Life — June 24, 1915 — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

& JUNE 24, 1915 ‘While there ts Life there's Hope"* VOL. 65 (No. 1704 Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY J. A. Mitcnett, Pres’t. A, Mitute, Sec’y and Treas. 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York English Office, Rolls House, Breams Bldgs, London, EF. C. wat a wonderful dispensation of Providence it was that lifted 3 William Bryan so gently, spectacu- larly and opportunely out of the Cabinet where months ago he had ceased to be useful, and placed him where he will ; himself be alone responsible for his opinions and deport- ment! Oh, what a blessed relief it is to have this worthy but misguiding brother de- tached from a situation where he seemed to speak and act for the American people and restored to that freedom which belongs to folks who speak only for themselves! It was not worth the cruel loss of the Lusitania to have it happen, but it was worth very much. And to have it done voluntarily, without a quarrel, by Mr, Bryan himself was almost a kinder fortune than we deserved. It could not well have been done otherwise than by the free will of the Departed, for truly his merits and deserts have been considerable. His usefulness and loyalty as a member of Mr. Wilson's Cabinet have exceeded the expectations even of those politi- cians who approved his appointment. Really, Mr. Bryan has been very good, He has helped the administration as much as he could (sometimes to great purpose) and has lived in personal urbanity with his fellow cabineteers. He has, of course, been an impedi- ment to business and an anxious care as Secretary of State, but as a work- ing member of the administration he has probably been worth his cost. The opinion that “his appointment as Secre- tary of State was a colossai blunder” (Boston Transcript) is not sound at all. His appointment has proved a great success and his voluntary re- tirement is the shining crown of it. in the days when this Republic be- gan it was served, and with great efficiency, by a galaxy of statesmen who had firm minds and (most of them) loose morals. Mr. Bryan is an example of the. opposite sort. His morals are firm, but his mind is loose. It sees part of a subject vividly, but the rest it skips, It is a good agitator mind, and it is in agitation that Mr. Bryan has made his fortune. He has never had to be responsible for any- thing but language, and not much for that, He has lots of talent and cylin- ders enough for a great man, but when he trusts his mind it plays tricks on him and beguiles him with mistaken conclu- sions and proposals. He does well only when he has a competent leader and sticks to him. He found such a leader for the first time in Mr. Wilson, whose mind is an entirely different organ from his, and it is to Mr. Bryan’s credit that he has been so pleased with Mr, Wilson’s leadership and has stuck to him so long. But in the very act of fetching. loose from him he demon- strates what he has so often demon- strated before, that he is a quack statesman, QUACK he always has been, and no doubt will always be, not because he does not love the truth, but because he cannot see enough of it. He scems a sincere man fooled by a deluding mind. His sincerity, his brass, his vigor, his talent, his human sym- pathies, his voice and his vivid and tenacious perception of what he sees make him a leader, and then his de- luded mind twists him into a quack Prophet, The papers complain of what he has done and the way he did i Nonsense! He had to do it. That's the way he is made. It is a great thing to have him raise his blessed old standard again. If all the political goats presently flock to it we shall know where they are and how many. Things are no longer as they were when the Democrats had no other leader, Lately Mr. Bryan has been keeping out of the Democratic party new recruits who wanted to come in. If presently he sets up as rival candi- date to Mr. Wilson we may sce the great realignment of voters which has seemed to be impending. It is possi- ble, however, that Mr. Bryan will quit party politics and devote himself to the improverrent of the habits of his countrymen and their advance in religion, Mr. Lansing may be his successor. Or perhaps Colonel House! Is there anyone else? Mr. Lansing is admir- able technically and in spirit; Colonel House would be mighty usefui as a politician and diplomat. He has a very small appetite for office, but there are reasons why the President may think him the best pinch-hitter for the pres- ent juncture. But whoever succeeds to the office now vacant, the mind and will that shall direct our diplomatic concerns for some time to come will be Mr. Wilson’s, and the fittest man to succeed Mr, Bryan will be the man who can best help the President. Mr. Bryan has explained that the second Lusitania letter did not have enough arbitration in it to satisfy his peace proclivities, But that seems to have troubled no one else. The letter is admirable, very gentle and urbane in its phrasing, careful in every syllable, but of a due and definite insistency and penetration, Praise be to the Divinity that has thus shaped this end of our rough-hewn affairs! Under Mr. Wilson’s leadership we shall do our duty. Under Mr, Bryan's leader-