be the protege of David Bennett Hill, until the Nebraskan's arch enemy, G rover Cleveland, threw some bouquets at Parker and said he would be acceptable to him for the Presidency. Then Mr. Bryan began a row. He addressed ad-dressed letters to his friends in several States, it Is said, and pointed out Haws In the composition of Judge Parker that he had been unable to (Observe before the former President turned the calcium on him. For two or three weeks he raved through his newspaper and while on the road in his lecture tour he made it a point to tell his friends Judge Parker would not do. This means of publicity did not seem to satisfy Mr. Bryan, and as the Parker Par-ker boom grew and the Hearst boom faded it became apparent to Mr. Bryan that he must do something unusual to prevent the party becoming stampeded to the New York Judge. Chicago Speech. Settled It. He rented a hall and delivered himself of a diatribe that, .while It has caused no one to tremble, seems to have killed off Judge Parker. At once the newspapers of the country coun-try and tho anti-Hearst people declared that It would be folly to nominate Parker Par-ker that Bryan would bolt him and carry tho bolt Ho a continuous war on the stump. Some friends of Dryan declined to believe their leader would go so far, and one of them at Indianapolis asked him what was his purpose In this matter. mat-ter. The reply was a confirmation, it is believed, of the public suspicion. Mr. Bryan wrote his Indiana friend a brief note. He said: "No self-respecting man can say, in advance of a political convention, that he will support the nominee of the convention, con-vention, no difference who he may be. or the platform, no matter what It may contain." That letter not only has cost the Democratic reorganlzers much loss of sleep, butl t has also cost Mr. Bryan many friends. He Is now classed as a bolter, unless he can rule, and the fight is to be to the finish. |
