The Map of Bryanism. -- William Howard Taft against William
Jennings Bryan. -- A Move to Preserve Democracy.--Some
Crisp Correspondence.

MR. PULITZER usually entered upon a presi-
dential campaign with extraordinary zest.
That of 1908 was destined to be his last. Looking
toward the next year, in November, 1907, he wrote
Cobb:

Try to have a sense of humor. You used to give
some glimpse of it until lately. I am no doubt re-
sponsible. Semi-seriously and semi-satirically take up
both Roosevelt's and Bryan's program of new legislation
concerning capital, credit, banks, currency, railroads,
trusts and of course, general business. Assume that
both were President of the United States (on the Swiss
plan) and enumerate the various laws they propose and
see what would be left of the country.

The " Roosevelt panic" had run its course and per-
haps more than any other factor led to his determi-
nation to avoid renomination. He had made George
B. Cortelyou his secretary of the treasury, to Mr.
Pulitzer's great wrath. "Is Mr. Cortelyou the man
for the present emergency?" he asked. "And was it
not a great mistake to place him where he is simply
because he was a clever wire-puller and knew the
political ropes, when the country needs a student, a

-323-