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diff --git a/old/53191-0.txt b/old/53191-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4f1ffff..0000000 --- a/old/53191-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4929 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, William Jennings Bryan, by Harvey Ellsworth -Newbranch - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: William Jennings Bryan - A Concise But Complete Story of His Life and Services - - -Author: Harvey Ellsworth Newbranch - - - -Release Date: October 2, 2016 [eBook #53191] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN*** - - -E-text prepared by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 53191-h.htm or 53191-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/53191/53191-h/53191-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/53191/53191-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/williamjenningsb00newbr - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - - - -WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN - -A Concise But Complete Story of His Life and Services - -by - -HARVEY E. NEWBRANCH - - - - - - - -Lincoln, Nebraska -The University Publishing Co. -1900 - -Copyrighted, 1900, by Harvey E. Newbranch. All rights reserved. - -[Illustration] - -Jacob North & Co., Printers -Lincoln, Neb. - - - - - DEDICATED - - TO - - THE BRAVE AND PATRIOTIC LEADER - - OF - - AN HONEST AND INTELLIGENT ELECTORATE - - William Jennings Bryan - - OF - - NEBRASKA - - - - - PREFACE - - -The author of this little volume, in giving it to the reading public, -feels called on for a few words by way of explanation and apology. - -The book is written because there seems to be a field for it. Within the -last few months hundreds of thousands of American citizens have come to -see William Jennings Bryan in a new light. As a result, while they no -longer believe him a demagogue, some still hesitate to accept him as a -statesman. While they have ceased to denounce him as an anarchist, some -are slow to realize that he stands with Andrew Jackson and Abraham -Lincoln as one of the great conservators of American institutions. - -Especially for the benefit of this class of his fellow citizens this -little “life” of Mr. Bryan is published. For it is claimed no literary -merit other than a conscientious attempt at clearness, and no historical -excellence save a strict adherence to the truth in the statement of -facts. The work has had to be hurriedly done and at irregular intervals, -and the one object aimed at has been to acquaint the reader with Mr. -Bryan’s character through a narration of his life work. - -It is candidly admitted that the book is written in a friendly and -sympathetic vein. To the author’s thinking Mr. Bryan’s personality is -one of the most beautiful and well-rounded in American history, and his -noble characteristics are dwelt on only because they exist and deserve -to be understood. - -To many of Mr. Bryan’s old-time friends in Lincoln the author is under -obligations for valuable assistance. Among these may be especially -mentioned Mr. Harry T. Dobbins, Judge J. H. Broady, Mr. T. S. Allen, and -Mr. W. F. Schwind. Others have contributed to a greater or less degree, -and to all due thanks and acknowledgements are hereby rendered. - - HARVEY E. NEWBRANCH. - - Lincoln, Neb., August 29, 1900. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - Introductory 5 - Early Life 9 - In Congress 19 - The Tariff 30 - The Rise of the Silver Issue 40 - The Presidential Candidate 53 - New Issues 68 - Renomination 94 - The Indianapolis Speech 114 - Bryan: the Man 148 - Home Life 164 - - - - - INTRODUCTORY - - -About the life and services of William Jennings Bryan will be centered -the labors of those who, in future time, shall contribute to the pages -of history the story of American states-craft and political tendencies -of the dying days of the nineteenth century and the opening decade of -the twentieth. The historian who has to do with Bryan and his times will -deal not only with one of the most momentous and important periods of -American history, but with one of the most remarkable and interesting -characters whose name adorns its pages. - -It is not generally while the battle of ideas and ideals is on, it is -but rarely during the developing period of great political and social -movements, that their relative and ultimate importance may be judged; -and it is as seldom, during the lifetime of a public man, whose name is -identified and whose services are associated with the great issues which -constitute the line of demarcation in the field of political thought, -that his true character, his strength, and his weaknesses, may be -appreciated or understood. - -In the study of man and of history a proper sense of perspective is as -all-essential as in the limner’s art. The warrior who, with heart -aflame, strives on a great battlefield, can know but little of the -terrible grandeur of the whole, and still less of the import of the -movements of battalions, regiments, and corps. It remains for him who, -from an eminence of distance or of time, surveys impartially the entire -field, to comprehend its sublimities and horrors, and to appreciate the -full significance of its waging and its outcome. And even so, of -necessity, it is most difficult for us who live in the American -republic, at this century’s sunset, to be able or even willing rightly -to appreciate the full import of movements in the advancement or -retarding of which each bears howsoever humble a part. Too frequently in -politics, as in battle, men do fiercely strive with blinded eyes and -deafened ears, and they sometimes wildly strike at him who is their -friend. - -And yet there are many things in the life of a public man which his -neighbors and associates can not fail of knowing, and which, when -interpreted, permit his contemporaries to estimate the quality of his -character, even though they may not know the full value of his public -services. In every man, of whatever station, there are elements and -traits which prominently stand forth. These, with such things as he has -done and the words which he has spoken, constitute the material from -which we may form our concepts of his worth. - -In William Jennings Bryan are certain traits so prominent and -unmistakable that he who runs may read. They have been well revealed, in -few words, by Judge Edgar Howard, of Papillion, Neb. In a speech -delivered before the Jacksonian Club of Omaha, on July 15, 1900, Judge -Howard said: - -“Reverently I say it, that while I do not worship the man, I do worship -those traits in him that, as I read the book, stand unparalleled in -politics. There is not a man of you here or anywhere to be found who has -the nerve to speak a profane or vulgar word in the presence of our -candidate for President. Nor does a man dare suggest a move on the -political chess-board that honor will not approve. He brightens and -betters all those who come in contact with him, no matter who they be. -Then why should we not go before the world and preach this man—the -personification of purity, clean in all things—as well as his -principles?” - -In this little volume it will be attempted to tell briefly the story of -this American’s life and the movements with which he has been -associated. The tale must be hurriedly moulded into form, and we fear -its rough lines and its crudities will be all too apparent. And yet, -withal, it will be the result of sincere endeavor to aid his -fellow-citizens to know William Jennings Bryan even as he is. It is, we -believe, a laudable design, however poorly executed. For here, on the -farther side of the brown and swift Missouri, there dwells a man of -virile and rugged qualities, typically American and truly Western, the -story of whose life is a wondrous inspiration to every citizen of the -Republic and a monument to the uplifting force of right living and high -ideals. For it tells that even in the politics of to-day, honeycombed -with cant, hypocrisy, and insincerity, absolute honesty of motive and -candor of statement is still no bar to the truest leadership and the -highest advancement. It tells further of the marvelous opportunities of -humble American citizenship, demonstrating once more, as in Abraham -Lincoln’s time, that to the man of conscience, brains, and courage, the -highest walks of life are open; to which neither poverty nor obscurity -is a bar. And finally it tells of the great potential power of the idea, -unaided and even bitterly opposed, when forcefully and sincerely stated, -to win its way to the hearts of humankind. - -And so it is that to such as will honestly study William Jennings -Bryan’s career, and learn the lesson that it teaches, must come hope and -inspiration and promise of the dawn. For whether he ever hold high -political office or not; whether or not, in the crucible of time, his -political faith prove true or prove fallacious; his life still teaches -that courage and plain honesty may win for a public man such following -and support, such exalted place in the hearts of his countrymen, as has -never yet rewarded the tricks and wiles of even the most brilliant of -opportunists. - - - - - EARLY LIFE - - -William Bryan, the great-grandfather of the presidential nominee, the -first of the Bryans known to the present generation, lived in Culpepper -county, Va. In his family there were three children. One of these, John -Bryan, was the grandfather of William Jennings Bryan. In 1807 John -married Nancy Lillard. To this couple ten children were born. One of -these was Silas L. Bryan, the father of William Jennings Bryan. - -He was born in Sperryville, Culpepper county, Va., in 1822. In 1834 he -came west, working his way through the public schools, finally entering -McKendree College, at Lebanon, Ill., and graduating with honors in 1849. -After graduating, he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began his -practice in Salem, Marion county, Ill. In 1852 he was married to Mariah -Elizabeth Jennings. In 1860, he was elected to the circuit bench, where -he served twelve years. In 1872 he was nominated for Congress on the -Democratic ticket, receiving the endorsement of the Greenback party. He -died March 30, 1880, and was buried in the cemetery of his much beloved -town, Salem. - -The union of Silas Bryan and Mariah Jennings was blessed on March 19, -1860, by the birth of William Jennings Bryan, twice the Democratic -nominee for President of the United States. - -When William Jennings Bryan was six years old, his parents moved to -their farm in the vicinity of Salem. Until he was ten years of age his -parents taught him at home, hoping thus to mould his young mind to -better advantage. At ten years of age William entered the public schools -of Salem. There he attended until he was fifteen, when he entered -Whipple Academy, Jacksonville, Ill., in the fall of 1875. Two years -later he entered Illinois College, and with this step a new life began. - -His parents wished him to take a classical course with its Latin, Greek, -mathematics, and geometry. This he did. He was, too, an earnest student -of political economy. During his first year at the Academy, he delivered -Patrick Henry’s masterpiece, and was ranked well down toward the “foot.” -Again in the second year, nothing daunted by his failure to be at the -“head,” he selected “The Palmetto and the Pine” as his subject. This -time he was third, with a large number following. Later in his second -year he delivered “Bernado del Carpio” and gained second prize. In his -sophomore and junior years, his essays upon “Labor” and “Individual -Powers” were each awarded first prize. The winning of the junior prize -entitled him to represent Illinois College in the intercollegiate -oratorical contest, which was held at Galesburg, Ill., in the fall of -1880. His oration was upon “Justice,” which received the second prize of -fifty dollars. At the time of graduation, he was elected class orator, -and delivered the valedictory. - -It was here, in his junior year that he first met his wife, Miss Mary -Baird, of Perry, Ill., and she, speaking of her first impression, says, -“I saw him first in the parlors of the young ladies’ school which I -attended in Jacksonville. He entered the room with several other -students, was taller than the rest, and attracted my attention at once. -His face was pale and thin; a pair of keen, dark eyes looked out from -beneath heavy eyebrows; his nose was prominent—too large to look well, I -thought; a broad, thin-lipped mouth and a square chin completed the -contour of his face. I noted particularly his hair and smile. The -former, black in color, fine in quality, and parted distressingly -straight. In later years his smile has been the subject of considerable -comment. Upon one occasion a heartless observer was heard to remark, -‘That man can whisper in his own ear,’ but this was cruel exaggeration.” - -The graduating exercises of Illinois College were in June, 1881. The -valedictory is given below, not because it possesses great merit, but in -order to show his style and the turn of his mind at the time. - -“Beloved instructors, it is character not less than intellect that you -have striven to develop. As we stand at the end of our college course, -and turn our eyes toward the scenes forever past, as our memories linger -on the words of wisdom which have fallen from your lips, we are more and -more deeply impressed with the true conception of duty which you have -ever shown. You have sought not to trim the lamp of genius until the -light of morality is paled by its dazzling brilliance, but to encourage -and strengthen both. These days are over. No longer shall we listen to -your warning voices, no more meet you in these familiar classrooms, yet -on our hearts ‘deeply has sunk the lesson’ you have given, and it shall -not soon depart. - -“We thank you for your kind and watchful care, and shall ever cherish -your teachings with that devotion which sincere gratitude inspires. - -“It is fitting that we express to you also, honored trustees, our -gratitude for the privileges which you have permitted us to enjoy. - -“The name of the institution whose interest you guard will ever be dear -to us as the schoolroom, to whose influence we shall trace whatever -success coming years may bring. - -“Dear classmates, my lips refuse to bid you a last good-bye; we have so -long been joined together in a community of aims and interests; so often -met and mingled our thoughts in confidential friendship; so often -planned and worked together, that it seems like rending asunder the very -tissues of a heart to separate us now. - -“But this long and happy association is at an end, and now as we go -forth in sorrow, as each one must, to begin alone the work which lies -before us, let us encourage each other with strengthening words. - -“Success is brought by continued labor and continued watchfulness. We -must struggle on, not for one moment hesitate, nor take one backward -step; for in the language of the poet: - -[Illustration: MRS. BRYAN] - - ‘The gates of hell are open night and day, - Smooth the descent and easy is the way; - But to return and view the cheerful skies, - In this, the past and mighty labor lies.’ - -We launch our vessels upon the uncertain sea of life alone, yet not -alone, for around us are friends who anxiously and prayerfully watch our -course. They will rejoice if we arrive safely at our respective havens, -or weep with bitter tears if, one by one, our weather-beaten barks are -lost forever in the surges of the deep. - -“We have esteemed each other, loved each other, and now must with each -other part. God grant that we may all so live as to meet in the better -world, where parting is unknown. - -“Halls of learning, fond Alma Mater, farewell. We turn to take our -‘last, long, lingering look’ at the receding walls. We leave thee now to -be ushered out into the varied duties of an active life. - -“However high our names may be inscribed upon the gilded scroll of fame, -to thee we all the honor give, to thee all the praises bring. And when, -in after years, we’re wearied by the bustle of the busy world, our -hearts will often long to turn and seek repose beneath thy sheltering -shade.” - -In September, 1881, William Jennings Bryan entered the Union College of -Law at Chicago. Out of school hours his time was spent in the office of -ex-Senator Lyman Trumbull, who had been a great friend of young Bryan’s -father. His vacation and summer months were spent on the farm, and it -was these years of rugged, outdoor life which gave to his manhood that -vigor, stability, and splendid physique so helpful to him in his life as -a student and in his work since he has left college. - -Mr. Bryan stood well in the law school, taking an especial interest in -constitutional law. He was also connected with the debating society of -the college and took an active part in its meetings. - -At the age of twenty-three Mr. Bryan finished a collegiate course and -started in life for himself, leaving the farm, robust and ambitious, to -grow in the knowledge of his profession. His parents were devout -Christians and members of the Baptist Church. So Mr. Bryan was early -taught those principles of right and wrong, justice, equality, and the -advantages of a pure life. His father’s example convinced him that the -old saying that “no honest man can become a lawyer” was a myth and a -mistake. And on July 4, 1883, William Jennings Bryan began the practice -of his profession in Jacksonville, Ill. - -Stocked with a liberal education, a conscience void of offense, a -character unsullied, and an ambition to know the law, and to apply this -knowledge for the benefit of the people, he began at the very bottom of -the ladder. The drudgery and disappointments, the hardships and jokes -common to a beginner without means and alone, in competition with men of -gray hairs and wisdom that come from years of toil and practice, was the -portion of Mr. Bryan. But he was a courageous man; Napoleon-like he knew -no such word as fail, and with that force and enthusiasm so -characteristic of the man, he labored on, believing that each -disappointment contained its lesson, and that every hardship endured had -its counterpart in a triumph. His early practice was not unlike that of -other beginners, taking such cases as usually come to the young lawyer. - -At the close of the first year, and during the fall of 1884, his income -was such that he could support a wife; a modest home was planned and -built, and in October, 1884, he was married. During the next three years -he lived comfortably, though economically, and laid by a small amount. -Politics lost none of its charms, and each campaign found Mr. Bryan -speaking, usually in his own county. - -Three years after graduation he attended the commencement at Illinois -College, delivered the Master’s oration, and received the degree, his -subject being “American Citizenship.” From that time until he entered -Congress in 1891, his only support for himself and his wife was from his -profession. Mr. Bryan continued in a growing practice of law in -Jacksonville until October, 1887. In July of that year, while on a -western trip, he passed through Lincoln, Neb., to visit friends, and in -two days was so impressed with the city and its possibilities that he -disposed of his business in Jacksonville, and located in Lincoln. -Political ambitions did not enter into this change, as the city, county, -and state were strongly Republican. Mr. Bryan began his lot as a lawyer -in Lincoln by forming a partnership, the style of the firm being “Talbot -& Bryan.” He at once applied himself vigorously to the details of the -practice in his new field, and was soon recognized as a lawyer of -unusual strength. - -In the few years of practice at the bar of Lincoln before he was elected -to Congress, Mr. Bryan became somewhat celebrated as the champion of the -anti-sugar-bounty doctrine, and as the pleader for equal rights, under -the law, for all classes of men. In the spring of 1896, the city -proposed to issue $500,000 of its refunding bonds in gold. A number of -citizens believing such a contract unjust to the tax-payers, consulted -Mr. Bryan and secured his services in their behalf. Without -compensation, he at once devoted his energies to restrain the city of -Lincoln from issuing and selling such bonds. A temporary restraining -order was issued by the court, and after a vigorous contest an -injunction against the city, preventing such contract, was granted. In -these cases was shown Mr. Bryan’s genuine interest in public matters, -and in the general welfare of the people. Aside from many of these cases -involving public interest, his work as a lawyer was the usual practice -of the profession. - -Mr. Bryan is a man of great physical endurance. As a lawyer as well as a -legislator, he is a man of great deliberation. Before acting, he -believes in being fully advised as to the subject upon which he is to -act. He was never known to champion a cause, accept a case, or make a -statement to a jury or elsewhere that did not present the honest -conviction of his mind, always having a sincere belief in the -correctness of the position assumed. In explaining a proposition of law, -he seeks the reason for the law, which he is always able to present with -peculiar clearness. - -In his method of argument he is never emotional, but makes strong -applications of law and fact by the statement of his case and proof, -without any effort at embellishment or oratory. His ability to crowd a -great deal in a few words and sentences is very marked. The weakness of -his opponents he easily detects, and readily points out the fallacy. Mr. -Bryan is an ardent believer in the American jury system. When in -Congress, he introduced a bill providing that a verdict agreed to by -three-fourths of the members of a jury should be a verdict of the jury -in civil cases, and he made an argument before the Congressional -Judiciary Committee in its support. - -“Mr. Bryan did not distinguish himself as a lawyer.” Those who thus -complain should consider that he entered the practice at the age of -twenty-three, and left it at thirty, and in that period began twice, and -twice became more than self-supporting. He has not had the time and -opportunity in which to establish the reputation at the bar which gives -to many American jurists the illustrious positions which they occupy. -However, at the time of his election to Congress, his practice was in a -thriving condition and fully equal to that of any man of his age in the -city. - -Whatever may be said of Mr. Bryan by friend or foe, it must be conceded -that his convictions control his actions on all questions, either as a -lawyer or as a public man, and when employed in a case involving great -interests, he would, without question, acquit himself with that -distinction which has characterized him as a leader in public affairs. - - - - - IN CONGRESS - - -Mr. Bryan’s first political speech of importance was made at Seward in -the spring of 1888. At that time Lincoln was known to be as strong as -the rock of Gibraltar in the Republican faith. On this occasion of his -first public appearance as a political orator in Nebraska, he drew men -to him by the power of the orator, and held them there in subsequent -years by the virtue of the man. His extraordinary popularity with the -masses of his followers was universally acknowledged. After his first -few speeches, it did not take long for his reputation to spread over the -state, and when he was elected as a delegate from Lancaster county to -the Democratic State convention in 1888 he was in great demand. The -sources of this popularity, though less clear, were of profound -significance, being only in part personal. In fact, it seemed to be this -man’s fortune to embody a fresh democratic impulse, which in time would -make him the leader of a new democratic movement. - -The reports as to Mr. Bryan’s first speech in the convention, say in -part: “Mr. Bryan, of Lancaster county, was then called. He came forward -and delivered a spirited address, in the course of which he said that if -the platform laid down by the President in his message upon the tariff -question were carried out and vigorously fought upon in the state, it -would, in the course of a short time, give Nebraska to the Democracy. He -thought if the Democrats went out to the farmers and people who lived in -Nebraska and showed them the iniquity of the tariff system, they would -rally round the cause which their noble leader, Grover Cleveland, had -championed.” This short, but pointed speech created the greatest amount -of enthusiasm, and the young orator impressed his personality upon the -public mind of his adopted state. - -In the fall of 1888, Mr. Bryan made a canvass of the First Congressional -District, in behalf of Hon. J. Sterling Morton, and also visited some -thirty counties throughout the state. Mr. Morton was defeated by three -thousand four hundred, the district being normally Republican. - -When the campaign of 1890 opened, a few Democrats who came to appreciate -Mr. Bryan’s real ability believed that with him as the nominee the -Republicans could be defeated. So when the Democratic convention met at -Lincoln, July 31, 1890, Mr. Bryan was selected without opposition, and -at once began a vigorous campaign. He began a thorough canvass, speaking -about eighty times, and visiting every city and village in the district. -At the close of the last debate, he presented to Mr. Connell (his -opponent) a copy of Gray’s Elegy, with the following remarks: “Mr. -Connell: We now bring to a close the series of debates which was -arranged by our committees. I am glad we have been able to conduct these -discussions in a courteous and friendly manner. If I have in any way -offended you in word or deed, I offer apology and regret; and as freely -forgive. I desire to present to you, in remembrance of these pleasant -meetings, this little volume, because it contains ‘Gray’s Elegy,’ in -perusing which I trust you will find as much pleasure and profit as I -have found. It is one of the most beautiful and touching tributes to -human life that literature contains. Grand in its sentiments and sublime -in its simplicity, we may both find in it a solace in victory or defeat. -If success crowns your efforts in this campaign, and it should be your -lot - - ‘The applause of listening senates to command’ - -and I am left - - ‘A youth to fortune and to fame unknown,’ - -forget not us who in the common walks of life perform our part, but in -the hour of your triumph recall the verse: - - ‘Let not ambition mock their useful toil, - Their homely joys and destiny obscure; - Nor grandeur hear, with a disdainful smile, - The short and simple annals of the poor.’ - -“If on the other hand, by the verdict of my countrymen, I should be made -your successor, let it not be said of you - - ‘And melancholy marked him for her own’, - -but find sweet consolation in the thought: - - ‘Full many a gem of purest ray serene, - The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear; - Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, - And waste its sweetness on the desert air.’ - -“But when the palm of victory is given to you or to me, let us remember -those of whom the poet says: - - ‘Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife - Their sober wishes never learned to stray, - Along the cool, sequestered vale of life. - They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.’ - -“These are the ones most likely to be forgotten by the Government. When -the poor and weak cry out for relief, they too often hear no answer but -‘the echo of their cry,’ while the rich, the strong, the powerful are -given an attentive ear. For this reason is class legislation dangerous -and deadly; it takes from those least able to lose, and gives to those -who are least in need. The safety of our farmers and our laborers is not -in special legislation, but in equal and just laws that bear alike on -every man. The great masses of our people are interested, not in getting -their hands into other people’s pockets, but in keeping the hands of -other people out of their pockets. Let me, in parting, express the hope -that you and I may be instrumental in bringing our Government back to -better laws which will give equal treatment without regard to creed or -condition. I bid you a friendly farewell.” - -Mr. Bryan closed his campaign at the city of Lincoln, and was elected by -a plurality of six thousand seven hundred in the same district which two -years before had defeated Mr. Morton by a plurality of three thousand -four hundred. He was elected in one of the fairest and most brilliant -campaigns ever fought; and became one of the most prominent members of -the lower House from the West. - -The explanation of Mr. Bryan’s popularity must be sought in a cause -which lies deeper than a political issue. - -When he entered Congress he gave his support in caucus to Mr. Springer, -for Speaker of the House, in whose district he had lived when at -Jacksonville. In the House, he voted for Mr. Crisp, the caucus nominee. -Mr. Springer was made chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and -although it was unprecedented to give to a first term member a position -on the all-important Ways and Means Committee, Speaker Crisp conferred -that unprecedented honor upon Bryan of Nebraska. One of the first bills -introduced by Mr. Bryan was that providing for the election of senators -by the people, at the option of each state. - -In supporting this bill Mr. Bryan said: “Mr. Speaker—I desire to call -the attention of the House to what I consider a very important question -involved in this joint resolution. I shall not consume time in -discussing the general principle of electing senators by the people. If -the people of a state have enough intelligence to choose their -representatives in the state legislature, their executive officers, -judges, and their officials in all the departments of the state and -country, they have enough intelligence to choose the men who shall -represent them in the United States Senate. - -“And now, sirs, if we want to secure the election of senators by the -people, we must submit a proposition free from the Republican idea of -Federal interference, and free from the Democratic idea of -non-interference. We may just as well cease the attempt to secure this -reform if we are going to tie it to Federal election laws. I appeal to -members of both sides of the House, members who in their hearts desire -this reform, members who in their own judgment believe that the time has -come to give the people a chance to vote for the senators, Democrats, -Republicans, and Populists alike, to join in a proposition which will -eliminate the political question and leave us simply the question of -election by the people or not.” - -The bill attracted much attention through the country, although it -failed of final passage. - -On March 16, 1892, Mr. Bryan made his great tariff speech in the House, -which is considered in another chapter of this work. In the spring of -1892, the silver sentiment began to show itself among the leaders of the -Nebraska Democracy. The state convention to elect delegates to the -National Democratic convention was called for April 15, 1892, and found -Mr. Bryan back in Lincoln, by the consent of the House, making a -determined effort for the adoption of a plank favoring the free coinage -of silver. The fight was a hard and bitter one. In supporting this part -of the platform Mr. Bryan said in part: - -“GENTLEMEN—I do not believe it is noble to dodge any issue. If, as has -been indicated, this may have an effect on my campaign, then no -bridegroom went with gladder heart to greet his bride that I shall -welcome defeat. Vote this down if you will, but do not dodge it; for -that is not democratic.” The convention went wild in a body, a vote was -called, which brought defeat to the Bryan silver plank. By this act Mr. -Bryan incurred the hatred of the Cleveland administration. - -Upon the return of Mr. Bryan to Nebraska at the close of the 52d -Congress, a series of debates had been arranged with the Republican -party nominee, Allen W. Field, then judge of the district court. This -was even a more bitter contest than the first. Mr. McKinley, Mr. -Foraker, and others were called to Nebraska to aid the Republican cause. -They made desperate efforts to “down” Bryan, but in spite of all he was -reelected by a majority of one hundred fifty-two. - -As a congressman William Jennings Bryan was a success. From the moment -he entered Congress, he was a leader. To those who knew him intimately, -it was no surprise that during the first term he sprang suddenly into -prominence. His speech on the tariff question stamped him not only as an -orator, but a man who had made a deep political study of economic -questions. - -It was not until his second term that he really focussed public -attention upon himself. When Congress was convened in extraordinary -session, he went to Washington prepared to resist the repeal of the -purchasing clause of the Sherman act. He knew the feeling of his -constituents, and being thoroughly familiar with every phase of the -question, he entered upon the fight like a gladiator. His conspicuous -record as an orator in the previous session was sufficient to get him a -place in the great debate, and, when the opportunity came, Bryan was -prepared for it. For several days it was known that he was to speak, and -the galleries of the House were crowded at each session. Finally he was -recognized by the Speaker, and he began the most effective speech that -had been heard in Congress in years. Everybody was quiet and listened. -The oldest member could not remember when a man had received such marked -attention and such spontaneous applause as Bryan got that day. As he -stood there, the picture of health, a physical giant, his voice falling -in easy cadence, he impressed upon his hearers the thought that he meant -every word he was saying. He had every one in his grasp. As he -continued, the audience became worked up to a high pitch, and when he -concluded with a magnificent peroration, quiet reigned for a moment, -then suddenly every one joined in tumultuous applause. Bryan had -finished; he had made a speech that for thought, logic, and sentiment, -to say nothing of its matchless delivery, had few equals in the records -of Congress. For two hours and fifty minutes the young Nebraska orator -held the close attention of a full house and crowded galleries. Instead -of members leaving the hall as usual, they crowded in, and every man was -in his seat. This speech made him famous. Occasionally a single standard -man would interrupt, but none did it without subsequent regret. He knew -his case too well. - -From that day to this, Bryan has been in the public eye everywhere. Many -who heard his tariff speech predicted that it was a flash light, and -would soon grow dim, and its author be forgotten; but after he made his -silver speech those who thought his first an accident were compelled to -admit that he possessed all the qualifications of a statesman and that -he was bound to be a leader in his party. - -Besides his silver and tariff speeches, Mr. Bryan spoke briefly upon -several other questions, namely, in favor of foreclosure of Government -liens on all Pacific railways, and in favor of the anti-option bill. He -favored the application of the principle of arbitration as far as -Federal authority extends. On January 30, 1894, Mr. Bryan, in a speech -in favor of the income tax, brilliantly and successfully replied to the -speech of Bourke Cockran delivered in opposition to that measure. - -His record in Congress did not consist entirely of speech-making. He was -a tireless worker for his constituents, and he secured more pensions for -old soldiers living in his district than all the Republican congressmen -who had preceded him. He personally attended to the wants of every -constituent, and no man ever wrote a letter asking his assistance that -he did not at once enlist Bryan’s active support. He was vigilant and -watchful, and never missed an opportunity to do a favor. - -He was exceedingly active in Congress, dodging nothing, and often -speaking on the current questions. Yet nothing that he did or said in -Congress comes back to plague him. It was then thought, and it has since -been hoped, that in the fulness of his record something would come back -to trip him. But what he said then only makes him stronger now. - -It may not be amiss at this point to quote from Mrs. Bryan, who said: -“Quoting from a eulogy which Mr. Bryan delivered upon a colleague in the -53d Congress, this extract will serve a double purpose, in that it gives -his views upon immortality, and, at the same time, presents a passage -which I think may, without impropriety, be called a finished bit of -English. Mr. Bryan said ‘I shall not believe that even now his light is -extinguished. If the Father deigns to touch with divine power the cold -and pulseless heart of the buried acorn, and make it burst forth from -its buried walls, will He leave neglected in the earth, the soul of man, -who was made in the image of his Creator? If he stoops to give to the -rosebush, whose withered blossoms float upon the breeze, the sweet -assurance of another springtime, will he withhold the words of hope from -the sons of man when the frosts of winter come? If matter, mute and -inanimate, though changed by the forces of Nature into a multitude of -forms, can never die, will the imperial spirit of man suffer -annihilation after it has paid a brief visit, like a royal guest, to -this tenement of clay? Rather let us believe that He, who, in His -apparent prodigality, makes the blade of grass or the evening’s sighing -zephyr, but makes them to carry out His eternal plan, has given -immortality to the mortal, and gathered to Himself the generous spirit -of our friend. Instead of mourning, let us look up and address him in -the words of the poet: - - “’The day has come, not gone; - The sun has risen, not set; - Thy life is now beyond - The reach of death or change, - Not ended—but begun - O, noble soul! O, gentle heart! Hail, and farewell.’” - -Mr. Bryan was singularly free from egotism, affectation, or envy of the -fame of others. That he was brilliant goes without saying, but his -brilliancy was as natural and easy as to be like Shakespeare’s -description of mercy: - - “The quality of mercy is not strained, - It dropped as the gentle rain from heaven - Upon the places beneath. It is twice blessed; - It blesses him that gives and him that takes.” - - - - - THE TARIFF - - -For twenty years prior to 1896 the chief tangible point of difference -between the Democratic and Republican parties was the tariff question. -It was, in truth, a question on which the two great parties had always -differed since the days when they were known as Federalists and -Anti-Federalists. - -The Democratic party, in true accord with the principles of Thomas -Jefferson, has always held that government to be best which interferes -least with the liberty of the individual. The purpose of government, it -has held, is to protect man in his personal rights against the unjust -encroachments of his neighbors. But, according to the Democratic idea, -government should not interfere to arbitrarily promote the interests of -any class of its citizens at the expense of any other class. All should -be left, protected against illegal encroachment, but otherwise -unmolested, to work out their own salvation. In other words, Democracy -believes that government to be best which governs least. - -The Republican theory, on the other hand, has inclined toward the -exactly opposite point of view; that that government is best which -governs most. It has acted consistently on the principle that it is not -only permissible but advisable for government to be made an instrument -for advancing the pecuniary or business interests of such of its -citizens as seem most deserving or are most fortunate in winning its -ear. It was this radical difference between the two parties, involving, -as it did, a basic and fundamental principle, that lay at the root of -the controversy regarding tariff duties. - -The Democratic party, adhering to the strict letter of the Constitution, -held that the tariff should be levied for one simple purpose, and that -the purpose contemplated by the Constitution—to raise revenue. With this -end in view, the party contended, tariff duties should be levied mostly -on such articles as are not produced in this country, and, in order to -equalize the burden of taxation, be imposed rather on luxuries than the -strict necessities of life. - -The Republican party took a more radical position. It advocated the -levying of tariff duties, not primarily for the purpose of raising -revenue,—that was made a secondary consideration,—but to protect from -foreign competition the manufacturing and industrial enterprises of the -United States. Then, it argued, these establishments, protected by the -fostering arm of government, would grow great and strong, furnishing at -once employment for labor at high wages, and a “home market” for the -products of the American farm and mine. - -Controverting this alluring argument, the Democratic party held that -government had no right to compel citizens of one class or section to -contribute involuntarily to the support of citizens of some other class -or section of the country. The only manner in which a protective tariff -could protect, it pointed out, was by enabling the home manufacturer to -charge a higher price because of the duty on foreign goods. This added -price, it showed, must be paid into the pocket of the American -manufacturer by the American consumer. Moreover, it declared, the farmer -could only share the burden without receiving any of the benefits of a -high protective tariff, the price of his products being fixed in the -world’s markets at Liverpool and London. And the same thing, it held, -was true of the laboring man, as the rate of his remuneration was fixed -mainly by “the iron law of wages.” - -When Mr. Bryan was elected to Congress for his first term this question -of tariff was the all-absorbing one before the people. The Republican -party, in the zenith of its power, had enacted the McKinley tariff law, -the embodiment of its views on this question, levying tariff duties so -high as almost to exclude foreign competition. It was in this law, -undoubtedly, that most of the great trusts and monopolies since formed -read their birthright. - -Mr. Bryan, naturally, as a Democrat and a firm believer in the -principles of government laid down by Thomas Jefferson, was vigorously -opposed to the theory of a high protective tariff. The Congress in which -he served his first term was Democratic, the result of the enactment of -the trust-breeding McKinley tariff law. The Ways and Means Committee, of -which Mr. Springer of Illinois was chairman, decided that relief might -best be effected by the introduction of a series of bills, transferring -certain commodities to the free list. - -It was in support of one of these—a bill placing wool on the free list -and reducing the duties on woolen goods—that Mr. Bryan delivered his -maiden speech in the House. This was on Wednesday, March 16, 1892. Like -Byron, he awoke the next morning and found himself famous. The speech -had attracted the admiring attention of the whole country. The young -orator’s logic, acute reasoning, powers of broad generalization, and apt -and homely illustration, not less than his genuine eloquence, incisive -wit, and brilliant repartee, had, in one speech, won him a place at the -head of the list of American parliamentary orators. - -In his speech Mr. Bryan thus effectually punctured with his ridicule the -Republican argument generally advanced that a high tariff makes low -prices: - -“Now, there are two arguments which I have never heard advanced in favor -of protection; but they are the best arguments. They admit a fact and -justify it, and I think that is the best way to argue, if you have a -fact to meet. Why not say to the farmer, ‘Yes, of course you lose; but -does not the Bible say, “It is more blessed to give than to -receive”—[laughter]—and if you suffer some inconvenience, just look back -over your life and you will find that your happiest moments were enjoyed -when you were giving something to somebody, and the most unpleasant -moments were when you were receiving.’ These manufacturers are -self-sacrificing. They are willing to take the lesser part, and the more -unpleasant business of receiving, and leave to you the greater joy of -giving. [Loud laughter and applause on the Democratic side.] - -“Why do they not take the other theory, which is borne out by -history—that all nations which have grown strong, powerful, and -influential, just as individuals, have done it through hardship, toil, -and sacrifice, and that after they have become wealthy they have been -enervated, they have gone to decay through the enjoyment of luxury, and -that the great advantage of the protective system is that it goes around -among the people and gathers up their surplus earnings so that they will -not be enervated or weakened, so that no legacy of evil will be left to -their children. Their surplus earnings are collected up, and the great -mass of our people are left strong, robust, and hearty. These earnings -are garnered and put into the hands of just as few people as possible, -so that the injury will be limited in extent. [Great laughter and -applause on the Democratic side.] And they say, ‘Yes, of course, of -course; it makes dudes of our sons, and it does, perhaps, compel us to -buy foreign titles for our daughters [laughter], but of course if the -great body of the people are benefited, as good, patriotic citizens we -ought not to refuse to bear the burden.’ [Laughter.] - -“Why do they not do that? They simply come to you and tell you that they -want a high tariff to make low prices, so that the manufacturer will be -able to pay large wages to his employees. [Laughter.] And then, they -want a high tariff on agricultural products so that they will have to -buy what they buy at the highest possible price. They tell you that a -tariff on wool is for the benefit of the farmer, and goes into his -pocket, but that the tariff on manufactured products goes into the -farmer’s pocket, too, ‘and really hurts us, but we will stand it if we -must.’ They are much like a certain maiden lady of uncertain age, who -said, ‘This being the third time that my beau has called, he might make -some affectionate demonstration’; and, summing up all her courage, she -added, ‘I have made up my mind that if he does I will bear it with -fortitude.’” [Great laughter and applause.] - -He thus pleaded for the protection of the greatest of “home -industries,”—the home-building of the common people: - -“I desire to say, Mr. Chairman, that this Republican party, which is -responsible for the present system, has stolen from the vocabulary one -of its dearest words and debased its use. Its orators have prated about -home industries while they have neglected the most important of home -industries—the home of the citizen. The Democratic party, so far from -being hostile to the home industries, is the only champion, unless our -friends here, the Independents, will join with us, of the real home -industry of this country. - -“When some young man selects a young woman who is willing to trust her -future to his strong right arm, and they start to build a little home, -that home which is the unit of society and upon which our Government and -our prosperity must rest—when they start to build this little home, and -the man who sells the lumber reaches out his hand to collect a tariff -upon that; the man who sells paints and oils wants a tariff upon them; -the man who furnishes the carpets, tablecloths, knives, forks, dishes, -furniture, spoons, everything that enters into the construction and -operation of that home—when all these hands, I say, are stretched out -from every direction to lay their blighting weight upon that cottage, -and the Democratic party says, ‘Hands off, and let that home industry -live,’ it is protecting the grandest home industry that this or any -other nation ever had. [Loud applause on the Democratic side.] - -“And I am willing that you, our friends on the other side, shall have -what consolation you may gain from the protection of those ‘home -industries’ which have crowned with palatial residences the hills of New -England, if you will simply give us the credit of being the champions of -the homes of this land. [Applause on the Democratic side.] It would seem -that if any appeal could find a listening ear in this legislative hall -it ought to be the appeal that comes up from those co-tenants of earth’s -only paradise; but your party has neglected them; more, it has spurned -and spit upon them. When they asked for bread you gave them a stone, and -when they asked for a fish you gave them a serpent. You have laid upon -them burdens grievous to be borne. You have filled their days with toil -and their nights with anxious care, and when they cried aloud for relief -you were deaf to their entreaties.” - -The conclusion of Mr. Bryan’s speech is here reproduced. It is of -greater length than would ordinarily justify its incorporation in a -volume of this size, but the objection is outweighed by the fact, that, -in most beautiful English, it outlines the idea of government which has -since been the beacon light that has guided Mr. Bryan’s career: - -“We can not afford to destroy the peasantry of this country. We can not -afford to degrade the common people of this land, for they are the -people who in time of prosperity and peace produce the wealth of the -country, and they are also the people who in time of war bare their -breasts to a hostile fire in defense of the flag. Go to Arlington or to -any of the national cemeteries, see there the plain white monuments -which mark the place ‘where rest the ashes of the nation’s countless -dead,’ those of whom the poet has so beautifully written: - - ‘On Fame’s eternal camping ground - Their silent tents are spread.’ - -Who were they? Were they the beneficiaries of special legislation? Were -they the people who are ever clamoring for privileges? No, my friends; -those who come here and obtain from Government its aid and help find in -time of war too great a chance to increase their wealth to give much -attention to military duties. A nation’s extremity is their opportunity. -They are the ones who make contracts, carefully drawn, providing for the -payment of their money in coin, while the government goes out, if -necessary, and drafts the people and makes them lay down upon the altar -of their country all they have. No; the people who fight the battles are -largely the poor, the common people of the country; those who have -little to save but their honor, and little to lose but their lives. -These are the ones, and I say to you, sir, that the country can not -afford to lose them. I quote the language of Pericles in his great -funeral oration. He says: - -‘It was for such a country, then, that these men, nobly resolving not to -have it taken from them, fell fighting; and every one of their survivors -may well be willing to suffer in its behalf.’ - -That, Mr. Chairman, is a noble sentiment and points the direction to the -true policy for a free people. It must be by beneficent laws; it must be -by a just government which a free people can love and upon which they -can rely that the nation is to be preserved. We can not put our safety -in a great navy; we can not put our safety in expensive fortifications -along a seacoast thousands of miles in extent, nor can we put our safety -in a great standing army that would absorb in idleness the toil of the -men it protects. A free government must find its safety in happy and -contented citizens, who, protected in their rights and free from -unnecessary burdens, will be willing to die that the blessings which -they enjoy may be transmitted to their posterity. - -“Thomas Jefferson, that greatest of statesmen and most successful of -politicians, tersely expressed the true purpose of government when he -said: - -“’With all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy -and prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow citizens: a wise and -frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another; -shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of -industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the -bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is -necessary to close the circle of our felicities.’ - -“That is the inspiration of the Democratic party; that is its aim and -object. If it comes, Mr. Chairman, into power in all of the departments -of this government it will not destroy industry; it will not injure -labor; but it will save to the men who produce the wealth of the country -a larger portion of that wealth. It will bring prosperity and joy and -happiness, not to a few, but to every one without regard to station or -condition. The day will come, Mr. Chairman—the day will come when those -who annually gather about this Congress seeking to use the taxing power -for private purposes will find their occupation gone, and the members of -Congress will meet here to pass laws for the benefit of all the people. -That day will come, and in that day, to use the language of another, -‘Democracy will be king! Long live the king!’” [Prolonged applause on -the Democratic side.] - - - - - THE RISE OF THE SILVER ISSUE - - -In every national campaign since the time silver was demonetized in 1873 -the demand for bimetallism has been a platform plank always of one and -frequently of both of the two great political parties. The first -unequivocal renunciation of the policy and theory of bimetallism on the -part of any important national convention occurred in June, 1900, at -Philadelphia. In 1896 the Republican party, in its platform adopted at -St. Louis, pledged itself to the promotion of bimetallism by -international agreement. The Democratic party, both in 1896 and 1900, -expressed its conviction that bimetallism could be secured by the -independent action of the United States, and to that end demanded “the -free and unlimited coinage of both gold and silver, at the present legal -ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting for the aid or consent of any other -nation.” - -Previous to 1896 each of the great political parties made quadrennial -expressions of faith in the bimetallic theory, frequently demanded its -enactment into law, and generally condemned the opposing party for -“hostility to silver.” And yet, despite the universal belief in -bimetallism on the part of the American people; despite the general -demands for bimetallism made by both political parties; despite the many -and eloquent speeches for bimetallism delivered in Congress and out of -it by party leaders of all complexions, the hope of its becoming an -actuality seemed to wither and wane in inverse ratio to the fervency of -the expressions of friendship on the part of the politicians. Sometimes -those who were most vehement in their demands were most instrumental in -the passage of that series of legislative enactments that inevitably -broadened and deepened the gulf between gold and silver. - -In explanation of this phenomenon it may be said that of all the -functions of government none is more important than the power to -regulate the quality and quantity of its circulating medium; none more -freighted either with prosperity or disaster to its people; and none -more liable to make demagogues of statesmen and knaves and hypocrites of -those in authority. - -The first overt act in the fight against bimetallism, which theretofore -had been insidious, was the demand of the Cleveland administration and -the powers that were behind it for the repeal of the purchasing clause -of the Sherman Act. The clause which was aimed at provided for the -purchase by the government of bar silver sufficient for the annual -coinage of $54,000,000. With its repeal would disappear from the Federal -statute books the last vestige of authority for the coinage of silver -money other than subsidiary coins. - -In the fight against the administration over this measure Mr. Bryan took -a leading part. He was one of the public men whose professions and -practices in the matter of financial legislation were not at variance. -In his first campaign for Congress, in 1890, he had inserted in his -platform this plank, written by himself: - -“We demand the free coinage of silver on equal terms with gold and -denounce the efforts of the Republican party to serve the interest of -Wall Street as against the rights of the people.” - -In 1891 he had secured the adoption of a free silver plank in the -Nebraska Democratic platform. In 1892 he made a hard fight for a similar -plank in the state platform, but lost by a very close vote. On the day -before the national convention which nominated Mr. Cleveland for -president, Mr. Bryan was renominated for Congress on a platform in