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Show BRYAN'S OPTIMISM. Secretary Bryan, the Mark Tapley of the administration, is back in Washington Washing-ton as chippor and cheerful as ho al-sravq al-sravq Is after nn electron, no matter what the result. Mr. Bryan can always extract comfort out of the most trying political situation, and he is so used to defeat that he takes it as a matter of course and turns his attention to the next campaign, when tho voters are sure to accept his views as to the proper policy for the national government govern-ment to pursue. Mr. Bryan does not. admit defeat of the Democratic party on the 3rd of the present month. On the contrary, he claims a victory and predicts the re election of President Wilson in 1016. The loss of New York and Ohio, to say nothing of Illinois, Kansas and some of the other states with Democratic administrations, ad-ministrations, does not appear to have any influence upon the secretary's mind, for he counts President Wilson in. notwithstanding the almost certain loss of all the states having a large number of electoral votes, lie used to do that very thing when he was a candidate can-didate himself, and so contracted the habit. The view of Mr. Bryan concerning the future of the Progressives is prob ably correct. Most ot tnem Lavo gone back into tho Republican party and the remainder will be absorbed by the Democrats, leaving only two great parties in tho field for the campaign two years hence. lie is wide of tho mark, however, in asserting that "reactionaries" "re-actionaries" will control the Republican Republi-can party. While some of the men who were responsible for the defeat of Tal't in 1P12 have been re-elected, they w.il cut absolutely no figure in the future. Mr. Penrose, although leader of the Republican members of tho senate linance committee, will not have the sole say as to w-hat shall be done in the matter of tariff revision. Indeed, it is quito probable that when the Republicans Republi-cans regain control of the senate they will reconstruct the finance committee, at least so far as their own members : are concerned. j "Uncle .loe" Cannon is a very 0I.i J ir.an, and while he iloubte rs retains the views he held when speaker of the house, that fact will not have anv influence in-fluence upon the Republicans when they come into their own and take control. Senator Penrose nnd former Sneaker Cannon are Republicans, but Mr. Bryan cannot make his assertion good that the Pennsylvania senator will bo the sole representative of the partv in the senate. There are any number of strong, brniny men in the Republican party who hold seats in congress, and the mistakes made while Mr. Taft was president will not be ro-peated. ro-peated. Clearly tho wish is father to the thought so far as Secretary Bryan is concerned. There will be no lack of Republican leaders when the time for action arrives, ar-rives, but the Democrats will have no band in selecting them by pointing to this man or that and imposing him upon the party by continual iteration. Mr. Bryan succeeded in turning that trick in Nebraska several years ago when he had a notion that a senatorial toga would hang gracefully from his shoulders. He put John M. Thurston forward as. the Republican leader and the logical candidate for senator, thinking think-ing a railroad attorney would be easy to defeat. Thurston saw his chance and thrust himself into the breach. The Nebraska Republicans finally came to believe that he was the actual leader I of the party in the state, and after a vigorous campaign sent him to tho sen-ate sen-ate and Bryan was left to chew the cud of disappointment. Thurston was a brilliant man in many respects, but he. lasted only one term, although the state remained Republican for many years. Mr. Bryan is entitled to all the satisfaction satis-faction he can derive from the result of the elections, but ho has been mistaken so often that only the merest tyro would take his political politi-cal prognostications at their face value. He has two years ahead of him as secretary sec-retary of state, and may be able to accomplish some good if he attends strictly to the duties of his office. Iu the meantime he should beware of making mak-ing predictions as to what will happen io 1916 or setting his heart upon the presidency, for the road to the White house is longer than the road to Tip-peraiv. |