neither time nor money to spend in the lobby."'-' 

 The Independents, however, had their own strong 

 candidate, VVilham V. Allen, who won the Senate 

 seat with help from Bryan Democrats in the legisla- 

 ture. To a degree, the election of Allen was a victory 

 for Bryan, since the new Senator was favorable to 

 fusion and opposed to both of the old party organiza- 

 tions.'-^ In the meantime, Bryan's men took the 

 offensive in working for control of the state Demo- 

 cratic Party. '-^ In retaliation for Bryan's insurgency. 

 President Cleveland gave control of the Nebraska 

 patronage to J. Sterling Morton and appointed the 

 latter as Secretary of Agriculture.'^" The extent of 

 support for Bryan in 1893 was very encouraging, but 

 the political situation in Nebraska indicated the need 

 for continued work among adherents of the third 

 party. 



Bryan stumped Nebraska in the fall of 1894, hoping 

 again for a seat in the United States Senate. Despite 

 the fact that his campaign would have no direct 

 impact on the election itself, Bryan wished to demon- 

 strate his own popularity to the Nebraska legislators. 



'2' Ibid., letter from J. D. Calhoun, of Lincoln, to Bryan, 

 January 23, 1893. Other accounts of this confused situation 

 in the state legislature are contained in letters from T. S. Allen, 

 February 4 and 6, 1893, to Bryan. A letter from T. \V". Worrell 

 on February 6 and 9, to Bryan, describes the maneuverings 

 of J. Sterling Morton and the corporations in this strange 

 affair. 



12< Ibid., letter from T. S. Allen, of Lincoln, on February 

 8, 1893, to Bryan: "I think it is safe to say [Senator William 

 V. Allen] will work with you on every question & you can 

 depend on his support & influence in future campaigns here." 



'25 Ibid., C. D. Casper, of Lincoln, wrote to Bryan on Feb- 

 ruary 8, 1893: "We propose to reorganize the party. I am 

 going to organize the democratic editors and possibly the 

 independent editors with a view to future work in joint service. 

 Morton and Boyd both hate you." Many other letters among 

 the Bryan papers suggest the eagerness of young Democrats 

 to "cut loose from . . . old fossils." 



'26 Bryan's friends were furious with Morton because of his 

 devious tactics in connection with the senatorial election: 

 see Bryan papers, letter from H. M. Boydston on January 25, 

 1893, to Bryan, for a severe criticism of Morton. For certain 

 details on the ideological basis of the break between Bryan and 

 Morton, see Kenneth E. McIntyre, "The Morton-Bryan 

 Controversy" (master's thesis. University of Nebraska: 1943). 

 An investigation by Senator Henry M. Teller demonstrated 

 that Cleveland had deliberately postponed appointing appli- 

 cants to work against Bryan on the state level. See Ellis, 

 Henry Aloore Teller, p. 219. Some Bryan supporters urged the 

 young man to ignore Cleveland's blatant attempt to use 

 patronage against him. See J. D. Calhoun's letter on March 

 6, 1893, to Bryan preferring not to press his candidacy for the 

 postmastership at Lincoln. 



He was apparently hopeful that a massive indication 

 of his power as a votegetter would influence the 

 legislature in his favor, and that his canvass might 

 aid in the election of Democratic candidates for state 

 offices.'-'' Support for Bryan's candidacy seemed 

 general and enthusiastic, and many friends urged 

 him to visit their communities. One man wrote of 

 the immense opportunities for winning votes at 

 Broken Bow in central Nebraska: "We want you to 

 come & meet our people take them by the hand that 

 they may see the man who is not afraid to defend 

 and work for the West .... We must have enough 

 votes in Lincoln this winter to send W. J. Bryan to 

 the U.S. Senate. We need help." '^* Reed Runroy, 

 Nebraska's boy poet, predicted a Bryan victory in the 

 Senate race: "And from there I see you stepping into 

 the president's chair . . . ." '^' Bryan's campaign- 

 ing in 1894 followed the familiar pattern, but instead 

 of stumping a single congressional district, Bryan 



12' Bryan papers, J. C. Ecker of Dixon, to Bryan, September 5, 

 1894. C. J. .Smyth, chairman of the Democratic State Central 

 Committee, published an appeal in the Omaha World-Herald, 

 asking voters to back Democratic candidates for the Nebraska 

 Legislature in order that Bryan would be chosen as Senator 

 instead of the Republican aspirant. Paolo E. Coletta, "Bryan, 

 Cleveland, and the Disrupted Democracy, 1890-1896," Nebraska 

 History (March 1960), vol. 31, p. 15, argues that Bryan's situation 

 at this time was almost a direct parallel to the campaign of 1896. 

 This article effectively surveys the split in the Nebraska Demo- 

 cratic Party and the implications of this dispute for the national 

 party. 



'2s Bryan papers, letters from S. B. Thompson to Bryan, 

 September 5, 1894. Bryan's friends in other parts of the state 

 were anxious for him to visit their communities. See, for 

 example, letter from John L. Cleaver, Falls City, to Bryan, 

 October 13, 1894. M. H. Weiss of Hebron, wrote on October 

 6, 1894: "We are sparing neither time nor money to carry this 

 Co. for you and we will do the same to make your meetings a 

 success." 



' 29 Bryan papers, letter from Reed Runroy to Bryan, October 

 6,1894. Encouragement also came from out of state. Josephus 

 Daniels, a prominent young southern Democrat, favored Bryan, 

 and James B. Weaver, the Populist presidential candidate in 

 1892, was interested in the young man's future. See Bryan 

 papers, letter from Josephus Daniels to Bryan, September 19, 

 1894. On September 1, Weaver wrote to Bryan, "Synthesis — 

 not division is the order of God and of common sense." See 

 also, Weaver to Bryan, September 30, urging unity among the 

 silver forces and fostering division in the ranks of the gold 

 people. Typical of the enthusiastic letters received by Bryan 

 from ordinary voters was an encouraging epistle from Edwin C. 

 Wiggenham of La Crosse, Wisconsin, dated October 15, 1894: 

 "Knowing your habit of capturing everything you start out to 

 get, I congratulate you in advance .... If you win this 

 fight the presidency is not beyond your reach." A Missou- 

 rian, hoping to persuade Bryan to speak in that state, wrote: 



68 



BULLETIN 24 1: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