which -free coinage was made the paramount issue, and throughout the campaign -he devoted to it the major portion of his time. In this way, from free -choice and impelling conviction, Mr. Bryan had committed himself to the -doctrine of bimetallism and had declared his plan for putting it into -practice. - -Mr. Bryan made his first speech in Congress against unconstitutional -repeal on February 9, 1893. In it he said: - -“I call attention to the fact that there is not in this bill a single -line or sentence which is not opposed to the whole history of the -Democratic party. We have opposed the principle of the national bank on -all occasions, and yet you give them by this bill an increased currency -of $15,000,000. You have pledged the party to reduce the taxation upon -the people, and yet, before you attempt to lighten this burden, you take -off one-half million of dollars annually from the national banks of the -country; and even after declaring in your national platform that the -Sherman act was a ‘cowardly makeshift’ you attempt to take away the -‘makeshift’ before you give us the real thing for which the makeshift -was substituted.... Mr. Speaker, consider the effect of this bill. It -means that by suspending the purchase of silver we will throw fifty-four -million ounces on the market annually and reduce the price of silver -bullion. It means that we will widen the difference between the coinage -and bullion value of silver and raise a greater obstacle in the way of -bimetallism. It means to increase by billions of dollars the debts of -our people. It means a reduction in the price of our wheat and our -cotton. You have garbled the platform of the Democratic party. You have -taken up one clause of it, and refused to give us a fulfilment of the -other and more important clause, which demands that gold and silver -shall be coined on equal terms without charge for mintage. - -“Mr. Speaker, this can not be done. A man who murders another shortens -by a few brief years the life of a human being; but he who votes to -increase the burden of debts upon the people of the United States -assumes a graver responsibility. If we who represent them consent to rob -our people, the cotton-growers of the South and the wheat-growers of the -West, we will be criminals whose guilt can not be measured by words, for -we will bring distress and disaster to our people.” - -In thus boldly and positively aligning himself against the policy of the -dominant wing of his own party, which would soon be backed by the -incoming Cleveland administration, Mr. Bryan acted with his -characteristic devotion to principle. He could not help seeing that all -the odds were apparently against that faction of his party with which he -threw in his fortunes. Mr. Cleveland and most of the old, honored, and -powerful leaders of democracy, it was known, would join in the fight -against silver. They would have the powerful aid of the great Republican -leaders and be backed by the almost united influence of the hundreds of -daily newspapers in all the large cities. Wealth, influence, experience, -and so-called “respectability” were all to be the property of the -Cleveland wing. Many trusted leaders of the old-time fight for silver -succumbed to the temptation and identified themselves with the dominant -faction. Not so Mr. Bryan. On the failure of the bill to pass he -returned home and devoted all his time to a thorough study of finance -and of money, making the most careful and complete preparation for the -fight which he saw impending. - -The great struggle, which Mr. Bryan has termed “the most important -economic discussion which ever took place in our Congress” was -precipitated by President Cleveland when he called Congress to meet in -special session on August 7, 1893. Mr. Wilson, of West Virginia, -Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, introduced in the House the -administration measure for the unconditional repeal of the purchasing -clause of the Sherman Act. - -[Illustration: CHAS. A. TOWNE] - -The debate that ensued was one of the most brilliantly and ably -conducted in the annals of Congress. On August 16, near the close of the -debate, Mr. Bryan delivered an extended argument against the bill. His -speech in point of profound reasoning and moving oratory stands -prominent in the list of congressional deliverances. It concluded with -the following magnificent appeal: - -“To-day the Democratic party stands between two great forces, each -inviting its support. On the one side stand the corporate interests of -the nation, its moneyed institutions, its aggregations of wealth and -capital, imperious, arrogant, compassionless. They demand special -legislation, favors, privileges, and immunities. They can subscribe -magnificently to campaign funds; they can strike down opposition with -their all-pervading influence, and, to those who fawn and flatter, bring -ease and plenty. They demand that the Democratic party shall become -their agent to execute their merciless decrees. - -“On the other side stands that unnumbered throng which gave a name to -the Democratic party, and for which it has assumed to speak. Work-worn -and dust-begrimed they make their sad appeal. They hear of average -wealth increased on every side and feel the inequality of its -distribution. They see an overproduction of everything desired because -of an underproduction of the ability to buy. They can not pay for -loyalty except with their suffrages, and can only punish betrayal with -their condemnation. Although the ones who most deserve the fostering -care of Government, their cries for help too often beat in vain against -the outer wall, while others less deserving find ready access to -legislative halls. - -“This army, vast and daily growing, begs the party to be its champion in -the present conflict. It can not press its claims mid sounds of revelry. -Its phalanxes do not form in grand parade, nor has it gaudy banners -floating on the breeze. Its battle hymn is ‘Home, Sweet Home,’ its war -cry ‘equality before the law.’ To the Democratic party, standing between -these two irreconcilable forces, uncertain to which side to turn, and -conscious that upon its choice its fate depends, come the words of -Israel’s second law-giver: ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve.’ -What will the answer be? Let me invoke the memory of him whose dust made -sacred the soil of Monticello when he joined - - ‘The dead but sceptered sovereigns who still rule - Our spirits from their urns.’ - -“He was called a demagogue and his followers a mob, but the immortal -Jefferson dared to follow the best promptings of his heart. He placed -man above matter, humanity above property, and, spurning the bribes of -wealth and power, pleaded the cause of the common people. It was this -devotion to their interests which made his party invincible while he -lived, and will make his name revered while history endures. - -“And what message comes to us from the Hermitage? When a crisis like the -present arose and the national bank of the day sought to control the -politics of the nation, God raised up an Andrew Jackson, who had the -courage to grapple with that great enemy, and by overthrowing it he made -himself the idol of the people and reinstated the Democratic party in -public confidence. What will the decision be to-day? - -“The Democratic party has won the greatest success in its history. -Standing upon this victory-crowned summit, will it turn its face to the -rising or the setting sun? Will it choose blessings or cursings—life or -death—Which? Which?” - -The bill passed the House by a considerable majority and went to the -Senate. In two months it came back with Senate amendments. So earnest -and determined was Mr. Bryan in his opposition to the measure that he -resorted to dilatory tactics, employing every legitimate parliamentary -weapon to obstruct its progress. When finally even the enemies of the -bill would no longer assist him in the fight for delay, Mr. Bryan -determined to abandon the fight in Congress to carry it before the -Democracy of the nation. In concluding his last speech on the bill he -said: - -“You may think that you have buried the cause of bimetallism; you may -congratulate yourselves that you have laid the free coinage of silver -away in a sepulchre, newly made since the election, and before the door -rolled the veto stone. But, sirs, if our cause is just, as I believe it -is, your labor has been in vain: no tomb was ever made so strong that it -could imprison a righteous cause. Silver will lay aside its grave -clothes and its shroud. It will yet rise and in its rising and its reign -will bless mankind.” - -Though defeated in the first great contest, the silver advocates were -far from dismayed. They began at once a systematic fight to wrest from -the administration the control of the party organization. The factional -fight within the ranks of Democracy gave early promise of becoming -exceedingly bitter. The feeling was accentuated from the start by the -personal efforts of President Cleveland in behalf of the repeal bill. In -the Senate the silver men had what was considered a safe majority, and -it was to overcome this and secure the passage of the bill that the -President had directed his energies. His great weapon was Federal -patronage, and he used it as a club. Never before in the history of -popular government in the United States had the executive so boldly and -so openly exerted the tremendous influence of his position in an attempt -to force a coordinate branch of government into unwilling compliance -with his wishes. Mr. Cleveland’s interference, which finally -accomplished its purpose, was angrily resented by the Silver Democrats, -and the lines between administration and anti-administration were early -closely drawn. - -Mr. Bryan, while the repeal bill was still under discussion in the -Senate, attended the Nebraska State Democratic convention as a delegate, -on October 4, 1893. In the convention the administration wing of the -party was regnant, imperious, and arrogant. A platform endorsing the -President and his fight against silver was adopted by a large majority. -Bryan was even denied a place on the resolutions committee, although -endorsed therefor by his Congressional district, which almost alone had -sent silver delegates. His course in Congress was repudiated and himself -personally received with but scant courtesy or consideration on the part -of the great majority of the delegates. When the gold men, flushed with -victory, were about to complete their conquest, the discredited young -Congressman sprang to the platform to address the convention. His whole -person was quivering with emotion, and as he spoke he strode up and down -the platform with a mien of unconcealed anger and defiance. Never was he -more truly the orator, and never was tame beast so abject and so pitiful -under the scourge of the master as was that convention, mute and -defenseless, under his scathing excoriation. The following extract will -give an idea of the substance of the speech, though the flashing eyes of -the orator, the tense and quivering frame, the voice now ringing with -defiance, now trembling with emotion,—these may never be described. - -“MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE CONVENTION—We are confronted to-day -by as important a question as ever came before the Democracy of the -state of Nebraska. It is not a personal question. It is a question that -rises above individuals. So far as I am personally concerned it matters -nothing whether you vote this amendment up or down; it matters nothing -to me whether you pass resolutions censuring my course or endorsing it. -If I am wrong in the position I have taken on this great financial -question, I shall fall though you heap your praises upon me; if I am -right, and in my heart, so help me God, I believe I am, I shall triumph -yet, although you condemn me in your convention a hundred times. -Gentlemen, you are playing in the basement of politics; there is a -higher plane. You think you can pass resolutions censuring a man, and -that you can humiliate him. I want to tell you that I still ‘more true -joy in exile feel’ than those delegates who are afraid to vote their own -sentiments or represent the wishes of the people, lest they may not get -Federal office. Gentlemen, I know not what others may do, but duty to -country is above duty to party, and if you represent your constituents -in what you have done and will do—for I do not entertain the fond hope -that you who have voted as you have to-day will change upon this vote—if -you as delegates properly represent the sentiment of the Democratic -party which sent you here; if the resolutions which have been proposed -and which you will adopt express the sentiments of the party in this -state; if the party declares in favor of a gold standard, as you will if -you pass this resolution; if you declare in favor of the impoverishment -of the people of Nebraska; if you intend to make more galling than the -slavery of the blacks the slavery of the debtors of this country; if the -Democratic party, after you go home, endorses your action and makes your -position its permanent policy, I promise you that I will go out and -serve my country and my God under some other name, even if I must go -alone.” - -But Mr. Bryan was not destined to be driven from the Democratic party. -He returned to Washington to persistently fight the financial policy of -the administration until the Fifty-third Congress had adjourned. The -withdrawal of the greenbacks, the granting of additional privileges to -national banks, the Rothschild-Morgan gold-bond contract—these he -opposed with the full measure of his mental and physical powers. In the -meantime the Silver Democrats began the work of organization and -propaganda in every state in the Union. In 1894 Bryan triumphed over his -enemies in Nebraska in a convention whose platform declared, “We favor -the immediate restoration of the free and unlimited coinage of gold and -silver at the present ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting for the aid or -consent of any other nation on earth.” The Gold Democrats bolted the -platform and the ticket. And until the last delegate was elected to the -National convention which was to meet at Chicago in July, 1896, the -Silver Democrats continued everywhere their efforts. They fought boldly -and outspokenly against the administration they had helped to elect, and -which was nominally Democratic. The result of their fight was the -instruction of almost two-thirds of the delegates for an unambiguous -free silver plank, with a certainty that the Gold Democrats, headed by -President Cleveland, Secretary of the Treasury Carlisle, and hundreds of -the leaders of the party, would bolt the action of the convention. - -Thus torn and rent by dissentions, with little hope or prospect for -success, the Democracy faced that remarkable convention which was to -repudiate the administration itself had placed in power. - - - - - THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE - (1896) - - -In the fall of 1896, within the period of one hundred days, William J. -Bryan traveled eighteen thousand miles. He delivered over six hundred -speeches to crowds aggregating five millions of people. Reduced to -figures more readily comprehended, he averaged each day one hundred and -eighty miles of railroad travel, interrupted by the stops necessary for -the delivery of six speeches to crowds of over eight thousand each and -fifty thousand in all. This was his personal service in the “first -battle” for the restoration of bimetallism, acting as the standard -bearer of three political parties. - -The great presidential campaign of 1896 was in many respects the most -remarkable in the history of the United States. It turned upon an issue -which was felt to be of transcending importance, and which aroused the -elemental passions of the people in a manner probably never before -witnessed in this country save in time of war. It was an issue forced by -the voters themselves despite the unceasing efforts of the leading -politicians of both great parties to keep it in the background. Beneath -its shadow old party war cries died into silence; old party differences -were forgotten; old party lines were obliterated. As it existed in the -hearts of men the issue had no name. Bimetallism was discussed; -monometallism was discussed; these were the themes of public speakers, -editors, and street corner gatherings when recourse was had to facts and -argument. But when one partisan called his friend the enemy an -“Anarchist!” and when the latter retorted with the cry of “Plutocrat,” -then there spoke in epithets the feelings which were stirring the -American people, and which made the campaign significant. For the terms -indicated that for the first time in the Republic founded on the -doctrine of equality, Lazarus at Dives’ gate had raised the cry of -injustice, whereat the rich man trembled. - -The Republican National convention met at St. Louis on June 16. William -McKinley, of Ohio, was nominated for President and Garret A. Hobart, of -New Jersey, for Vice-President. A platform was adopted declaring for the -maintenance of “the existing gold standard” until bimetallism could be -secured by international agreement, which the party was pledged to -promote. The doctrine of a high protective tariff was strongly insisted -on. - -Against the financial plank of the platform there was waged a bitter, if -hopeless, fight by the silver men of the West, under the honored -leadership of United States Senator Henry M. Teller, of Colorado. On the -adoption of the platform Senators Teller, Dubois, of Idaho, Pettigrew, -of South Dakota, Cannon, of Utah, and Mantle, of Montana, with three -congressmen and fifteen other delegates, walked out of the convention. -They issued an address to the people declaring monetary reform to be -imperative, that the deadly curse of falling prices might be averted. -The dominant figure of this convention was Marcus A. Hanna, of Ohio, a -millionaire coal and shipping magnate with large industrial and -commercial interests in various sections of the country. In taking -charge of the campaign that resulted in McKinley’s nomination he -introduced his business methods into politics. He had conducted the -canvass throughout along commercial lines. “He has been as smooth as -olive oil and as stiff as Plymouth Rock,” said the New York _Sun_, since -recognized as President McKinley’s personal organ. “He is a manager of -men, a manipulator of events, such as you more frequently encounter in -the back offices of the headquarters of financial and commercial centers -than at district primaries or in the lobbies of convention halls. There -is no color or pretense of statesmanship in his efforts; he seems -utterly indifferent to political principles, and color-blind to -policies, except as they figure as counters in his game. He can be -extremely plausible and innocently deferential in his intercourse with -others, or can flame out on proper occasion in an outburst of -well-studied indignation. He is by turns a bluffer, a compromiser, a -conciliator, and an immovable tyrant. Such men do not enter and -revolutionize national politics for nothing. Now, what is Mark Hanna -after?” - -The question was soon answered. Mark Hanna became chairman of the -National Republican committee, United States senator from Ohio, and the -most powerful, if not the all-powerful, influence behind the McKinley -administration. His rapid rise to commanding position and the unyielding -manner in which he has utilized his power have furnished much argument -to such as are inclined to be pessimistic regarding the enduring -qualities of republics. - -Early in July the Democratic National convention assembled in Chicago. -Mr. Bryan, who had attended the St. Louis convention as editor-in-chief -of the Omaha _World-Herald_, was here present as a delegate-at-large -from Nebraska. Since the expiration of his second congressional term he -had been active and unwearying in the fight to capture the convention -for free silver. As editor of the _World-Herald_ he had contributed -numerous utterances that were widely quoted by the silver press, and -much of his time had been devoted to delivering speeches and lectures in -the interests of bimetallism in almost every section of the country. He -came to Chicago fresh from a Fourth of July debate at the Crete, Neb., -Chautauqua, with Hon. John P. Irish, of California, Cleveland’s -collector of the port at San Francisco. Except a few intimate friends in -Nebraska, who knew Bryan’s capacities and ambitions, no man dreamed of -the possibility of his nomination for the presidency. There were -available, tried, and time-honored silver leaders, men who had been -fighting the white metal’s battles for a score of years, notable among -whom were Richard P. Bland, of Missouri, and Henry M. Teller, of -Colorado. One of these, it was generally believed, would be chosen to -lead the forlorn hopes of a regenerated but disrupted democracy. - -Mr. Bryan’s nomination was the spontaneous tribute of the convention to -those qualities that since have made him not famous only, but -well-beloved. These qualities are honesty, courage, frankness, and -sincerity. They had veritable life in every line and paragraph of his -great speech defending the free silver plank of the platform, delivered -in reply to the crafty-wise David B. Hill, of New York. Hill, skilled -and experienced practical politician, had pleaded with the convention -that it pay the usual tribute at the shrine of Janus. He had begged that -the _ignus fatuus_ “international bimetallism” be used to lure the -friends of silver into voting the Democratic ticket. Nurtured and -trained in the same school of politics as William McKinley,—the school -whose graduates had for many years dominated all party conventions,—Hill -started back in affright from the prospect of going before the people on -a platform that was straightforward and unequivocal, with its various -planks capable of but one construction. - -Mr. Bryan’s speech was as bold and ringing as the platform which he -spoke to defend, with its plank, written by himself, and twice utilized -in Nebraska, demanding “the free and unlimited coinage of both gold and -silver at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting for the -aid or consent of any other nation.” - -The letter and spirit of that plank were such as the great majority of -the convention were thoroughly in sympathy with. The result of the great -silver propaganda of the two years preceding had been to send to the -convention honest and sincere men with profound convictions and the -courage to express them. To do this, they knew, would be revolutionary, -even as had been the platforms on which the Pathfinder, Fremont, and the -Liberator, Lincoln, ran. But the spirit of revolution from cant and -equivoque was rife in that convention. Of that spirit William Jennings -Bryan was the prophet. In a speech that thrilled into men’s minds and -hearts his defiance and contempt of the opportunists’ policy, his own -fearless confidence in the all-conquering power of truth, he stirred -into an unrestrained tempest the long pent emotions of the delegates. -When he had finished not only was the adoption of the platform by a vote -of two to one assured, but the convention had found its leader whom it -would commission to go forth to preach the old, old gospel of democracy, -rescued from its years of sleep. The nature of Mr. Bryan’s speech may be -gained from these brief extracts: - -“When you (turning to the gold delegates) come before us and tell us we -are about to disturb your business interests, we reply that you have -disturbed our business interests by your course. We say to you that you -have made the definition of a business man too limited in its -application. The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man -as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business -man as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis; the merchant at a -cross-roads store is as much a business man as the merchant of New York; -the farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day, who begins -in the spring and toils all summer, and who, by the application of brain -and muscle to the natural resources of the country, creates wealth, is -as much a business man as the man who goes upon the board of trade and -bets upon the price of grain: the miners who go down a thousand feet -into the earth, or climb two thousand feet upon the cliffs, and bring -forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured into the -channels of trade are as much business men as the few financial magnates -who, in a back room, corner the money of the world. We come to speak for -this broader class of business men. - -“Ah, my friends, we say not one word against those who live upon the -Atlantic Coast, but the hardy pioneers who have braved all the dangers -of the wilderness, who have made the desert to blossom as the rose,—the -pioneers away out there (pointing to the west), who rear their children -near to Nature’s heart, where they can mingle their voices with the -voices of the birds, out there where they have erected schoolhouses for -the education of their young, churches where they praise their Creator, -and cemeteries where rest the ashes of their dead—these people, we say, -are as deserving of the consideration of our party as any people in this -country. It is for these that we speak. We do not come as aggressors. -Our war is not a war of conquest; we are fighting in defense of our -homes, our families, and posterity. We have petitioned, and our -petitions have been scorned; we have entreated, and our entreaties have -been disregarded; we have begged, and they have mocked when our calamity -came. We beg no longer; we entreat no more; we petition no more. We defy -them.... - -“You come and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold -standard; we reply that the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile -prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities -will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass -will grow in the streets of every city in the country.... - -“My friends, we declare that this nation is able to legislate for its -own people on every question, without waiting for the aid or consent of -any other nation on earth.... It is the issue of 1776 over again. Our -ancestors, when but three millions in number, had the courage to declare -their political independence of every other nation. Shall we, their -descendants, when we have grown to seventy millions, declare that we are -less independent than our forefathers? No, my friends, that will never -be the verdict of our people. Therefore, we care not upon what lines the -battle is fought. If they say bimetallism is good, but that we can not -have it until other nations help us, we reply that, instead of having a -gold standard because England has, we will restore bimetallism, and then -let England have bimetallism because the United States has it. If they -dare come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good -thing, we will fight them to the uttermost. Having behind us the -producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the -commercial interests, the laboring interest, and the toilers everywhere, -we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You -shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you -shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” - -[Illustration: SENATOR J. K. JONES] - -Mr. Bryan was nominated for President on the fifth ballot by a well-nigh -unanimous vote, save for the 162 eastern delegates who, while holding -their seats, sullenly refused to take any part in the proceedings. The -demonstration following the nomination was even wilder and more -prolonged than the memorable scene that marked the conclusion of his -speech. - -For Vice-President Arthur Sewall, of Maine, was nominated. With this -ticket, on a platform declaring for free silver, opposing the issue of -bonds and national bank currency, denouncing “government by injunction,” -declaring for a low tariff, the Monroe doctrine, an income tax, and -election of senators by a direct vote of the people, the democracy went -before the country with a confidence and exuberance little anticipated -before the convention met, and scarcely justified, as later proven, by -the outcome. - -The Populist and Silver Republican conventions met in St. Louis late in -July. The latter endorsed