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Show ' t8 St JR, A ff Ra rflo' fififl sft. ofta fl& s 1 ; DEMOCRATS IIP li i AIR AFTER JACKSON ; "bjhquet surprise 1 President Makes No Mention ; cf Third Term or An Early I ' ' Retirement WILL BRYAN BECOME CANDIDATE? QUESTION t Lodge Says That Wilson Letter j Makes Agreement on Peace I Treaty Impossible j WASHINGTON, Jan. 9. President II Wilson's decision that the league of m nations Issue should be placed before m the voters as "a solemn referendum," , nnd William J. Bryan's contention that the Democratic party cannot go before m the country on the question but should m accept such compromises "as may be I- possible" are tho twin surprises of JL the conclave of party chieftains which v found its climax in the annual Jackson m. Day dinner. I The president's message to the par-M par-M ty, written from -the sick room in the I "White House, made no lnention of a I third term for himself and no an- nouncement of an impending rctire-1 rctire-1 ment to private life, as many had pre-f pre-f dieted it would. 1 Bryan Takes Issue, j Mr. Bryan's speech, taking definite I issue with the president'sdecision on 1 tho great question, was accompanied f by a statement that he was not speak-L speak-L iiig as a candidate for the presidential r nomination. Many of the Democrat I diners freely said that portion was I distinct s.urpLiso;to them., f Today the rank and file of the Demit Dem-it ocratic party as well as the leaders m throughout the country are studying the opposite announcements of the ! two national leaders and are attempt-; attempt-; ; ing to assess their effect on the par- ty's fortunes at the nominating con-, con-, : vention which will be held in San i Francisco June 28th and at the polls ! : next November. : Many political observers feel that it is yet too early to accurately estimate 1 the position in which the cleavage be" ! iween the president and tho foremost Democrat in private life leaves the party. They feel that the situation '. must settle down a little and that the opinions of the rank and file must be 1 ; sounded. What Will Happen? m !: Whether the position of the two ' men, definitely announced, means a I fight in tho national conventiun rerui-i L niscent of the spectacular battle in I Baltimore in 1012 when Mr. Bryan I forced the president's nomination, a none of the party leaders Is willing to l predict for publication. I Sentiment nmong the Democratic t" leaders at the Jackson dinner as ex- pressed in their speeches, seemed to m . be divided between support ot tnei ftjm ' president's position and Mr, Bryan's zM . position, while some of the men who' IH )' are in the list of nominating possibili- M 'j ties did not touch on the subject at all.! l . It seems agreed that Mr. Bryan's I p argument that the treaty should be i ; ' ratified with such compromises as may : be possible will give a tremendous ini-petus ini-petus to the movement which steadily , ; has Seen going on in the undercur- j rents of the senate for a compromise of all factions in putting through the ; covenant. ; President Wilson's reiteration that igj there can be no reasonable objection (fl ' to interpretations to "say what the un- ilfl 5 doubted meaning of the league is," it fl J is thought by some of those on. both i? ' sides of the contest, may speed the movement- M 'i Senator Lodge, the Republican lead- I er, and foremost in the fight against ratification of the treaty without res- .fl " eiwalions, takes a wholly opposite -J view and has issued a statement de- H 'i claring the president's message makes impossible the hope that the senate vVff) might compose its differences and rat- H 1 ify the treaty "protected by the princi-pies princi-pies set forth in the fourteen reserva- jS An appeal to the people at the polls, iH the Republican senate leader declared lH : in his statement, would . to him "bo most cordially welcome." |