the nominees of the Chicago platform and made -them their own. The populists, however, while nominating Mr. Bryan, -refused to nominate Mr. Sewall, naming for vice-president Thomas E. -Watson, of Georgia. - -The gold democrats met at Indianapolis on September 2, and nominated -John M. Palmer, of Illinois, and Simon Buckner, of Kentucky, adopting -the first gold standard platform ever presented to the people of the -United States for endorsement. They called themselves “National -Democrats,” but in the outcome carried but one voting precinct in the -nation, and that in Kansas. Four votes were cast in the precinct, two -for Palmer, and one each for Bryan and McKinley. In the precinct in -Illinois where Mr. Palmer himself, with his son and coachman, voted, not -a single ballot was cast for the nominee of the “National Democracy.” -The fact was that a new party alignment was the inevitable result of the -Chicago convention, the reorganized democracy gaining largely beyond the -Missouri, but losing heavily east of the Mississippi and north of the -Ohio. Hundreds of thousands of gold Democrats in the populous states, -under the leadership of Grover Cleveland and John G. Carlisle, while -pretending to support Palmer and Buckner, voted secretly for McKinley, -whose platform was a virtual endorsement of the Cleveland -administration, as Bryan’s platform repudiated and condemned it. - -The campaign was remarkable not only for Bryan’s wonderful campaigning, -but for the bitter feeling that pervaded both organizations. The -Republicans particularly excelled in vituperative abuse. They began the -use of billingsgate immediately after the Chicago convention had -adjourned, applying to it such terms as “rabble,” “wild Jacobins,” -“anarchists” and “repudiators,” while Bryan was characterized as a “boy -orator” “a demagogue” and “an ass.” The Cleveland _Leader_ said: - -“Bryan, with all his ignorance, his cheap demagogy, his intolerable -gabble, his utter lack of common sense, and his general incapacity in -every direction, is a typical Democrat of the new school. His weapon is -wind. His stock in trade is his mouth. Mr. McKinley’s election—and we -apologize to Mr. McKinley for printing his name in the same column with -that of Bryan—is no longer in any doubt whatever. We salute the next -President. As for Bryan, he is a candidate for the political ash-heap.” - -For efficient campaigning the two party organizations were most unevenly -matched. The Republican National committee, under the directing genius -of Mark Hanna, assisted liberally by the thoroughly affrighted financial -and corporation magnates of the East, had at its disposal millions of -dollars with which to organize, pay for speakers and literature, reward -the efforts of newspapers and party workers, and debauch the electorate -in states thought to be doubtful. It had the assistance of almost the -entire metropolitan press—with the notable exception of the New York -_Journal_—and the nearly united influence of the large employers of -labor. And even further, it had the pulpit and the religious press. As -the ministers of Christ’s gospel, in 1856, denounced and vilified -Garrison and Phillips, so in 1896 they hurled anathema maranatha at -Bryan and Altgeld. Grave and reverend preachers of national fame -fulminated from their pulpits against “the accursed and treasonable -aims” of Bryan and his supporters, and denounced them as “enemies of -mankind.” Bishop John P. Newman, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, -denounced Bryan as an “anarchist,” and in the church conferences over -which he presided urged the clergy to use their influence to defeat the -Democratic nominees. The Rev. Cortland Myers, in the Baptist Temple at -Brooklyn, said that “the Chicago platform was made in hell.” Rev. Thomas -Dixon, Jr., at the Academy of Music, New York, called Bryan “a mouthing, -slobbering demagogue, whose patriotism is all in his jaw bone.” - -Such were the cultured and scholarly contributions made by the noblest -of professions to the discussion of an academic question of finance in -the year of our Lord 1896. - -The Democratic committee had little money. It had the support of but few -large newspapers. It was fighting the battles of a party that had been -disrupted and rent in twain at the Chicago convention. In every state -and almost every county of the Union the old local and national leaders -of the party had deserted, and the faithful but disorganized followers -of Bryan had to be moulded anew into the likeness of an army. - -The one inspiration of the party was in its leader. The embodiment of -faith, hope, and courage, tireless, indomitable, undismayed by the -fearful odds against him, with the zeal of a crusader he undertook his -mission of spreading the message of democracy through the length and -breadth of the land. For three months, accompanied most of the time by -Mrs. Bryan, he sped to and fro across the American continent, an army of -newspaper correspondents in his train, resting little and sleeping less, -preaching the Chicago platform. His earnestness, his candor, his -boldness, the simplicity of his style, the homeliness of his -illustrations, the convincing power of his argument, the eloquence of -his flights of oratory, and, above all, the pure and lovable character -of the man as it impressed itself on those who met with him—these were -the sparks that fired the hearts of men and left in his wake conviction -fanned into enthusiasm all aflame. - -Yet, with all his efforts, despite a record of personal campaigning such -as never before was seen in the recorded history of man, Mr. Bryan was -defeated. The tremendous influence wielded by the great corporate -interests, both by persuasion and by coercion, were such as no man and -no idea could overcome. - -The popular vote stood 7,107,822 for McKinley and 6,511,073 for Bryan. -Of the electoral votes McKinley received 271 and Bryan 176, the solid -South and almost solid West going Democratic, while every state north of -the Ohio and east of the Mississippi went Republican. - -Immediately after the result was assured Mr. Bryan telegraphed Mr. -McKinley as follows: “HON. WM. MCKINLEY, CANTON, OHIO—Senator Jones has -just informed me that the returns indicate your election, and I hasten -to extend my congratulations. We have submitted the issue to the -American people and their will is law.—W. J. BRYAN.” - -Mr. McKinley responded: “HON. W. J. BRYAN, LINCOLN, NEB.—I acknowledge -the receipt of your courteous message of congratulation with thanks, and -beg you will receive my best wishes for your health and -happiness.—WILLIAM MCKINLEY.” - -While Mr. Bryan and his party accepted defeat thus gracefully, victory -seemed to have redoubled the venom of the opposition. This post-election -utterance of the New York _Tribune_, founded by Horace Greeley, and then -and now edited by ex-Vice-President Whitelaw Reid, will serve to close -this chapter in the same gentle spirit which marked the close of that -memorable campaign: - - “GOOD RIDDANCE - - “There are some movements so base, some causes so depraved, that - neither victory can justify them nor defeat entitle them to - commiseration. Such a cause was that which was vanquished - yesterday, by the favor of God and the ballots of the American - people. While it was active and menacing, it was unsparingly - denounced and revealed as what it was, in all its hideous - deformity. Now that it is crushed out of the very semblance of - being, there is no reason why such judgment of it should be - revised. The thing was conceived in iniquity and was brought forth - in sin. It had its origin in a malicious conspiracy against the - honor and integrity of the nation. It gained such monstrous growth - as it enjoyed from an assiduous culture of the basest passions of - the least worthy members of the community. It has been defeated - and destroyed, because right is right and God is God. Its nominal - head was worthy of the cause. Nominal, because the wretched, - rattle-pated boy, posing in vapid vanity and mouthing resounding - rottenness, was not the real leader of that league of hell. He was - only a puppet in the blood-imbued hands of Altgeld, the anarchist, - and Debs, the revolutionist, and other desperados of that stripe. - But he was a willing puppet, Bryan was, willing and eager. Not one - of his masters was more apt at lies and forgeries and blasphemies - and all the nameless iniquities of that campaign against the Ten - Commandments. He goes down with the cause, and must abide with it - in the history of infamy. He had less provocation than Benedict - Arnold, less intellectual force than Aaron Burr, less manliness - and courage than Jefferson Davis. He was the rival of them all in - deliberate wickedness and treason to the Republic. His name - belongs with theirs, neither the most brilliant nor the least - hateful in the list. - - “Good riddance to it all, to conspiracy and conspirators, and to - the foul menace of repudiation and anarchy against the honor and - life of the Republic. The people have dismissed it with no - uncertain tones. Hereafter let there be whatever controversies men - may please about the tariff, about the currency, about the Monroe - doctrine, and all the rest. But let there never again be a - proposition to repeal the moral law, to garble the Constitution, - and to replace the Stars and Stripes with the red rag of anarchy. - On those other topics honest men may honestly differ, in full - loyalty to the Republic. On these latter there is no room for two - opinions, save in the minds of traitors, knaves, and fools.” - - - - - NEW ISSUES - - -The half decade between 1895 and 1900 may justly be considered one of -the most important in American history. It witnessed the fiercest battle -between political parties ever fought over the question of finance,—a -contest exceeding in bitterness and the general participation of the -people of the United States therein even the great struggle in which -Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle were the opposing leaders. And, -further, as the outcome of the war with Spain, it saw the birth and -growth of an issue theretofore alien to American soil and portentous for -its ultimate influence over the form and structure of our government. It -was at once recognized as an issue overshadowing in its importance, and -in the face of the greater danger the mutual fears of the friends of -gold and the friends of silver were laid away in one common sepulchre. - -On the part of the Democratic party the wraith of imperialism hovering -over the Republic was recognized as the hideous and supreme exhalation -from the poison swamp of plutocracy from which high tariff, trusts, and -a gold standard had already sprung. Through all these policies, asserted -the Democracy, through its recognized leader, Mr. Bryan, ran the common -purpose of exalting the dollar and debasing the man. The Republican -party hesitated long to recognize and admit the new issue, and when it -finally took up the gage of battle it was on the declaration that a -colonial policy, with alien and subject races under its dominion, had -become the “manifest destiny” of the United States. - -The cruelties and severities of General Weyler, the commander of the -Spanish forces in Cuba, toward the insurrectionists who were in arms -against Spain’s authority, early in Mr. McKinley’s administration -aroused the indignation of the American people. The fact that the Cubans -were bravely fighting for liberty, that their rebellion was against the -exactions of an old world monarchy, even as ours had been, won them an -instinctive sympathy that grew stronger each day and that finally swept -like a tidal wave into the cabinet meetings at Washington, bearing the -demands of the people of the United States for the intervention of our -government in Cuba’s behalf. - -On December 6, 1897, in his message to Congress, the President discussed -the Cuban question at some length, arguing against any interference by -the United States, on the ground that “a hopeful change has supervened -in the policy of Spain toward Cuba.” Speaking of the possible future -relations between this country and Cuba, the President used the words -since so widely quoted against his subsequent policy in the Philippines: -“I speak not of forcible annexation, for that is not to be thought of. -That, by our code of morality, would be criminal aggression.” - -The evident reluctance of the administration to recognize Cuban -independence was shortly after forced to give way to the compelling -power of public opinion. On February 15, 1898, by the explosion of a -submarine mine, the Maine, a first-class United States battleship, was -destroyed in Havana harbor, with a loss of 248 officers and men. A -fierce hatred for Spain was thereby added to the sympathy for Cuba, and -war, or the abandonment of Cuba by Spain, became inevitable. A month -after the destruction of the Maine Congress voted the President -$50,000,000 to be used in the National defense. On April 11, President -McKinley, in a message to Congress exhaustively reviewed the Cuban -complications, disclaiming a policy of annexation and arguing for -neutral intervention to enforce peace and secure for the Cubans a stable -government. On the 20th, Congress declared Cuba to be free and -independent, demanded that Spain relinquish her claim of authority, and -authorized the President to use the land and naval forces of the United -States to enforce the demand. - -Congress expressly declared: “The United States hereby disclaims any -disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or -control over said island, except for the pacification thereof, and -asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the -government and control of the island to its people.” - -From such a lofty plane the United States entered into that brief but -glorious combat with Spain that has rightly been called “the war for -humanity.” On April 23, the President called for 125,000 volunteers. One -of the first who offered the President his services in the war for -“_Cuba libre_” was William J. Bryan. Long before, Mr. Bryan had declared -for intervention, saying, “Humanity demands that we shall act. Cuba lies -within sight of our shores and the sufferings of her people can not be -ignored unless we, as a nation, have become so engrossed in money-making -as to be indifferent to distress.” Mr. Bryan’s proffer was ignored by -the President. He was later commissioned by Governor Holcomb, of -Nebraska, to raise the Third Nebraska regiment of volunteers. This he -did, becoming the colonel of the regiment. General Victor Vifquain, of -Lincoln, a gallant and distinguished veteran of the Civil war was made -lieutenant-colonel. - -In the meantime Admiral George Dewey commanding the United States -Asiatic fleet, had set forth from Hong Kong, engaged the Spanish fleet -in Manila bay on May 1, and completely demolished it. Manila was the -capital of the entire Philippine archipelago, with its eight to ten -million inhabitants, then nominally under Spanish sovereignty. The -Filipinos themselves, of whom Admiral Dewey said, “these people are far -superior in their intelligence and more capable of self-government than -the natives of Cuba,” were already in successful revolt against Spain, -battling bravely for their independence. Under the leadership of General -Aguinaldo, and at the invitation of Dewey and the representatives of the -United States state department, the insurgents cooperated as allies with -the American forces from the time of Dewey’s victory until the surrender -of Manila. They were furnished arms and ammunition by Dewey, and were -led to believe that their own independence would be assured on the -expulsion of Spain from the archipelago. During this time they -established a successful and orderly civil government throughout the -greater part of the islands. But at home the United States government -was already beginning to indicate its intention not to grant to the -Filipinos, at the conclusion of the war, the same liberty and -self-government as had been promised the Cubans. Rather, it was becoming -evident it was the purpose of Mr. McKinley and his advisers to hold the -islands as tributary territory, subject to United States’ jurisdiction, -while, at the same time, the inhabitants should be denied the -“inalienable rights” proclaimed by the Declaration of Independence and -guaranteed by our Constitution. - -The American people were at a loss what to make of the situation. Their -eyes dazzled by the glories of war and conquest, their cupidity appealed -to by the vaunted richness of the “new possessions,” there still was -latent in their hearts the love for liberty as “the heritage of all men -in all lands everywhere,” and an unspoken fear of incorporating the -government of alien and subject races as an integral portion of the -scheme of American democracy. - -Such was the situation when, at Omaha, Neb., on June 14, 1898, Colonel -W. J. Bryan, shortly before the muster-in of his regiment into the -service of the government, sounded the first note of warning against the -insidious dangers of imperialism; the first ringing appeal to the -Republic to remain true to its principles, its traditions, and its high -ideals. In taking his stand on this great question Mr. Bryan acted with -the boldness that has ever characterized him when matters of principle -were at stake. He spoke against the earnest advice of numerous political -friends, who warned him he was taking the unpopular side, and that his -mistake would cost him his political life. Mr. Bryan, because he -believed the policy of the administration to be radically wrong, paid no -heed to all the well-meant protestations, but earnestly warned the -people against the abandonment of the doctrines of the fathers of the -Republic. These were his words: - -“History will vindicate the position taken by the United States in the -war with Spain. In saying this I assume that the principles which were -invoked in the inauguration of the war will be observed in its -prosecution and conclusion. If a war undertaken for the sake of humanity -degenerates into a war of conquest we shall find it difficult to meet -the charge of having added hypocrisy to greed. Is our national character -so weak that we can not withstand the temptation to appropriate the -first piece of land that comes within our reach? - -“To inflict upon the enemy all possible harm is legitimate warfare, but -shall we contemplate a scheme for the colonization of the Orient merely -because our fleet won a remarkable victory in the harbor at Manila? - -“Our guns destroyed a Spanish fleet, but can they destroy that -self-evident truth that governments derive their just powers—not from -force—but from the consent of the governed? - -“Shall we abandon a just resistance to European encroachment upon the -western hemisphere, in order to mingle in the controversies of Europe -and Asia? - -“Nebraska, standing midway between the oceans, will contribute her full -share toward the protection of our sea coast; her sons will support the -flag at home and abroad, wherever the honor and the interests of the -nation may require. Nebraska will hold up the hands of the government -while the battle rages, and when the war clouds roll away her voice will -be heard pleading for the maintenance of those ideas which inspired the -founders of our government and gave the nation its proud eminence among -the nations of the earth. - -“If others turn to thoughts of aggrandizement, and yield allegiance to -those who clothe land covetousness in the attractive garb of ‘national -destiny,’ the people of Nebraska will, if I mistake not their -sentiments, plant themselves upon the disclaimer entered by Congress, -and expect that good faith shall characterize the making of peace as it -did the beginning of war. - -“Goldsmith calls upon statesmen: - - ‘To judge how wide the limits stand - Betwixt a splendid and a happy land.’ - -If some dream of the splendors of a heterogeneous empire encircling the -globe, we shall be content to aid in bringing enduring happiness to a -homogeneous people, consecrated to the purpose of maintaining ‘a -government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’” - -Shortly after this speech Colonel Bryan left Nebraska with his regiment -to go into camp at Tampa, Florida, awaiting orders to Cuba or Porto -Rico. Like most of the other regiments called out by President McKinley, -Colonel Bryan’s was not destined ever to come in sight of a battlefield. -The amazing fact is that while the enormous number of 274,717 soldiers -were mustered into service, only 54,000 ever left American soil up to -the time the protocol was signed, August 12, 1898. The 220,000 were left -through the sweltering summer months in unsanitary camps to broil under -a southern sun. From May 1 to September 30, but 280 American soldiers -were killed in battle, while 2,565 died in fever-stricken camps pitched -in malarial swamps. The entire nation was aroused to the highest pitch -of indignation, and the press, without regard to party, joined in -denouncing the careless, cruel, and incompetent treatment of the -volunteer soldier. - -The New York _Herald_ voiced the general feeling when it said: -“’Infamous’ is the only word to describe the treatment that has been -inflicted upon our patriotic soldiers, and under which, despite the -indignant outbursts of a horror-stricken people, thousands of them are -still suffering to-day.” The _Herald_ further declared the soldiers to -be “the victims of job-and-rob politicians and contractors, and of -criminally incompetent and heartlessly indifferent officials.” - -For almost six months Colonel Bryan remained with his regiment in camp. -The quarters, the sanitative conditions, and the general arrangements of -the “Third Nebraska” were the pride of the army. Colonel Bryan was at -once “guide, counselor, and friend” to his men, winning the almost -idolatrous love of each and all of them. He gave lavishly of his meager -funds to secure the comfort of the sick and maintain the health of the -strong. His days and nights were devoted to the service of the regiment, -and more than one poor boy, dying of fever far from the wind-swept -Nebraska prairies, passed away holding his Colonel’s hand and breathing -into his Colonel’s ear the last faltering message of farewell to loved -ones at home. - -[Illustration] - - CHAS. POYNTER SENATOR ALLEN ADLAI STEVENSON MRS. - POYNTER MISS POYNTER C. A. TOWNE - LEWIS G. STEVENSON WEBSTER DAVIS MRS. W. C. POYNTER W. - J. BRYAN GOV. POYNTER - - AT THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION, LINCOLN - -In joining the volunteer army, as when he delivered the first -anti-imperialist speech, Colonel Bryan had acted against the advice of -many of his closest personal and political friends. Despite his decisive -defeat for the presidency in 1896, he had not only maintained but even -strengthened his position as the recognized leader of the Democratic -party and its allies. Undaunted by the result of the campaign, he had -almost immediately resumed the fight for bimetallism. He had published a -book reviewing the contest under the suggestive and defiant title “The -First Battle.” He had taken to the lecture platform and to the political -hustings, vigorously, hopefully, and earnestly propagating the -principles of democracy, unwavering, unwearying, and undisturbed by the -general depression of his followers and as general exultation of his -opponents. He was the incarnation of the spirit of conservative reform, -and all parties had come to regard him as the prophet and supreme leader -of the new movement back to Jeffersonian principles. His friends feared -to have him accept a commission, not only on the ground that his doing -so might later compel his silence at a time when his voice ought to be -heard, but more largely because they dreaded the possibility of having -his motive impugned. It was evident to them, as to Colonel Bryan -himself, that by taking up the role of colonel of a volunteer regiment, -he had much to risk and lose, and little, if anything, to gain. But the -Democratic leader was not to be dissuaded. Content in his own knowledge -that his motive was worthy and patriotic, he assumed and bore -unostentatiously and yet with dignity the office of military leader of -1,300 of his Nebraska friends and neighbors. He remained faithfully with -his regiment, living the slow and tedious life of the camp, until the -treaty of peace was signed with Spain in December, 1898. That treaty -provided not only for the cession of Porto Rico to the United States and -Spanish relinquishment of all claim to sovereignty over Cuba, but -further for the turning over of the Philippine Islands to the United -States on the payment of $20,000,000. This last concession was wrung -from Spain by the insistent and uncompromising demand of the American -Peace Commissioners, under instructions from the state department at -Washington. - -Shortly after the treaty was signed, President McKinley blasted the fond -hopes for independence that had been planted in the Filipinos’ breasts -by issuing this proclamation: - -“With the signature of the treaty of peace between the United States and -Spain by their respective plenipotentiaries at Paris on the tenth -instant, and as the result of the victories of American arms, the future -control, disposition, and government of the Philippine Islands are ceded -to the United States. In fulfilment of the rights of sovereignty thus -acquired, and the responsible obligations of government thus assumed, -the actual occupation and administration of the entire group of the -Philippine Islands become immediately necessary, and the military -government heretofore maintained by the United States in the city, -harbor, and bay of Manila is to be extended with all possible dispatch -to the whole of the ceded territory.” - -Prior to this time, and later, the President explained his position on -the Philippine question, and we quote from him at some length. - -At Chicago, in October, 1898, he said: “My countrymen, the currents of -destiny flow through the hearts of the people. Who will check them? Who -will divert them? Who will stop them? And the movements of men, planned -and designed by the Master of men, will never be interrupted by the -American people.” - -At the Atlanta (Ga.) Peace Jubilee in December of the same year, he -said: “That [the American] flag has been planted in two hemispheres, and -there it remains, the symbol of liberty and law, of peace and progress. -Who will withhold it from the people over whom it floats its protecting -folds? Who will haul it down?” - -At Savannah, a day or two later he said: “If, following the clear -precepts of duty, territory falls to us, and the welfare of an alien -people requires our guidance and protection, who will shrink from the -responsibility, grave though it may be? Can we leave these people who, -by the fortunes of war and our own acts, are helpless and without -government, to chaos and anarchy after we have destroyed the only -government that they had?” - -At the Home Market Club, in Boston, on February 16, 1899, he explained -himself more fully, saying: “Our concern was not for territory or trade -or empire, but for the people whose interests and destiny, without our -willing it, had been put in our hands. It was with this feeling that -from the first day to the last not one word or line went from the -Executive in Washington to our military and naval commanders at Manila -or to our Peace Commissioners at Paris that did not put as the sole -purpose to be kept in mind, first, after the success of our arms and the -maintenance of our own honor, the welfare and happiness and the rights -of the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. Did we need their consent -to perform a great act for humanity? If we can benefit these remote -peoples, who will object? If, in the years of the future, they are -established in government under law and liberty, who will regret our -perils and sacrifices? Who will not rejoice in our heroism and -humanity?” - -One more quotation. At Minneapolis, October 12, 1899, President McKinley -delivered himself of this utterance: “That Congress will provide for -them [the Filipinos] a government which will bring them blessings, which -will promote their material interests, as well as advance their people -in the paths of civilization and intelligence, I confidently believe.” - -With such phrase-making as this, concealing in sonorous periods the most -un-American of sentiments, Colonel Bryan’s utterance, delivered -immediately after he had resigned his commission, stands out in bold and -pleasing relief: “I may be in error, but in my judgment our nation is in -greater danger just now than Cuba. Our people defended Cuba against -foreign arms; now they must defend themselves and their country against -a foreign idea—the colonial idea of European nations. Heretofore greed -has perverted the government and used its instrumentalities for private -gains, but now the very foundation principles of our government are -assaulted. Our nation must give up any intention of entering upon a -colonial policy, such as is now pursued by European countries, or it -must abandon the doctrine that governments derive their just powers from -the consent of the governed. To borrow a Bible quotation ‘A house -divided against itself can not stand.’ Paraphrasing Lincoln’s -declaration, I may add that this nation can not endure half republic and -half colony, half free and half vassal. Our form of government, our -traditions, our present interests, and our future welfare, all forbid -our entering upon a career of conquest.... - -“Some think the fight should be made against ratification of the treaty, -but I would prefer another plan. If the treaty is rejected, negotiations -must be renewed, and instead of settling the question according to our -ideas we must settle it by diplomacy, with the possibility of -international complications. It will be easier, I think, to end the war -at once by ratifying the treaty and then deal with the subject in our -own way. The issue can be presented directly by a resolution of Congress -declaring the policy of the nation upon this subject. The President in -his message says that our only purpose in taking possession of Cuba is -to establish a stable government and then turn that government over to -the people of Cuba. Congress could reaffirm this purpose in regard to -Cuba, and assert the same purpose in regard to the Philippines and Porto -Rico. Such a resolution would make a clear-cut issue between the -doctrine of self-government and the doctrine of imperialism. We should -reserve a harbor and coaling station in Porto Rico and the Philippines -in return for services rendered, and I think we would be justified in -asking the same concession from Cuba. - -“In the case of Porto Rico, where the people have as yet expressed no -desire for independent government, we might with propriety declare our -willingness to annex the island, if the citizens desire annexation, but -the Philippines are too far away and their people too different from -ours to be annexed to the United States, even if they desired it.” - -In making this statement, and in his subsequent active support of the -treaty, Mr. Bryan’s course was again opposed to the wishes and advice of -many of his close political friends. In fact, before Mr. Bryan took his -firm stand probably the majority of Democratic leaders in and out of -Congress were opposed to the ratification of the treaty because of its -Philippine clause. But Mr. Bryan, while as strongly opposed to this -clause as anyone, was anxious to see the war finally ended. He knew that -for the Senate to reject the treaty would prolong the war perhaps a year -or more, and, further, that it might lead to endless and unpleasant -complications. Once the war was ended, he held, the American people -themselves could dispose of the Philippine question. - -Largely owing to the aid extended the administration by Mr. Bryan, the -treaty was ratified by the Senate. Those senators who were opposed to -the imperial policy of President McKinley supported the “Bacon -resolution” as a declaration of this nation’s purpose toward the -Philippines and Filipinos. This resolution declared: - -“The United States hereby disclaim any disposition or intention to -exercise permanent sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said -islands, and assert their determination, when a stable and independent -government shall have been erected therein, entitled in the judgment of -the government of the United States to recognition as such, to transfer -to said government, upon terms which shall be reasonable and just, all -rights secured under the cession by Spain, and to thereupon leave the -government and control of the islands to their people.” - -The Democratic policy, as outlined by Mr. Bryan, was the support of the -treaty and of the foregoing resolution. The treaty was ratified, but the -resolution, though supported by practically the solid Democratic, -Populist, and Silver Republican strength in the Senate, and by a number -of Republican senators who were opposed to the imperial policy, was -defeated by the deciding vote of Vice-President Hobart. Had the -resolution been adopted, and the Philippines been given the same promise -of independence and self-government as had already been given Cuba, it -is believed that the long, bloody, and costly war in the Philippine -Islands might have been averted, and the abandoned old-world heresy of -the right of one man to rule another without that other’s consent would -not now have regained a footing on the soil of the great American -Republic. - -In the meantime the President’s proclamation of December 21, 1898, to -the Filipinos, asserting the sovereignty of the United States over them -and theirs had provoked a veritable hurricane of indignation among that -people. - -The characteristic that distinguishes the Filipinos from all other -Asiatic races is their fierce, inherent love for liberty. For three -hundred years they had been intermittently battling with the Spaniard to -regain what they had lost, and the palm of victory was within their -eager reach on the day that Dewey’s guns first thundered across Manila -bay. Knowing as they did that the United States had gone to war to -secure liberty for the Cubans, why should they doubt the securing of -their own liberty as well? - -The President’s proclamation came like a thunder clap. General Otis, who -was commander-in-chief of the American forces in the Philippines, -reported its effect as follows: - -“Aguinaldo met the proclamation by a counter one in which he indignantly -protested against the claim of sovereignty by the United States in the -islands, which really had been conquered from the Spaniards through the -blood and treasure of his countrymen, and abused me for my assumption of -the title of military governor. Even the women of Cavite province, in a -document numerously signed by them, gave me to understand that after all -the men are killed off they are prepared to shed their patriotic blood -for the liberty and independence of their country.” - -The revulsion was complete. Before the proclamation was issued, it is -true, there had been growing among the Filipinos a feeling of distrust -of the Americans, and of doubt whether, after all, they were to be -conceded their independence. For, at the surrender of Manila, although -its capture had been impossible without the aid of the insurgents, they -were studiously excluded from any share of the honor, and thus given the -first intimation of the final treachery of the administration. Later the -Filipinos were refused a hearing at Washington, and again before the -Peace Commission which was to dispose of them like chattels. - -Actual hostilities broke out February 4, 1899, and are thus referred to -by President McKinley in his message to Congress December 4, 1899: “The -aggression of the Filipinos continually increased, until finally, just -before the time set by the Senate of the United States for a vote upon -the treaty, an attack, evidently prepared in advance, was made all along -the American lines, which resulted in a terribly destructive and -sanguinary repulse of the insurgents.” - -The report of General Otis, reads as follows (page 96): “The battle of -Manila commenced at half past eight o’clock, on the evening of February -4 (1899), and continued until five o’clock the next evening. The -engagement was strictly defensive on the part of the insurgents, and one -of vigorous attack by our forces.” - -Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, in a letter to the Springfield (Mass.) -_Republican_, January 11, 1900, is responsible for this statement -regarding the first battle: “The outbreak of hostilities was not their -fault, but ours. We fired upon them first. The fire was returned from -their lines. Thereupon it was returned again from us, and several -Filipinos were killed. As soon as Aguinaldo heard of it he sent a -message to General Otis saying that the firing was without his knowledge -and against his will; that he deplored it, and that he desired -hostilities to cease, and would withdraw his troops to any distance -General Otis should desire. To which the American general replied that, -as the firing had begun, it must go on.” - -Thus began the War in the Philippine Islands. It has cost thousands of -lives and millions of treasure. It has burned the homes and uprooted the -fields of a frugal, intelligent, and industrious people in whose minds -and hearts have been seared the ringing words of Patrick Henry: “Give me -liberty or give me death!” It has not brought to the United States -either riches or glory, but, on the contrary, lost to us much in taxes -on our people, more in the death of our youth, and most of all in the -sullying of the noble and lofty ideals which animated the Fathers of the -Republic and made their lives sublime. An American soldier writing to -the Minneapolis _Times_, in describing a captured city, thus simply sets -forth the enormity of our national offense: - -“Every inhabitant had left Norzagaray, and no article of value remained -behind. The place had probably been the home of fifteen hundred or two -thousand people, and was pleasantly situated on a clear mountain stream -in which a bath was most refreshing. It was not a city of apparent -wealth, but in many houses were found evidences of education. In a -building which probably had been used as a schoolhouse were found a -number of books, and a variety of exercises written by childish hands. -Pinned to a crucifix was a paper upon which was written the following in -Spanish: ‘American soldiers—How can you hope mercy from Him when you are -slaughtering a people fighting for their liberty, and driving us from -the homes which are justly ours?’ On a table was a large globe which did -not give Minneapolis, but had San Pablo (St. Paul) as the capital of -Minnesota. On a rude blackboard were a number of sentences, which -indicated that the teacher had recently been giving lessons in the -history of the American revolution.” - -The demoralizing effect of this war against liberty on the American -conscience became early apparent. If it were permissible to make war on -the Filipinos because they would not yield to our government, it was no -far cry to withhold from the Porto Ricans the protecting aegis of the -Constitution, to levy a discriminating tariff against them, and to tax -them without their consent. And it of course became impossible for the -United States to express sympathy for the Boers in their war against -British aggression, or even to maintain neutrality between the two. As a -consequence horses, mules, arms, and ammunition were permitted to be -freely shipped from our ports for the use of British soldiers, while -British ships were permitted to intercept and capture American ships -laden with American breadstuffs, when consigned to the Boers. In fact, -an “Anglo-Saxon alliance” was more than hinted at by John Hay, then -United States Ambassador to Great Britain, and later Secretary of State, -when he said at London, on April 20, 1898, speaking of England and the -United States: - -“The good understanding between us is based on something deeper than -mere expediency. All who think can not but see that there is a sanction -like that of religion which binds us in partnership in the serious work -of the world. We are bound by ties we did not forge, and that we can not -break. We are joint ministers in the sacred work of freedom and -progress, charged with duties we can not evade by the imposition of -irresistible hands.” - -To this sentiment Joseph Chamberlain, the British Secretary of the -Colonies, replied in kind on May 13, at Birmingham, saying: - -“I would go so far as to say that, terrible as war may be, even war -itself would be cheaply purchased if, in a great and noble cause, the -Stars and Stripes and the Union Jack should wave together over an -Anglo-Saxon alliance. At the present time these two great nations -understand each other better than they ever have done, since, over a -century ago, they were separated by the blunder of a British -government.” - -So we come to the close of the recital of the most salient events which -gave rise to the greatest issue save that of independence, and later, of -slavery, with which the American people have ever stood face to face. - -Contemporaneous with the growth of the question of imperialism, and -allied to it, another great issue arose,—the problem of the trusts. - -A “trust” may be defined as an industrial combination of such huge -proportions as to enable it not only arbitrarily to fix the price of the -finished product in which it deals, through the stifling of competition, -but frequently to determine alone the price of the raw material it uses -and to fix the rate of wages of those whom it employs. Of these great -and dangerous combinations there were formed, during the years 1897 to -1900, a number exceeding all those already in existence. That this was -permitted to be done with the Sherman anti-trust law on the Federal -statute books has puzzled many. Its explanation may be found in the -following candid admission made by Dr. Albert Shaw in the _Review of -Reviews_ for February, 1897: - -“The great sound-money campaign of 1896 was carried on by money -contributed by corporations—money voted by the directors out of the -funds held by them in trust for the stockholders. Nobody, probably, -would even care to deny that this is literally the truth.” - -When the “great sound money campaign” was concluded, it was but fair, of -course, that those who had given so lavishly should be allowed to -replenish their depleted coffers. And so neither anti-trust laws, -supreme court decisions, nor the cry of protest rising from the people -was allowed to stand in the way of those generous corporations to whom -President McKinley owed so much. - -In the last six months of 1898 the movement toward centralization that -meant monopoly was most alarmingly pronounced. During this time there -were filed articles of incorporation by more than one hundred companies -of abnormal capitalization. The most important trusts were: - - CAPITAL - Gas trusts $ 432,771,000 - Steel and iron 347,650,000 - Coal combines 161,000,000 - Oil trusts 153,000,000 - Flour trust 150,000,000 - Electrical combinations 139,327,000 - Sugar 115,000,000 - Cigarettes and tobacco 108,500,000 - Alcoholic 67,300,000 - Telephone 56,700,000 - Miscellaneous 1,349,250,000 - ——————— - $2,717,768,000 - -Among those classed as “miscellaneous” were trusts in leather, starch, -lumber, rubber, dressed beef, lead, knit goods, window glass, crockery, -furniture, crackers, sheet copper, paper, acids and chemicals, wall -paper, typewriters, axes, bolts and nuts, salt, saws, rope, twine, -thread, stock yards, matches, refrigerators, potteries, marbles, packing -and provisions. - -After the formation of each trust the first step was almost invariably -to limit production by shutting down a portion of the mills controlled -by the combination, thus reducing the number of wage earners. And almost -as invariably the next step was to increase prices. By thus reducing -expenses and increasing receipts the result was, though much of the -trust property had been put in at an enormously inflated valuation, the -watered stock yet earned exceedingly large dividends. The evil was not -only that these unnatural dividends were earned at the expense of the -laborer and the consumer, but that concentration of profits was leading -to congestion of capital in certain sections of the country at the -expense of other sections. - -The great friend and helper of the trust-promoter was, of course, the -high protective tariff. Without the tariff, to shut out competition from -abroad, it would be impossible for the domestic concerns to form a close -corporation and arbitrarily to fix prices. But Congress, instead of -attempting to remedy the evil by lowering the tariff, deliberately -raised it, being particularly careful to see that the percentage on -trust-controlled goods was made sufficiently high to render foreign -competition impossible. This led the Philadelphia _Ledger_, a Republican -newspaper, to remark: - -“If Congress had any genuine regard for the interests of the people, or -if it were sincere of purpose respecting their common welfare, or in -regard to the proper protection of labor, it would promptly transfer to -the free list every product controlled by a conscienceless and predatory -trust which reduces production, cuts off working people from work and -wages, and increases prices to the tens of millions of consumers.” The -correctness of this view was testified to, before the United States -Industrial Commission, in June, 1899, by no less a personage than Henry -O. Havemeyer, president of the sugar trust, who said: - -“The existing [tariff] bill and the preceding one have been the occasion -of the formation of all the large trusts with very few exceptions, -inasmuch as they provide for an inordinate protection to all the -interests of the country—sugar refining excepted. All this agitation -against trusts is against merely the business machinery employed to take -from the public what the government in its tariff laws says it is proper -and suitable they should have. It is the government, through its tariff -laws, which plunders the people, and the trusts, etc., are merely the -machinery for doing it.” - -The showing regarding trusts made in the “Commercial Year Book” for 1899 -was startling. Its salient features may be thus tabulated: - - 1899 1898 - Number of trusts 353 200 - Stock $5,118,494,181 $3,283,521,452 - Bonded debt 714,388,661 378,720,091 - Stock and bonds 5,832,882,842 3,662,241,543 - -This shows an increase for the year of 76 per cent. in the number of -institutions and of 60 per cent. in stock and bonded debt. But it shows -more than this. According to the census of 1890 the entire capital -employed in manufacturing and mechanical industries was $6,525,000,000. -A comparison of this figure with the stock and bonds of trusts for 1899 -shows that the capitalization of these gigantic combines was equal to 90 -per cent. of the entire manufacturing investments of 1890. - -It was such significant figures as these that woke the country to a -realization of the imminence and great importance of the trust problem. -It was felt that the most stupendous industrial revolution in the -history of the world was on, because it was realized how closely our -industrial system had approached to complete absorption under -monopolistic control. Industry at large was becoming organized into a -system of feudalized corporations. Each was stifling competition, -discouraging enterprise, and padlocking the gates of opportunity. -Together they were in absolute mastery of the industrial field. - -The menacing danger of the situation was early realized, and the -“anti-trust” movement progressed side by side with the opposition to -imperialism. The fight was to be one of individualism against a gigantic -and arrogant plutocracy, the forces of individualism contending for the -doctrines of liberty and equal opportunity as against the reactionary -tendencies of which trusts and imperialism were the supremest -manifestations. In this Titanic struggle it was but fitting that the -Jeffersonian hosts should be marshaled under the leadership of the -brave, aggressive, eloquent, and inspired evangel of the doctrines of -the Fathers—William J. Bryan. - -[Illustration: DAVID B. HILL] - - - - - RENOMINATION - - -When the result of the great presidential contest of 1896 was made -known, Mr. Bryan’s political enemies, both in and out of the Democratic -party, loudly proclaimed that “Bryanism”—or “Bryanarchy,” as a -green-eyed relict of Mr. Cleveland’s second cabinet terms it—was dead -and buried. Some said it was “too dead to bury.” And Bryan himself, they -gleefully asserted, had died with the death of ideas to which he was -wedded. Doubtless many of them believed this. The fierce and determined -onslaught of the silver men in that memorable campaign had so wrought -upon the fears of the class of Americans of whom Marcus A. Hanna and -Pierpont Morgan are representative, that, in their nervous hysteria -after their narrow escape, they were in a frame of mind where but little -evidence was required to induce great faith. And, moreover, the decisive -defeat which Bryan had suffered, considered in its probable effect on -his disorganized following, was such as naturally gave birth to the hope -that to the outstretched palms of the repudiated and disowned leaders of -the party, such as Mr. Cleveland, might soon be restored in contrition -the insignia of power and authority. - -But even those who most sincerely believed and uproariously heralded the -death of Bryanism and of Bryan continued their flagellations of both as -earnestly as of yore. To them the good old Latin rule “_De mortuis nihil -nisi bonum_” was obsolete and cobwebby. - -And so, for almost three years succeeding Mr. McKinley’s election, the -funeral notices of Democracy’s leader were daily published and his -requiems daily sung. But, through all this time, the faith of the allied -forces of reform that their leader was still of the living abode with -them, and, firm in the belief, they were neither faltered nor dismayed, -and never a man broke ranks. - -And it was not long before faith that was of the spirit gave way to that -certainty which comes of knowledge that is of the brain and senses. The -first evidence was the remarkable sale and popularity of “The First -Battle.” Another was the increasing demand for Mr. Bryan’s services as -lecturer and public speaker, and the rapturous enthusiasm with which he -was received, excelling, if possible that which greeted the Presidential -candidate. Then, when he fearlessly took a stand against imperialism, -which seemed to be sweeping the country like a great forest fire, and at -once, in response to his appeal, the great Democratic party lined up -against that policy, it became clearly evident that the powers of the -great popular leader had not waned; neither had his influence over the -minds and hearts of the people been lost. Finally, just as he was the -first great public man of the United States to raise his voice in -protest against the abandonment of the Republic, so he was the first to -propose a definite and coherent remedy for the overshadowing evil of the -trusts. This again demonstrated his natural fitness for leadership. Mr. -Bryan first outlined his views at the Anti-Trust Conference held in -Chicago in 1899. Because of its importance, as well as because it was -the first tangible remedy proposed, it is here reproduced: - -“I believe we ought to have remedies in both state and nation, and that -they should be concurrent remedies. In the first place, every state has, -or should have, the right to create any private corporation, which, in -the judgment of the people of the state, is conducive to the welfare of -the people of that state. I believe we can safely entrust to the people -of a state the settlement of a question which concerns them. If they -create a corporation, and it becomes destructive of their best -interests, they can destroy that corporation, and we can safely trust -them both to create and annihilate, if conditions make annihilation -necessary. In the second place, the state has, or should have, the right -to prohibit any foreign corporation from doing business in the state, -and it has, or should have, the right to impose such restrictions and -limitations as the people of the state may think necessary upon foreign -corporations doing business in the state. In other words, the people of -the state not only should have a right to create the corporations they -want, but they should be permitted to protect themselves against any -outside corporation. - -“But I do not think this is sufficient. I believe, in addition to a -state remedy, there must be a Federal remedy, and I believe Congress -has, or should have, the power to place restrictions and limitations, -even to the point of prohibition, upon any corporation organized in any -state that wants to do business outside of the state. I say that -Congress has, or should have, power to place upon the corporation such -limitations and restrictions, even to the point of prohibition, as may -to Congress seem necessary for the protection of the public. - -“Now, I believe that these concurrent remedies will prove effective. To -repeat, the people of every state shall first decide whether they want -to create a corporation. They shall also decide whether they want any -outside corporation to do business in the state; and, if so, upon what -conditions; and then Congress shall exercise the right to place upon -every corporation doing business outside of the state in which it is -organized such limitations and restrictions as may be necessary for the -protection of the public.” - -The legislation to be enacted by Congress Mr. Bryan roughly outlined as -follows: - -“Suppose that Congress should say that whenever a corporation wants to -do business outside of the state, it must apply to and receive from some -body, created by Congress for the purpose, a license to do business. -Suppose the law should provide three conditions upon which the license -could be issued: - -“1. That the evidence should show that there was no water in the stock. - -“2. That the evidence should show that the corporation has not attempted -in the past and is not now attempting, to monopolize any branch of -industry or any article of merchandise; and - -“3. Providing for that publicity which everybody has spoken of and about -which everybody agrees.” - -This plan of Mr. Bryan’s for the suppression of monopolistic trusts is -given here, not especially because of the intrinsic merit it may -possess, but as illustrating one of the important phases of his -character. - -When the tariff question was under discussion, Mr. Bryan was an -outspoken advocate of a tariff for revenue only. When the silver -question arose Mr. Bryan wrote and stood squarely upon the first -platform that declared for the “free and unlimited coinage of both gold -and silver at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting for -the aid or consent of any other nation on earth.” When the dark cloud of -imperialism rose on the horizon his was the first voice to point out the -danger, and he took an unequivocal position in favor of granting -independence to the Filipinos. And now, at the Trust Conference, while -many joined with him in denunciation of the evil, he alone proposed and -ably defended a definite and explicit remedy. So it has been with every -other question with which Mr. Bryan has had to deal, in his career as a -public man; he has never failed to state his exact position and to take -the American people fully and freely into his confidence. And his -frankness and honesty have been appreciated. Of the thousand delegates -chosen during the first six months of the year 1900 to attend the great -Democratic National convention at Kansas City, those from every state -but two were instructed for Bryan for President. When it is remembered -that this was done in spite of the earnest desire of a number of -well-known Democrats who wished it otherwise, but absolutely dared not -make a fight, the full significance of this great popular tribute to the -defeated candidate of four years before may be understood. It was this -unanimity as regarded the candidate, together with the unanimity -regarding the issue, the feeling of enthusiasm aroused by the one, and -of patriotic fervor excited by the other, that made the Kansas City -convention one destined to be memorable in American history. And while -the name on the lips of every Democrat was the same name as was -pronounced at Chicago four years before, the issue which aroused them by -the compelling force of events was entirely different. Then the question -was: What kind of money shall this nation have, and who shall issue it -and control its volume? Now the question was: What form of government -shall this nation have; shall it remain a Republic, as contemplated by -the fathers,—the world’s beacon light of liberty,—or shall it turn its -face to the past, extinguish its light, and on the dark sea of empire, -littered with the flotsam and jetsam of nations that once were great and -free, set forth toward the orient? The issue was worthy of the man, and -the man, with a reunited and virile Democracy behind him, was prepared -to meet it. - -No man who was so fortunate as to be present at the Kansas City -convention can live long enough to forget it. It was epoch-marking not -only for its outward appearance, but for its inward significance. To the -onlooker, stirred by its emotional enthusiasm, by the wildness and -frenzy of its patriotic manifestations, these were its memorable and -significant features. But to him who looked beneath the surface, who -knew and saw the strange combat being waged between one man and many -hundreds of men,—a combat one of the strangest in nature and most -remarkable in its outcome ever waged in a parliamentary body,—it was -this that held him entranced to the end, and sent him home marveling at -that one man’s strength and greatness. It came about in this wise: Of -the hundreds of thousands of Gold Democrats who left the Democratic -party in 1896 because of the silver question, ninety per cent. or more -were anxious to come back and aid in Mr. Bryan’s nomination and -election, now that they believed they saw the Republic itself in danger -at the hand of President McKinley and his advisers. They saw, as did the -Silver Democrats, as did Mr. Bryan himself, that imperialism was to be -the dominating, all-important issue of the campaign. In the shadow of -the great danger of the conversion of the Republic into an empire they -were willing to subordinate all minor differences and join to defeat the -President they had themselves helped to elect four years before. It is -true that to these men “free silver” was still a bugaboo. At the same -time they were convinced that, because of the complexion of the Senate, -with its heavy Republican majority, even should Mr. Bryan and a -Democratic House of Representatives be elected on a free silver -platform, it would be impossible for them, in four years, to enact any -legislation along that line. But nevertheless, after the manner of many -a returning prodigal, they demanded a concession. It was a very modest -and moderate concession they wanted. They asked the party only to -reaffirm instead of reiterating the free silver plank of the Chicago -platform. - -It can hardly be denied that to reaffirm is, in effect, to reiterate. -The difference is only in seeming,—and, possibly, that it gives -opportunity for “interpretation” and “construction.” At all events, the -Gold Democrats had early gone to work to secure this concession. They -had been successful in enlisting in their behalf scores and hundreds of -sincere friends of bimetallism in the Democratic party. And when the -delegates were gathered at Kansas City it became evident that a large -majority of them were favorable to the policy of a general reaffirmation -of the Chicago platform without a specific repetition of the demand for -free silver at the ratio of sixteen to one. Not only were the most of -the delegates inclined to this course, but it was advocated, before the -convention met, by a large majority of the influential party leaders. It -was, on the part of the leaders, as of most of the delegates, a sincere -and honest advocacy, by men whose fealty to the doctrine of bimetallism -was undoubted. It was their intent, not to abandon the demand for free -silver,—far from it,—for the platform would reaffirm the demand made in -1896,—but to subordinate it in such a way as would do least damage in -the fight for the preservation of the Republic. Such was their honest -position. - -But here the trouble arose. The Gold Democrats, by their very -insistence, had made “free silver” the only issue, so far as the -convention was concerned. There was no difference among Democrats as to -any other plank of the platform. This very fact, and the fact that in -every newspaper in the country the one question of discussion and of -speculation concerning the convention was whether it would “reaffirm” or -“reiterate” had brought the old issue so prominently to the fore-ground -that not to reiterate would mean practically to abandon the position, -while under fire. Had the issue never been raised, had the fight thereon -never been precipitated, it is conceivable, even probable, that there -had come from no source any objection to the policy of reaffirming the -Chicago platform so far as the old issues were concerned, and making -specific declarations on the new ones. But the issue had been raised, -and the objection came,—came from William J. Bryan, at his home in -Lincoln. - -On July 1, R. L. Metcalfe, a delegate at large from Nebraska, after a -long consultation with Mr. Bryan gave out an authorized interview in -which he declared that there must be a specific declaration on the money -question. This was taken as a statement of Mr. Bryan’s position, and -David B. Hill, the leader of the Gold Democrats, at once hastened from -Kansas City to Lincoln on a futile mission. He wished to induce Mr. -Bryan to recede from his position. It became at once evident that there -was to be a contest over the money plank of the platform. - -On July 3, the day before the convention met, A. S. Tibbets of Lincoln, -another delegate-at-large from Nebraska, threw this bomb-shell: “Bryan -will not run on any platform which does not contain a specific -declaration in favor of free coinage at the ratio of sixteen to one. If -this convention does not put that declaration in the platform it will -have to nominate another candidate for president.” - -This authorized statement was a bugle call to Democrats, reminding them -that parties are founded on the bed-rock of principle, and that -platforms are made unequivocally to express convictions. Many of the -leaders of the party, assembled at Kansas City, took their stand by -Bryan’s side, and the fight for sturdy, honest, and manly candor waged -fiercely to the end. - -Ex-Governor Hill, who had returned from Lincoln, alone among the leaders -who had fought for a specific silver plank, boldly and openly continued -his fight. He is a hard and stubborn fighter, and he centered his -efforts on the organization of the committee on resolutions. He sent for -heads of delegations known to be favorable to his plan, and urged upon -them the necessity of selecting “careful, conservative, long-headed -men,” as members of that important committee. He argued vehemently for -the necessity of such action as would “reorganize the party” and make -victory assured. “Good God, gentlemen,” the famous New Yorker exclaimed -to one delegation with which he was closeted, “we must not lose this -election. It means fifty years of republican rule. And if we are wise,” -he said, wagging his head solemnly, “we will not lose it. The people -want to be with us. Shall we be so generous”—with an oratorical flourish -and Frenchified shrug of his expressive shoulders—“as to refuse to allow -them to fight our battles?” - -Here a Kansan spoke up. “I am not a delegate, senator,” he said, “but I -want a conservative platform. If we don’t get it I’ll go home and quit, -and I’ve voted the Democratic ticket for fifty years.” - -“Wait, wait, my friend,” came the quick response; “don’t, don’t, I pray -you, say that. Whether the platform pleases us or not, we must fight, -fight to win, fight to the death.” The eyes of the shrewd and wily -politician flashed. In quick, nervous staccato he continued: “Mark my -words, mark my words. If McKinley and a Republican Congress are elected -inside the year a force bill will be fastened upon us. Why? Kentucky; -that will be the excuse. And the next move—do you know what it will be? -On the pretext that the negro vote is not cast nor counted, the -representation of the southern states in Congress will be reduced. Their -vote in the electoral college will be diminished, and they’ll have the -Democratic party by the throat, bound hand and foot. We must not permit -it. We must not.” - -The second day before the convention met, the writer of this chapter, in -a dispatch to the Omaha _World-Herald_, said: - -“There are many Democrats in Kansas City to-night who profess to deplore -what they term William J. Bryan’s lack of skill as a “practical -politician,” who murmur their complaints that the leader of their party -does not understand the gentle art of constructing a platform that will -“catch ‘em acomin’ and catch ‘em a gwine,” who complain that Mr. Bryan -does not understand that the end and aim of a political party is to get -into power—to hold offices and control the patronage of the -administration. These men, crafty, cunning diplomats, though not always -successful withal, are, it may frankly be admitted, grieved and -disappointed at Mr. Bryan’s insistence that the Democratic platform -should clearly and explicitly set forth the conviction and the purpose -of Democracy’s heart and brain. - -“But in all Kansas City, among all the sweltering and noisy crowds that -throng the lobbies and march up and down the streets, there can not be -found a single man—Democrat, Populist, or Republican—but will confess -his admiration of Mr. Bryan’s honesty and courage. - -“To the leaders and manipulators of parties, to the men taught and -accustomed to play to the pit, Mr. Bryan is a source of ever-increasing -wonder and surprise. It is hard for the politician to understand the -statesman. - -“It it not to be doubted that Mr. Bryan’s wishes are to prevail in the -great convention of American patriotism which is to convene to-morrow on -the anniversary of the Republic’s birth, to proclaim anew the unchanged -and never-changing truths to perpetuate which the blood of heroes and of -martyrs was shed on a hundred battlefields. - -“The platform will be an honest platform, it will be an easily -understood platform, it will conceal nothing, and it will evade nothing. -It will there declare, in explicit terms, for independent bimetallism by -this country alone, at the present legal ratio of sixteen to one. This -prediction may be safely hazarded. - -“All day long the leaven has been working, all day long the gospel of -candor and righteousness has been preached, and to-night there is not a -delegate but knows that Mr. Bryan demands that the Democratic party deal -in unequivocal good faith with the people of this country.” - -In truth the bold and manly position taken by Mr. Bryan had won him the -admiration and respect of the whole country. It demonstrated anew those -noble qualities which he possesses in such an unusual degree. The -strength of his position was well outlined in an interview given to the -New York _Herald_ by Mr. Metcalfe, who led the fight for a specific -declaration. Mr. Metcalfe said: - -“When the American people know Mr. Bryan better, they will learn that he -is not a politician in the popular acceptation of that term, but that he -is honestly devoted to his views of fundamental principles, and that, -while not an obstinate man, on this question of principle he is as firm -as a rock. Men who know him best know him to be a man of iron. He stands -to-day determined that the platform on which he is to be a candidate -shall contain a plank explicitly pledging independent bimetallism at the -ratio of sixteen to one. Those men of the East who do not know the man, -and who may be inclined to regard his position on this question as an -obstinate one, should know that the same firmness of purpose, the same -indifference to appeal even by men known to be friendly to him that -characterizes his adherence to the principle in which some of the men of -the East believe him to be wrong, will sustain him in the White House on -the many great questions on which they believe him to be right. - -“The situation is an unusual one as political situations have gone in -this country, but the man who is to be the nominee of this convention is -an exceptional man. As the prospective nominee of this convention he -will not surrender his convictions. As the nominee of the Democratic -party in the coming campaign he will not be a dodger. In the White House -he will not be a wabbler. When he shall be elected, men who may be -saddened by the thought that they have a President who believes in -bimetallism at the ratio of sixteen to one may find consolation in the -demonstration of the fact that they also have an American president who -adheres to the policies and traditions of a republic in preference to -the habits of an empire; who draws his inspiration from the great mass -of the people, rather than from a coterie of trust agents; whose purpose -it is to discharge his duties so that the result shall be the greatest -good to the greatest number, rather than to surrender to a handful of -men the privilege of administering the government to the end that the -many shall bear all the burdens and the few shall enjoy all the -benefits.” - -The fight in the resolutions committee was a hard and long one. So -closely was the committee divided that it was evident that neither side -had more than two or three majority. It seemed almost inevitable that a -minority and majority report, differing only as to the wording in which -the party’s allegiance to silver should be expressed, would go before -the convention. And in this event hard feeling would in all probability -be engendered, harsh words be spoken, and factionalism and disunion -might result. In this crisis, one of the members of the resolutions -committee was seized with an inspiration. In a half hour the whole -difficulty was solved. The committee unanimously agreed to a specific -demand for free silver coupled with the declaration that imperialism was -the paramount issue of the campaign. - -On July 5 the platform was read and adopted by the convention, and Bryan -nominated for president of the United States. - -Again the writer incorporates a portion of a dispatch sent by him to the -_World-Herald_ descriptive of this memorable session of the convention: - -“Never in the history of popular government has there been held a -national convention of a great political party that can be likened to -that which at Kansas City to-day promulgated its declaration of -principles and nominated its candidate for the chief magistracy of the -great commonwealth of sovereign American states. - -[Illustration: ADLAI STEVENSON] - -“To-day’s session witnessed scenes of turbulent enthusiasm, of intense -patriotic ardor such as have never before been witnessed and such as -promise a victory at once glorious and complete for William J. Bryan at -the polls next November. It has been a day marked by loftiest patriotism -and noblest purposes, a day that for centuries to come will stand clear -and distinct as marking an epoch in the cause of human liberty. - -“To-day was fired the first gun of that great war which is to be waged -during the next four months for the preservation of the Republic and the -perpetuation of American institutions. And to-day, on a Democratic -platform, addressing a Democratic convention, Webster Davis, Republican -orator, statesman, and publicist, denounced in words of burning -eloquence Republican abandonment of republican principles, and pledged -his loyal and unswerving support to William J. Bryan. And on that same -platform David B. Hill, Gold Democrat, stood before wildly cheering -thousands, and announced a reunited Democracy. - -“’Save the Republic,’ is to be the battle cry, the Declaration of -Independence the party creed, ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’ the -battle hymn, and the American flag the party emblem. And the leader, -honest, unswerving, and undaunted, is to be the same gallant chieftain -who breathed anew the breath of life into Democracy four years ago and -marched it to glorious battle. Such, while the fire of patriotism burned -fiercely in its heart, was the unanimous decision reached to-day by the -Democratic National convention. - -“As has been daily predicted in these dispatches, the Democratic party -took no backward step on the question of finance. - -“There is no attempt at quibbling, at subterfuge, or equivocation. -Honesty and candor of the highest order live in this plank of the -platform as they have their being in every other plank. There is not a -line, a word, or a syllable capable of more than the one meaning; there -are no omissions, no half statements, no dodgings of any question. The -platform is in every sense worthy of the man—candid, bold, honest, and -sincere even as he is candid, bold, honest, and sincere. Most wondrously -were the schemes and machinations of the enemies of the Democratic party -confounded. For on the single question on which the delegates were -divided, as to whether there should be a specific demand for the free -coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one by this nation alone, -the committee on resolutions brought in a unanimous report and the -demand was boldly and specifically made. And the platform in which that -demand was incorporated was adopted by the convention, not only with -absolute unanimity, but amid the wildest, the most general, and most -prolonged enthusiasm. - -“In this unanimity spoke the love of every delegate for the Republic. It -came because of a realizing sense that popular government and free -institutions are in danger. And with that danger threatening, not a man -in the convention but felt that all other differences must be buried -while the party that founded and builded the Republic rallies to guard -the sacred edifice from the vandal hands that are outstretched for its -destruction. And thus it was that the great Democratic party reunited, -north, south, east, and west clasping hands, love of country in every -man’s heart and ‘save the Republic’ on each man’s lip, gave its platform -and its candidate to the country.” - -So Mr. Bryan won his greatest fight. It was a fight not only for -principle and honesty, but for absolute candor and sincerity in dealing -with any question before the American people. And, having won it, he was -again the candidate for President of three political parties. For at -Kansas City, at a convention held at the same time as the Democratic, -the Silver Republican party, under the leadership of that pure and -disinterested patriot, Charles A. Towne, had made Bryan and Stevenson, -the Democratic nominees, its own nominees. And the Peoples’ party, at -Sioux Falls, South Dakota, early in May had, in a spirit of noble -self-sacrifice, gone outside its own party in its search for candidates, -naming Mr. Bryan for President and Mr. Towne for Vice-President. Mr. -Towne, believing that by so doing he could better further Mr. Bryan’s -election, later withdrew from the ticket. - -The Republican party met at Philadelphia in June, and renominated -President McKinley, choosing as its Vice-Presidential candidate Governor -Theodore Roosevelt of New York. The platform declared for the permanent -retention of the Philippine Islands as property of the United States. - -President McKinley, in his speech of acceptance, thus outlined his -Philippine policy: - -“There must be no scuttle policy. We will fulfil in the Philippines the -obligations imposed by the triumph of our arms, by the treaty of peace, -and by international law, by the nation’s sense of honor, and, more than -all, by the rights, interests, and conditions of the Filipinos -themselves.... The Philippines are ours, and American authority must be -supreme throughout the archipelago.” - -Those who find this declaration vague and unsatisfactory may well turn -to Mr. Bryan’s great speech of acceptance delivered at Indianapolis on -August 8, in which he makes this distinct pledge: - -“If elected, I shall convene Congress in extraordinary session as soon -as I am inaugurated and recommend an immediate declaration of the -nation’s purpose, first, to establish a stable form of government in the -Philippine Islands, just as we are now establishing a stable form of -government in Cuba; second, to give independence to the Filipinos, just -as we have promised to give independence to the Cubans; third, to -protect the Filipinos from outside interference while they work out -their destiny, just as we have protected the republics of Central and -South America and are, by the Monroe Doctrine, pledged to protect Cuba. -A European protectorate often results in the exploitation of the ward by -the guardian. An American protectorate gives to the nation protected the -advantage of our strength without making it the victim of our greed. For -three-quarters of a century the Monroe Doctrine has been a shield to -neighboring republics, and yet it has imposed no pecuniary burden upon -us.” - -So is the issue drawn in the important campaign in which, for a second -time, William J. Bryan and William McKinley are the opposing candidates -for the highest elective office in the world. For weal or for woe, who -can doubt that the outcome will be of serious and far-reaching import to -the people of the United States and to their children and children’s -children who shall live after them? - - - - - THE INDIANAPOLIS SPEECH - - -Mr. Bryan was notified of his second nomination for the Presidency by -the Democratic party at Indianapolis, Ind., on August 8, 1900. The -ceremonies took place in the presence of an immense multitude of people, -the number being conservatively estimated at fifty thousand, among whom -were included many of the most distinguished members of the party. In -formally accepting the nomination Mr. Bryan delivered a speech which -will not only rank as incomparably the best of his numerous public -utterances, but which is destined to immortality in the brief list of -the world’s great orations. - -For purity and simplicity of style, and beauty and strength of -structure, as well as for its masterful logic and sublimity of -sentiment, this speech has never been excelled. While it has not the -stately sweep of Demosthenes’ Philippics, the incisiveness of Cicero’s -invectives, or the grandeur of Burke’s sonorous periods, in its every -sentence lives such honesty, sincerity, ardent patriotism, and lofty -purpose that it thrills the hearts and stirs the consciences of men as -no other speech, save only Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, has -ever done before. - -This speech, not only because of its wondrous effect on the American -people and its direct bearing on the great issue with which Mr. Bryan’s -life has become wedded, but as much because of the glowing light it -sheds upon the character of the man, his ideals, and his motives, is -here reproduced in full: - -MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE NOTIFICATION COMMITTEE—I shall, at an -early day, and in a more formal manner accept the nomination which you -tender, and I shall at that time discuss the various questions covered -by the Democratic platform. It may not be out of place, however, to -submit a few observations at this time upon the general character of the -contest before us and upon the question which is declared to be of -paramount importance in this campaign. - -When I say that the contest of 1900 is a contest between democracy on -the one hand and plutocracy on the other, I do not mean to say that all -our opponents have deliberately chosen to give to organized wealth a -predominating influence in the affairs of the government, but I do -assert that, on the important issues of the day, the Republican party is -dominated by those influences which constantly tend to substitute the -worship of mammon for the protection of the rights of man. - -In 1859 Lincoln said that the Republican party believed in the man and -the dollar, but that in case of conflict it believed in the man before -the dollar. This is the proper relation which should exist between the -two. Man, the handiwork of God, comes first; money, the handiwork of -man, is of inferior importance. Man is the master, money the servant, -but upon all important questions to-day Republican legislation tends to -make money the master and man the servant. - -The maxim of Jefferson, “Equal rights to all and special privileges to -none,” and the doctrine of Lincoln that this should be a government “of -the people, by the people, and for the people,” are being disregarded -and the instrumentalities of government are being used to advance the -interests of those who are in a position to secure favors from the -government. - -The Democratic party is not making war upon the honest acquisition of -wealth; it has no desire to discourage industry, economy, and thrift. On -the contrary, it gives to every citizen the greatest possible stimulus -to honest toil when it promises him protection in the enjoyment of the -proceeds of his labor. Property rights are most secure when human rights -are most respected. Democracy strives for a civilization in which every -member of society will share according to his merits. - -No one has a right to expect from society more than a fair compensation -for the service which he renders to society. If he secures more it is at -the expense of someone else. It is no injustice to him to prevent his -doing injustice to another. To him who would, either through class -legislation or in the absence of necessary legislation, trespass upon -the rights of another the Democratic party says, “Thou shalt not.” - -Against us are arrayed a comparatively small but politically and -financially powerful number who really profit by Republican policies; -but with them are associated a large number who, because of their -attachment to their party name, are giving their support to doctrines -antagonistic to the former teachings of their own party. Republicans who -used to advocate bimetallism now try to convince themselves that the -gold standard is good; Republicans who were formerly attached to the -greenback are now seeking an excuse for giving national banks control of -the nation’s paper money; Republicans who used to boast that the -Republican party was paying off the national debt are now looking for -reasons to support a perpetual and increasing debt; Republicans who -formerly abhorred a trust now beguile themselves with the delusion that -there are good trusts and bad trusts, while, in their minds, the line -between the two is becoming more and more obscure; Republicans who, in -times past, congratulated the country upon the small expense of our -standing army are now making light of the objections which are urged -against a large increase in the permanent military establishment; -Republicans who gloried in our independence when the nation was less -powerful now look with favor upon a foreign alliance; Republicans who -three years ago condemned “forcible annexation” as immoral and even -criminal are now sure that it is both immoral and criminal to oppose -forcible annexation. That partisanship has already blinded many to -present dangers is certain; how large a portion of the Republican party -can be drawn over to the new policies remains to be seen. - -For a time Republican leaders were inclined to deny to opponents the -right to criticise the Philippine policy of the administration, but upon -investigation they found that both Lincoln and Clay asserted and -exercised the right to criticise a president during the progress of the -Mexican war. - -Instead of meeting the issue boldly and submitting a clear and positive -plan for dealing with the Philippine question, the Republican convention -adopted a platform, the larger part of which was devoted to boasting and -self-congratulation. - -In attempting to press economic questions upon the country to the -exclusion of those which involve the very structure of our government, -the Republican leaders give new evidence of their abandonment of the -earlier ideals of the party and of their complete subserviency to -pecuniary considerations. - -But they shall not be permitted to evade the stupendous and far-reaching -issue which they have deliberately brought into the arena of politics. -When the president, supported by a practically unanimous vote of the -House and Senate, entered upon a war with Spain for the purpose of -aiding the struggling patriots of Cuba, the country, without regard to -party, applauded. Although the Democrats recognized that the -administration would necessarily gain a political advantage from the -conduct of a war which in the very nature of the case must soon end in a -complete victory, they vied with the Republicans in the support which -they gave to the President. When the war was over and the Republican -leaders began to suggest the propriety of a colonial policy, opposition -at once manifested itself. When the President finally laid before the -Senate a treaty which recognized the independence of Cuba, but provided -for the cession of the Philippine islands to the United States, the -menace of imperialism became so apparent that many preferred to reject -the treaty and risk the ills that might follow rather than take the -chance of correcting the errors of the treaty by the independent action -of this country. - -I was among the number of those who believed it better to ratify the -treaty and end the war, release the volunteers, remove the excuse for -war expenditures, and then give to the Filipinos the independence which -might be forced from Spain by a new treaty. - -In view of the criticism which my action aroused in some quarters, I -take this occasion to restate the reasons given at that time. I thought -it safer to trust the American people to give independence to the -Filipinos than to trust the accomplishment of that purpose to diplomacy -with an unfriendly nation. Lincoln embodied an argument in the question -when he asked, “Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make -laws?” I believe that we are now in a better position to wage a -successful contest against imperialism than we would have been had the -treaty been rejected. With the treaty ratified, a clean-cut issue is -presented between a government by consent and a government by force, and -imperialists must bear the responsibility for all that happens until the -question is settled. If the treaty had been rejected, the opponents of -imperialism would have been held responsible for any international -complications which might have arisen before the ratification of another -treaty. But, whatever differences of opinion may have existed as to the -best method of opposing a colonial policy, there never was any -difference as to the importance of the course to be pursued. - -The title of Spain being extinguished, we were at liberty to deal with -the Filipinos according to American principles. The Bacon resolution, -introduced a month before hostilities broke out at Manila, promised -independence to the Filipinos on the same terms that it was promised to -the Cubans. I supported this resolution and believe that its adoption -prior to the breaking out of hostilities would have prevented bloodshed, -and that its adoption at any subsequent time would have ended -hostilities. - -If the treaty had been rejected considerable time would have necessarily -elapsed before a new treaty could have been agreed upon and ratified, -and during that time the question would have been agitating the public -mind. If the Bacon resolution had been adopted by the Senate and carried -out by the President, either at the time of the ratification of the -treaty or at any time afterwards, it would have taken the question of -imperialism out of politics and left the American people free to deal -with their domestic problems. But the resolution was defeated by the -vote of the Republican Vice-President, and from that time to this a -Republican Congress has refused to take any action whatever in the -matter. - -When hostilities broke out at Manila Republican speakers and Republican -editors at once sought to lay the blame upon those who had delayed the -ratification of the treaty, and, during the progress of the war, the -same Republicans have accused the opponents of imperialism of giving -encouragement to the Filipinos. This is a cowardly evasion of -responsibility. - -If it is right for the United States to hold the Philippine islands -permanently and imitate European empires in the government of colonies, -the Republican party ought to state its position and defend it, but it -must expect the subject races to protest against such a policy and to -resist to the extent of their ability. The Filipinos do not need any -encouragement from Americans now living. Our whole history has been an -encouragement, not only to the Filipinos, but to all who are denied a -voice in their own government. If the Republicans are prepared to -censure all who have used language calculated to make the Filipinos hate -foreign domination let them condemn the speech of Patrick Henry. When he -uttered that passionate appeal, “Give me liberty or give me death,” he -expressed a sentiment which still echoes in the hearts of men. Let them -censure Jefferson; of all the statesmen of history none have used words -so offensive to those who would hold their fellows in political bondage. -Let them censure Washington, who declared that the colonists must choose -between liberty and slavery. Or, if the statute of limitations has run -against the sins of Henry and Jefferson and Washington, let them censure -Lincoln, whose Gettysburg speech will be quoted in defense of popular -government when the present advocates of force and conquest are -forgotten. - -Some one has said that a truth once spoken can never be recalled. It -goes on and on, and no one can set a limit to its ever-widening -influence. But if it were possible to obliterate every word written or -spoken in defense of the principles set forth in the Declaration of -Independence, a war of conquest would still leave its legacy of -perpetual hatred, for it was God Himself who placed in every human heart -the love of liberty. He never made a race of people so low in the scale -of civilization or intelligence that it would welcome a foreign master. - -Those who would have this nation enter upon a career of empire must -consider not only the effect of imperialism on the Filipinos, but they -must also calculate its effects upon our own nation. We can not -repudiate the principle of self-government in the Philippines without -weakening that principle here. - -Lincoln said that the safety of this nation was not in its fleets, its -armies, its forts, but in the spirit which prizes liberty as the -heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere, and he warned his -countrymen that they could not destroy this spirit without planting the -seeds of despotism at their own doors. - -Even now we are beginning to see the paralyzing influence of -imperialism. Heretofore, this nation has been prompt to express its -sympathy with those who were fighting for civil liberty. While our -sphere of activity has been limited to the western hemisphere, our -sympathies have not been bounded by the seas. We have felt it due to -ourselves and to the world, as well as to those who were struggling for -the right to govern themselves, to proclaim the interest which our -people have, from the date of their own independence, felt in every -contest between human rights and arbitrary power. Three-quarters of a -century ago, when our nation was small, the struggles of Greece aroused -our people, and Webster and Clay gave eloquent expression to the -universal desire for Grecian independence. In 1896, all parties -manifested a lively interest in the success of the Cubans, but now when -a war is in progress in South Africa, which must result in the extension -of the monarchial idea, or in the triumph of a republic, the advocates -of imperialism in this country dare not say a word in behalf of the -Boers. Sympathy for the Boers does not arise from any unfriendliness -towards England; the American people are not unfriendly toward the -people of any nation. This sympathy is due to the fact that, as stated -in our platform, we believe in the principles of self-government, and -reject, as did our forefathers, the claims of monarchy. If this nation -surrenders its belief in the universal application of the principles set -forth in the Declaration of Independence, it will lose the prestige and -influence which it has enjoyed among the nations as an exponent of -popular government. - -Our opponents, conscious of the weakness of their cause, seek to confuse -imperialism with expansion, and have even dared to claim Jefferson as a -supporter of their policy. Jefferson spoke so freely and used language -with such precision that no one can be ignorant of his views. On one -occasion he declared: “If there be one principle more deeply rooted than -any other in the mind of every American, it is that we should have -nothing to do with conquest.” And again he said: “Conquest is not in our -principles; it is inconsistent with our government.” - -The forcible annexation of territory to be governed by arbitrary power -differs as much from the acquisition of territory to be built up into -states as a monarchy differs from a democracy. The Democratic party does -not oppose expansion, when expansion enlarges the area of the Republic -and incorporates land which can be settled by American citizens, or adds -to our population people who are willing to become citizens and are -capable of discharging their duties as such. The acquisition of the -Louisiana territory, Florida, Texas, and other tracts which have been -secured from time to time enlarged the Republic, and the Constitution -followed the flag into the new territory. It is now proposed to seize -upon distant territory, already more densely populated than our own -country, and to force upon the people a government for which there is no -warrant in our Constitution or our laws. Even the argument that this -earth belongs to those who desire to cultivate it and who have the -physical power to acquire it can not be invoked to justify the -appropriation of the Philippine islands by the United States. If the -islands were uninhabited American citizens would not be willing to go -there and till the soil. The white race will not live so near the -equator. Other nations have tried to colonize in the same latitude. The -Netherlands have controlled Java for 300 years, and yet to-day there are -less than 60,000 people of European birth scattered among the 25,000,000 -natives. After a century and a half of English domination in India, less -than one-twentieth of one per cent of the people of India are of English -birth, and it requires an army of 70,000 British soldiers to take care -of the tax collectors. Spain had asserted title to the Philippine -islands for three centuries and yet, when our fleet entered Manila bay, -there were less than 10,000 Spaniards residing in the Philippines. - -A colonial policy means that we shall send to the Philippine islands a -few traders, a few taskmasters, and a few office holders, and an army -large enough to support the authority of a small fraction of the people -while they rule the natives. - -If we have an imperial policy we must have a great standing army as its -natural and necessary complement. The spirit which will justify the -forcible annexation of the Philippine islands will justify the seizure -of other islands and the domination of other people, and with wars of -conquest we can expect a certain, if not rapid, growth of our military -establishment. That a large permanent increase in our regular army is -intended by Republican leaders is not a matter of conjecture, but a -matter of fact. In his message of December 5, 1898, the President asked -for authority to increase the standing army to 100,000. In 1896 the army -contained about 25,000. Within two years the President asked for four -times that many, and a Republican House of Representatives complied with -the request after the Spanish treaty had been signed, and when no -country was at war with the United States. If such an army is demanded -when an imperial policy is contemplated, but not openly avowed, what may -be expected if the people encourage the Republican party by endorsing -its policy at the polls? A large standing army is not only a pecuniary -burden to the people and, if accompanied by compulsory service, a -constant source of irritation, but it is ever a menace to a Republican -form of government. The army is the personification of force, and -militarism will inevitably change the ideals of the people and turn the -thoughts of our young men from the arts of peace to the science of war. -The government which relies for its defense upon its citizens is more -likely to be just than one which has at call a large body of -professional soldiers. A small standing army and a well equipped and -well disciplined state militia are sufficient at ordinary times, and in -an emergency the nation should, in the future as in the past, place its -dependence upon the volunteers who come from all occupations at their -country’s call and return to productive labor when their services are no -longer required—men who fight when the country needs fighters and work -when the country needs workers. - -The Republican platform assumes that the Philippine islands will be -retained under American sovereignty, and we have a right to demand of -the Republican leaders a discussion of the future status of the -Filipino. Is he to be a citizen or a subject? Are we to bring into the -body politic eight or ten million Asiatics, so different from us in race -and history that amalgamation is impossible? Are they to share with us -in making the laws and shaping the destiny of this nation? No Republican -of prominence has been bold enough to advocate such a proposition. The -McEnery resolution, adopted by the Senate immediately after the -ratification of the treaty, expressly negatives this idea. The -Democratic platform describes the situation when it says that the -Filipinos can not be citizens without endangering our civilization. Who -will dispute it? And what is the alternative? If the Filipino is not to -be a citizen, shall we make him a subject? On that question the -Democratic platform speaks with equal emphasis. It declares that the -Filipino can not be a subject without endangering our form of -government. A republic can have no subjects. A subject is possible only -in a government resting upon force; he is unknown in a government -deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed. - -The Republican platform says that “the largest measure of -self-government consistent with their welfare and our duties shall be -secured to them [the Filipinos] by law.” This is a strange doctrine for -a government which owes its very existence to the men who offered their -lives as a protest against government without consent and taxation -without representation. In what respect does the position of the -Republican party differ from the position taken by the English -government in 1776? Did not the English government promise a good -government to the colonists? What king ever promised a bad government to -his people? Did not the English government promise that the colonists -should have the largest measure of self-government consistent with their -welfare and English duties? Did not the Spanish government promise to -give to the Cubans the largest measure of self-government consistent -with their welfare and Spanish duties? The whole difference between a -monarchy and a republic may be summed up in one sentence. In a monarchy, -the king gives to the people what he believes to be a good government; -in a republic the people secure for themselves what they believe to be a -good government. The Republican party has accepted the European idea and -planted itself upon the ground taken by George III., and by every ruler -who distrusts the capacity of the people for self-government or denies -them a voice in their own affairs. - -The Republican platform promises that some measure of self-government is -to be given the Filipinos by law; but even this pledge is not fulfilled. -Nearly sixteen months elapsed after the ratification of the treaty -before the adjournment of Congress last June, and yet no law was passed -dealing with the Philippine situation. The will of the President has -been the only law in the Philippine Islands wherever the American -authority extends. Why does the Republican party hesitate to legislate -upon the Philippine question? Because a law would disclose the radical -departure from history and precedent contemplated by those who control -the Republican party. The storm of protest which greeted the Porto Rican -bill was an indication of what may be expected when the American people -are brought face to face with legislation upon this subject. If the -Porto Ricans, who welcomed annexation, are to be denied the guarantees -of our Constitution, what is to be the lot of the Filipinos, who -resisted our authority? If secret influences could compel a disregard of -our plain duty toward friendly people, living near our shores, what -treatment will those same influences provide for unfriendly people 7,000 -miles away? If, in this country where the people have the right to vote, -Republican leaders dare not take the side of the people against the -great monopolies which have grown up within the last few years, how can -they be trusted to protect the Filipinos from the corporations which are -waiting to exploit the islands? - -Is the sunlight of full citizenship to be enjoyed by the people of the -United States, and the twilight of semi-citizenship endured by the -people of Porto Rico, while the thick darkness of perpetual vassalage -covers the Philippines? The Porto Rico tariff law asserts the doctrine -that the operation of the Constitution is confined to the forty-five -states. The Democratic party disputes this doctrine and denounces it as -repugnant to both the letter and spirit of our organic law. There is no -place in our system of government for the deposit of arbitrary and -irresponsible power. That the leaders of a great party should claim for -any president or congress the right to treat millions of people as mere -“possessions” and deal with them unrestrained by the Constitution or the -bill of rights shows how far we have already departed from the ancient -land marks, and indicates what may be expected if this nation -deliberately enters upon a career of empire. The territorial form of -government is temporary and preparatory, and the chief security a -citizen of a territory has is found in the fact that he enjoys the same -constitutional guarantees and is subject to the same general laws as the -citizen of a state. Take away this security and his rights will be -violated and his interests sacrificed at the demand of those who have -political influence. This is the evil of the colonial system, no matter -by what nation it is applied. - -What is our title to the Philippine Islands? Do we hold them by treaty -or by conquest? Did we buy them or did we take them? Did we purchase the -people? If not, how did we secure title to them? Were they thrown in -with the land? Will the Republicans say that inanimate earth has value, -but that when that earth is molded by the Divine hand and stamped with -the likeness of the Creator it becomes a fixture and passes with the -soil? If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the -governed, it is impossible to secure title to people, either by force or -by purchase. We could extinguish Spain’s title by treaty, but if we hold -title we must hold it by some method consistent with our ideas of -government. When we made allies of the Filipinos and armed them to fight -against Spain, we disputed Spain’s title. If we buy Spain’s title we are -not innocent purchasers. But even if we had not disputed Spain’s title, -she could transfer no greater title than she had, and her title was -based on force alone. We can not defend such a title, but as Spain gave -us a quit-claim deed, we can honorably turn the property over to the -party in possession. Whether any American official gave to the Filipinos -formal assurance of independence is not material. There can be no doubt -that we accepted and utilized the services of the Filipinos, and that -when we did so we had full knowledge that they were fighting for their -own independence, and I submit that history furnishes no example of -turpitude baser than ours if we now substitute our yoke for the Spanish -yoke. - -Let us consider briefly the reasons which have been given in support of -an imperialistic policy. Some say that it is our duty to hold the -Philippine Islands. But duty is not an argument; it is a conclusion. To -ascertain what our duty is in any emergency, we must apply well settled -and generally accepted principles. It is our duty to avoid stealing, no -matter whether the thing to be stolen is of great or little value. It is -our duty to avoid killing a human being, no matter where the human being -lives or to what race or class he belongs. Everyone recognizes the -obligation imposed upon individuals to observe both the human and moral -law, but as some deny the application of those laws to nations, it may -not be out of place to quote the opinions of others. - -Jefferson, than whom there is no higher political authority, said: - -“I know of but one code of morality for men, whether acting singly or -collectively.” - -Franklin, whose learning, wisdom, and virtue are a part of the priceless -legacy bequeathed to us from the Revolutionary days, expressed the same -idea in even stronger language when he said: - -“Justice is as strictly due between neighbor nations as between neighbor -citizens. A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang as -when single; and the nation that makes an unjust war is only a great -gang.” - -Men may dare to do in crowds what they would not dare to do as -individuals, but the moral character of an act is not determined by the -number of those who join it. Force can defend a right, but force has -never yet created a right. If it were true, as declared in the -resolutions of intervention, that the Cubans “are and of right ought to -be free and independent” (language taken from the Declaration of -Independence), it is equally true that the Filipinos “are and of right -ought to be free and independent.” The right of the Cubans to freedom -was not based upon their proximity to the United States, nor upon the -language which they spoke, nor yet upon the race or races to which they -belonged. Congress by a practically unanimous vote declared that the -principles enunciated at Philadelphia in 1776 were still alive and -applicable to the Cubans. Who will draw a line between the natural -rights of the Cuban and the Filipino? Who will say that the former has a -right to liberty and the latter has no rights which we are bound to -respect? And, if the Filipinos “are and of right ought to be free and -independent,” what right have we to force our government upon them -without their consent? Before our duty can be ascertained, their rights -must be determined, and when their rights are once determined, it is as -much our duty to respect those rights as it was the duty of Spain to -respect the rights of the people of Cuba or the duty of England to -respect the rights of the American colonists. Rights never conflict; -duties never clash. Can it be our duty to usurp political rights which -belong to others? Can it be our duty to kill those who, following the -example of our forefathers, love liberty well enough to fight for it? - -Some poet has described the terror which overcame a soldier who in the -midst of battle discovered that he had slain his brother. It is written -“All ye are brethren.” Let us hope for the coming of the day when human -life—which when once destroyed can not be restored—will be so sacred -that it will never be taken except when necessary to punish a crime -already committed, or to prevent a crime about to be committed! - -If it is said that we have assumed before the world obligations which -make it necessary for us to permanently maintain a government in the -Philippine Islands, I reply, first, that the highest obligation of this -nation is to be true to itself. No obligation to any particular nation, -or to all the nations combined, can require the abandonment of our -theory of government and the substitution of doctrines against which our -whole national life has been a protest. And, second, that our obligation -to the Filipinos, who inhabit the islands, is greater than any -obligation which we can owe to foreigners who have a temporary residence -in the Philippines or desire to trade there. - -It is argued by some that the Filipinos are incapable of self-government -and that, therefore, we owe it to the world to take control of them. -Admiral Dewey, in an official report to the navy department, declared -the Filipinos more capable of self-government than the Cubans and said -that he based his opinion upon a knowledge of both races. But I will not -rest the case upon the relative advancement of the Filipinos. Henry -Clay, in defending the right of the people of South America to -self-government, said: - -“It is the doctrine of thrones that man is too ignorant to govern -himself. Their partisans assert his incapacity in reference to all -nations; if they can not command universal assent to the proposition, it -is then demanded to particular nations; and our pride and our -presumption too often make converts of us. I contend that it is to -arraign the disposition of Providence Himself to suppose that He has -created beings incapable of governing themselves, and to be trampled on -by kings. Self-government is the natural government of man.” - -Clay was right. There are degrees of proficiency in the art of -self-government, but it is a reflection upon the Creator to say that He -denied to any people the capacity for self-government. Once admit that -some people are capable of self-government and that others are not and -that the capable people have a right to seize upon and govern the -incapable, and you make force—brute force—the only foundation of -government and invite the reign of a despot. I am not willing to believe -that an all-wise and an all-loving God created the Filipinos and then -left them thousands of years helpless until the islands attracted the -attention of European nations. - -Republicans ask, “Shall we haul down the flag that floats over our dead -in the Philippines?” The same question might have been asked when the -American flag floated over Chapultepec and waved over the dead who fell -there; but the tourist who visits the City of Mexico finds there a -national cemetery owned by the United States and cared for by an -American citizen. Our flag still floats over our dead, but when the -treaty with Mexico was signed, American authority withdrew to the Rio -Grande, and I venture the opinion that during the last fifty years the -people of Mexico have made more progress under the stimulus of -independence and self-government than they would have made under a -carpet bag government held in place by bayonets. The United States and -Mexico, friendly republics, are each stronger and happier than they -would have been had the former been cursed and the latter crushed by an -imperialistic policy, disguised as “benevolent assimilation.” - -“Can we not govern colonies?” we are asked. The question is not what we -can do, but what we ought to do. This nation can do whatever it desires -to do, but it must accept responsibility for what it does. If the -Constitution stands in the way, the people can amend the Constitution. I -repeat, the nation can do whatever it desires to do, but it can not -avoid the natural and legitimate results of its own conduct. The young -man upon reaching his majority can do what he pleases. He can disregard -the teachings of his parents; he can trample upon all that he has been -taught to consider sacred; he can disobey the laws of the state, the -laws of society, and the laws of God. He can stamp failure upon his life -and make his very existence a curse to his fellow men, and he can bring -his father and mother in sorrow to the grave; but he can not annul the -sentence, “The wages of sin is death.” And so with the nation. It is of -age, and it can do what it pleases; it can spurn the traditions of the -past; it can repudiate the principles upon which the nation rests; it -can employ force instead of reason; it can substitute might for right; -it can conquer weaker people; it can exploit their lands, appropriate -their property, and kill their people; but it can not repeal the moral -law or escape the punishment decreed for the violation of human rights. - - “Would we tread in the paths of tyranny, - Nor reckon the tyrant’s cost? - Who taketh another’s liberty - His freedom is also lost. - Would we win as the strong have ever won, - Make ready to pay the debt, - For the God who reigned over Babylon - Is the God who is reigning yet.” - -Some argue that American rule in the Philippine Islands will result in -the better education of the Filipinos. Be not deceived. If we expect to -maintain a colonial policy, we shall not find it to our advantage to -educate the people. The educated Filipinos are now in revolt against us, -and the most ignorant ones have made the least resistance to our -domination. If we are to govern them without their consent and give them -no voice in determining the taxes which they must pay, we dare not -educate them, lest they learn to read the Declaration of Independence -and the Constitution of the United States and mock us for our -inconsistency. - -The principal arguments, however, advanced by those who enter upon a -defense of imperialism, are: - -First—That we must improve the present opportunity to become a world -power and enter into international politics. - -Second—That our commercial interests in the Philippine Islands and in -the orient make it necessary for us to hold the islands permanently. - -Third—That the spread of the Christian religion will be facilitated by a -colonial policy. - -Fourth—That there is no honorable retreat from the position which the -nation has taken. - -The first argument is addressed to the nation’s pride and the second to -the nation’s pocket-book. The third is intended for the church member -and the fourth for the partisan. - -It is a sufficient answer to the first argument to say that for more -than a century this nation has been a world power. For ten decades it -has been the most potent influence in the world. Not only has it been a -world power, but it has done more to affect the politics of the human -race than all the other nations of the world combined. Because our -Declaration of Independence was promulgated, others have been -promulgated. Because the patriots of 1776 fought for liberty, others -have fought for it; because our constitution was adopted, other -constitutions have been adopted. The growth of the principle of self -government, planted on American soil, has been the overshadowing -political fact of the nineteenth century. It has made this nation -conspicuous among the nations and given it a place in history such as no -other nation has ever enjoyed. Nothing has been able to check the onward -march of this idea. I am not willing that this nation shall cast aside -the omnipotent weapon of truth to seize again the weapons of physical -warfare. I would not exchange the glory of this republic for the glory -of all the empires that have risen and fallen since time began. - -The permanent chairman of the last Republican National convention -presented the pecuniary argument in all its baldness, when he said: - -“We make no hypocritical pretense of being interested in the Philippines -solely on account of others. While we regard the welfare of those people -as a sacred trust, we regard the welfare of the American people first. -We see our duty to ourselves as well as to others. We believe in trade -expansion. By every legitimate means within the province of government -and constitution, we mean to stimulate the expansion of our trade and -open new markets.” - -This is the commercial argument. It is based upon the theory that war -can be rightly waged for pecuniary advantage, and that it is profitable -to purchase trade by force and violence. Franklin denied both of these -propositions. When Lord Howe asserted that the acts of parliament, which -brought on the Revolution, were necessary to prevent American trade from -passing into foreign channels, Franklin replied: - -“To me it seems that neither the obtaining nor retaining of any trade, -how valuable soever, is an object for which men may justly spill each -other’s blood; that the true and sure means of extending and securing -commerce are the goodness and cheapness of commodities, and that the -profits of no trade can ever be equal to the expense of compelling it -and holding it by fleets and armies. I consider this war against us, -therefore, as both unjust and unwise.” - -I place the philosophy of Franklin against the sordid doctrine of those -who would put a price upon the head of an American soldier and justify a -war of conquest upon the ground that it will pay. The Democratic party -is in favor of the expansion of trade. It would extend our trade by -every legitimate and peaceful means; but it is not willing to make -merchandise of human blood. - -But a war of conquest is as unwise as it is unrighteous. A harbor and -coaling station in the Philippines would answer every trade and military -necessity, and such a concession could have been secured at any time -without difficulty. - -It is not necessary to own people in order to trade with them. We carry -on trade to-day with every part of the world, and our commerce has -expanded more rapidly than the commerce of any European empire. We do -not own Japan or China, but we trade with their people. We have not -absorbed the republics of Central and South America, but we trade with -them. It has not been necessary to have any political connection with -Canada or the nations of Europe, in order to trade with them. Trade can -not be permanently profitable unless it is voluntary. When trade is -secured by force, the cost of securing it and retaining it must be taken -out of the profits, and the profits are never large enough to cover the -expense. Such a system would never be defended but for the fact that the -expense is borne by all the people, while the profits are enjoyed by a -few. - -Imperialism would be profitable to the army contractors; it would be -profitable to the ship owners, who would carry live soldiers to the -Philippines and bring dead soldiers back; it-would be profitable to -those who would seize upon the franchises, and it would be profitable to -the officials whose salaries would be fixed here and paid over there; -but to the farmer, to the laboring man, and to the vast majority of -those engaged in other occupations, it would bring expenditure without -return and risk without reward. - -Farmers and laboring men have, as a rule, small incomes, and, under -systems which place the tax upon consumption, pay more than their fair -share of the expenses of government. Thus the very people who receive -least benefit from imperialism will be injured most by the military -burdens which accompany it. - -[Illustration: THE BRYAN FARM] - -In addition to the evils which he and the farmer share in common, the -laboring man will be the first to suffer if oriental subjects seek work -in the United States; the first to suffer if American capital leaves our -shores to employ oriental labor in the Philippines to supply the trade -of China and Japan; the first to suffer from the violence which the -military spirit arouses, and the first to suffer when the methods of -imperialism are applied to our own government. - -It is not strange, therefore, that the labor organizations have been -quick to note the approach of these dangers and prompt to protest -against both militarism and imperialism. - -The pecuniary argument, though more effective with certain classes, is -not likely to be used so often or presented with so much emphasis as the -religious argument. If what has been termed the “gun-powder gospel” were -urged against the Filipinos only, it would be a sufficient answer to say -that a majority of the Filipinos are now members of one branch of the -Christian church; but the principle involved is one of much wider -application and challenges serious consideration. - -The religious argument varies in positiveness from a passive belief that -Providence delivered the Filipinos into our hands for their good and our -glory, to the exultation of the minister who said that we ought to -“thrash the natives (Filipinos) until they understand who we are,” and -that “every bullet sent, every cannon shot, and every flag waved means -righteousness.” - -We can not approve of this doctrine in one place unless we are willing -to apply it everywhere. If there is poison in the blood of the hand it -will ultimately reach the heart. It is equally true that forcible -Christianity, if planted under the American flag in the faraway orient, -will sooner or later be transplanted upon American soil. If true -Christianity consists in carrying out in our daily lives the teachings -of Christ, who will say that we are commanded to civilize with dynamite -and proselyte with the sword? He who would declare the divine will must -prove his authority either by Holy Writ or by evidence of a special -dispensation. Imperialism finds no warrant in the Bible. The command “go -ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” has no -gatling gun attachment. When Jesus visited a village of Samaria and the -people refused to receive Him, some of the disciples suggested that fire -should be called down from Heaven to avenge the insult, but the Master -rebuked them and said: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; for -the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” -Suppose He had said: “We will thrash them until they understand who we -are,” how different would have been the history of Christianity! -Compare, if you will, the swaggering, bullying, brutal doctrine of -imperialism with the golden rule and the commandment “Thou shalt love -thy neighbor as thyself.” - -Love, not force, was the weapon of the Nazarene; sacrifice for others, -not the exploitation of them, was His method of reaching the human -heart. A missionary recently told me that the stars and stripes once -saved his life because his assailant recognized our flag as a flag that -had no blood upon it. Let it be known that our missionaries are seeking -souls instead of sovereignty; let it be known that instead of being the -advance guard of conquering armies, they are going forth to help and to -uplift, having their loins girt about with truth and their feet shod -with the preparation of the gospel of peace, wearing the breastplate of -righteousness and carrying the sword of the spirit; let it be known that -they are citizens of a nation which respects the rights of the citizens -of other nations as carefully as it protects the rights of its own -citizens, and the welcome given to our missionaries will be more cordial -than the welcome extended to the missionaries of any other nation. - -The argument made, by some, that it was unfortunate for the nation that -it had anything to do with the Philippine islands, but that the naval -victory at Manila made the permanent acquisition of those islands -necessary is also unsound. We won a naval victory at Santiago, but that -did not compel us to hold Cuba. The shedding of American blood in the -Philippine Islands does not make it imperative that we should retain -possession forever; American blood was shed at San Juan hill and El -Caney, and yet the President has promised the Cubans independence. The -fact that the American flag floats over Manila does not compel us to -exercise perpetual sovereignty over the islands; the American flag waves -over Havana to-day, but the President has promised to haul it down when -the flag of the Cuban republic is ready to rise in its place. Better a -thousand times that our flag in the orient give way to a flag -representing the idea of self government than that the flag of this -republic should become the flag of an empire. - -There is an easy, honest, honorable solution of the Philippine question. -It is set forth in the Democratic platform and it is submitted with -confidence to the American people. This plan I unreservedly endorse. If -elected, I will convene Congress in extraordinary session as soon as -inaugurated and recommend an immediate declaration of the nation’s -purpose, first, to establish a stable form of government in the -Philippine Islands, just as we are now establishing a stable form of -government in Cuba; second, to give independence to the Filipinos just -as we have promised to give independence to the Cubans; third, to -protect the Filipinos from outside interference while they work out -their destiny, just as we have protected the republics of Central and -South America and are, by the Monroe Doctrine, pledged to protect Cuba. -A European protectorate often results in the plundering of the ward by -the guardian. An American protectorate gives to the nation protected the -advantage of our strength, without making it the victim of our greed. -For three-quarters of a century the Monroe Doctrine has been a shield to -neighboring republics, and yet it has imposed no pecuniary burden upon -us. After the Filipinos had aided us in the war against Spain, we could -not honorably turn them over to their former masters; we could not leave -them to be the victims of the ambitions designs of European nations, and -since we do not desire to make them a part of us or to hold them as -subjects, we propose the only alternative, namely, to give them -independence and guard them against molestation from without. - -When our opponents are unable to defend their position by argument they -fall back upon the assertion that it is destiny, and insist that we must -submit to it, no matter how much it violates moral precepts and our -principles of government. This is a complacent philosophy. It -obliterates the distinction between right and wrong and makes -individuals and nations the helpless victims of circumstance. - -Destiny is the subterfuge of the invertebrate, who, lacking the courage -to oppose error, seeks some plausible excuse for supporting it. -Washington said that the destiny of the Republican form of government -was deeply, if not finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the -American people. How different Washington’s definition of destiny from -the Republican definition! The Republicans say that this nation is in -the hands of destiny; Washington believed that not only the destiny of -our own nation but the destiny of the Republican form of government -throughout the world was entrusted to American hands. Immeasurable -responsibility! The destiny of this Republic is in the hands of its own -people, and upon the success of the experiment here rests the hope of -humanity. No exterior force can disturb this Republic, and no foreign -influence should be permitted to change its course. What the future has -in store for this nation no one has authority to declare, but each -individual has his own idea of the nation’s mission, and he owes it to -his country as well as to himself to contribute as best he may to the -fulfilment of that mission. - -Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Committee: I can never fully -discharge the debt of gratitude which I owe to my countrymen for the -honors which they have so generously bestowed upon me; but, sirs, -whether it be my lot to occupy the high office for which the convention -has named me, or to spend the remainder of my days in private life, it -shall be my constant ambition and my controlling purpose to aid in -realizing the high ideals of those whose wisdom and courage and -sacrifices brought this Republic into existence. - -I can conceive of a national destiny surpassing the glories of the -present and the past—a destiny which meets the responsibilities of -to-day and measures up to the possibilities of the future. Behold a -republic, resting securely upon the foundation stones quarried by -Revolutionary patriots from the mountain of eternal truth—a republic -applying in practice and proclaiming to the world the self-evident -proposition, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed with -inalienable rights; that governments are instituted among men to secure -these rights; and that governments derive their just powers from the -consent of the governed. Behold a republic in which civil and religious -liberty stimulate all to earnest endeavor, and in which the law -restrains every hand uplifted for a neighbor’s injury—a republic in -which every citizen is a sovereign but in which no one cares to wear a -crown. Behold a republic standing erect while empires all around are -bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments—a republic whose flag is -loved while other flags are only feared. Behold a republic increasing in -population, in wealth, in strength and in influence, solving the -problems of civilization and hastening the coming of an universal -brotherhood—a republic which shakes thrones and dissolves aristocracies -by its silent example and gives light and inspiration to those who sit -in darkness. Behold a republic gradually but surely becoming the supreme -moral factor in the world’s progress and the accepted arbiter of the -world’s disputes—a republic whose history, like the path of the just, -“is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect -day.” - - - - - BRYAN: THE MAN - - -The firm hold which Mr. Bryan has over the confidence, esteem, and love -of his followers was strikingly proven in the dark days that followed -November, 1896. It is certain that no other public man of his time could -have been the candidate of the Democratic party on the Chicago platform, -suffered that severe reversal, and yet retained, undisputed and -undisturbed, the acknowledged leadership of the party. Whoso learns why -it was that Mr. Bryan stood stronger in defeat then he was before has -found the key to the man’s greatness. Certainly it was not that he was a -great and eloquent orator. For the orator, while always assured a -hearing and a place under the lime-light, is still far from the actual -leadership of his party. It was not because of the views which he -entertained on public questions, for they were those of scores of other -well known and able men. It was not because of his honesty and sincerity -alone, any more than of his undoubted courage or his clean and upright -personality and blameless home life. These, while all real -qualifications, were not essentials. Each and all of them were marked -characteristics of other notable public men, although it is doubtful if -any possessed them all alike in the same degree as Bryan. But there were -other and rarer qualities, the most important, his cheerful and -contagious optimism and his intensity of character, which spoke in his -every act and utterance. His optimism is an unwavering faith in the ways -and ends of the Creator; a firm and abiding belief that “He doeth all -things well.” The verse from Ella Wheeler Wilcox with which Mr. Bryan -closes his “First Battle” well illustrates this phase of his character: - - “Let those who have failed take courage; - Tho’ the enemy seems to have won, - Tho’ his ranks are strong, if he be in the wrong - The battle is not yet done; - For sure as the morning follows - The darkest hour of the night, - No question is ever settled - Until it is settled right.” - -It is this inspiring belief, planted on a foundation so deep and so -secure that no storm can shake it, that leaves Mr. Bryan as hopeful, -confident, and serene in the darkest hour of defeat as his opponent can -possibly be with the paeans of victory ringing in his ears. It is a rare -trait, this superb optimism. It wins, instinctively, the hearts and -affections of men, only to inspire them to heroic effort under the most -adverse surroundings. But its strongest feature is its effect on the -possessor. For when that discouragement which comes from failure, and -the inertia which discouragement brings in its train, is eliminated from -a strong man’s composition he becomes a god, with the power and -greatness of the immortals. The scope of his vision is broadened, his -mental horizon enlarges, fear and weakness are banished from his heart, -and his might becomes irresistible as he battles for the right as he -sees the right. So Mr. Bryan’s optimism has made him a strong, -self-poised, cheerful, happy man, whose confidence and good spirits are -contagious and whose following increases as his reverses multiply. - -His second marked characteristic, his intensity, is one even rarer than -the first. The extent to which it is his it is most difficult to make -clear. It may, perhaps, be best done by illustration drawn from the -writer’s personal experience. - -One Saturday, toward the end of the 1899 campaign, Mr. Bryan was -speeding across southern Nebraska from east to west on a special train. -Every half or quarter hour stops were made at stations along the route, -and Mr. Bryan would hastily emerge from his car, make his way, generally -unassisted, to a nearby platform, and speak for from ten minutes to an -hour to the crowds assembled to hear him. It was most fatiguing work and -done by a thoroughly worn-out man. For Mr. Bryan had for two weeks been -constantly traveling by train and carriage, speaking from two to a dozen -times daily, eating at irregular intervals, and sleeping not more than -four or five hours out of each twenty-four. As a natural result his face -was drawn and haggard, his muscles frequently twitching, and under his -eyes were great black hollows. Yet at every stopping point, when he rose -to face his fellow Nebraskans, the worn look would give way, the -deep-set eyes would lighten with the fires of a holy zeal, and, in a -voice that rang out clear and strong and passionate he pleaded for the -preservation of the Republic and its ideals, inviolate and intact. The -train was running on schedule time, of course, and at each stopping -point it was necessary for the engineer to toot his whistle and ring his -bell, not once, but continuously, in order to tear Mr. Bryan away from -his audience when the alloted time had expired. Then the indefatigable -campaigner, shaking scores of outstretched hands as he ran, would hasten -to his car, and the train would speed along to the next stopping place. -Mr. Bryan would no sooner enter his car than he dropped his head on a -pillow and slept until a tap on the shoulder awoke him, and he rushed -out to make another speech, generally differing in form from any made -that day or any previous day, though the substance of all was, of -course, largely the same. Once, as the train was screaming along between -stations Mr. Bryan called the writer to his state-room, where he lay at -rest. He raised his head from the pillow as I entered, and started to -speak. What words of suggestion or advice were on his tongue I shall -never know, for, in the middle of his first sentence the tired head fell -back, the lustrous eyes were closed, and his heavy breathing alone told -that life remained in the man’s worn and exhausted frame as he lay there -fast asleep. - -Late in the afternoon of that same day Mr. Bryan’s dinner was brought -him on the train, and he ate—as he slept—between stations. His traveling -companions, it may be observed, had eaten hearty meals at a town long -passed, dining in leisure while Mr. Bryan, standing with bared head on a -wind-swept platform, with a scorching sun beating down upon him, -addressed five thousand or more wildly cheering people. As he sat in his -little compartment, hastily munching his food, there were with him Mr. -Joseph A. Altsheler, of the New York _World_, and the writer, -representing the Omaha _World-Herald_. One of us chanced to mention some -interruption made at the last meeting, where a shrewd Republican -partisan had raised a point which Mr. Bryan’s ready repartee had -quickly, if not efficiently, disposed of. As soon as the matter was -mentioned Mr. Bryan turned from the tray on which were his fried -chicken, cold slaw, and coffee. And there, his eyes glowing like lakes -of molten metal, his expressive features all in play, in the voice of -one who addressed a multitude, he took up that Republican’s sophism and -analyzed it for the benefit of us twain. Such was the concentrated and -awful intensity of the man that it thrilled me to the core, and, under -that burning gaze and vibrant, moving voice, in such an unusual -entourage, I trembled with an emotion I could not name. - -It was near midnight of that day when the train reached Benkelman, in -far western Nebraska, where the last speech was to be delivered. The -warm day had been succeeded by a night that was almost bitter cold, and, -as we alighted from the train, tired, sleepy, and hungry, the cold, -fierce wind from the mountains swooped down on us, and pierced us -through and through. At that late hour, and in that semi-arid, scantily -populated country, there were patiently waiting, wrapped in their great -coats, nearly fifteen hundred people, most of whom had driven from -twenty to one hundred miles “to hear Bryan speak.” - -In the course of that day Mr. Bryan had already spoken sixteen times. To -do this he had risen before five o’clock in the morning and had traveled -over two hundred miles. At Benkelman, it was agreed, he should speak not -longer than fifteen minutes, and go to bed. - -The speaker’s stand was at the principal street intersection of the -village. It was gaily decorated with flags and bunting, and lighted by -flaring gas jets. The piercing mountain wind swooped down on it like a -wolf on the fold. Up on this eminence the worn and wearied campaigner, -half dead from want of sleep and his constant exertions, was hurried. -Shrill volleys of cheers and yells rose to the heavens. There was a -moment’s silence. Then, on the cold air, there fell the deep, melodious, -serene voice of the orator, in words of earnest protest and warning, in -a magnificent plea for the Republic. For ten or twelve minutes we, who -were his traveling companions, remained; and though our eyes were heavy -and our senses dulled, though we shivered from the cold even as we -trembled with exhaustion, the splendid enthusiasm of that hardy little -band of frontiersmen warmed our hearts, and we cheered with them. But, -in a few minutes, tired nature called loud to us, and we plodded to the -hotel, a block and a half away. We sat for a half hour about the blazing -fire, absorbing the grateful warmth. Through the closed doors and -windows there came to us, ever and anon, the rich and powerful voice of -the orator down the street, punctuated by the wild yells of applause -that came from the delighted men of the sand-hills. Again we -retreated,—this time to our bed chambers. My teeth chattered like -castanets as I disrobed. And now I could plainly hear the orator’s -voice,—sometimes his very words,—words that thrilled and pulsated with -the life of an animate thing. I pulled the blankets and comforters close -about me, and fell into the sleep of utter exhaustion. The next morning -we learned that, for just one hour and three quarters Mr. Bryan had -stood in that bitter, piercing wind, under the inscrutable stars of -midnight on the prairie, and preached the gospel of democracy. Do you -gather, now, what I mean in saying that Mr. Bryan’s intensity is -something most difficult to describe? It is something that knows not -fear, nor hunger, nor exhaustion; that keeps him moving on,—ever and -steadily on toward the goal, unswerved and unhindered by those -hardships, trials, and obstacles that check the course of other men, or -cause them to turn into broader and easier paths. - -It is this intensity of character and purpose that makes heroes and -martyrs. It also makes fanatics. But Mr. Bryan is no fanatic; his -stubborn determination and unyielding purpose is tempered with mental -equipoise, good judgment, and common sense. - -The first impression one receives of Bryan as a man, and the last one to -fade, is that of his reckless sincerity. Right or wrong, he is honest; -he is of such a nature that he can not be otherwise; and all things for -good or evil, for success or defeat, must subordinate themselves to his -personal conception of duty. He possesses all those qualities common to -all great men, and some that but very few great men can claim. He has -few friends among the rich men of the nation, and is a stranger to -fashionable “society;” but he is loved and trusted by the millions who -follow him with a devotion such as no other American has won. At his -home or abroad, among his children or with his neighbors, or on his -well-kept farm, may be found a kindly, upright, debt-paying, unassuming -citizen, full of a gentle rollicking humor, a man without an impure -thought or act, a profoundly religious Presbyterian, a man who does not -smoke, yet who does not hesitate, on occasion, to offer cigars to his -friends; who will sit hour after hour in tobacco-laden air, sharing in -the conversation of those whose mouths are chimneys for the time. He -never drinks wine or liquor, yet he never flaunted a phylactery, or -called names when the clink of glasses was heard. In all things a -temperate and abstemious man, yet, such is his toleration that there is -nothing oppressive about his being better than most of us. - -In personal appearance as well as mental gifts, Mr. Bryan is highly -favored. Before uttering a word, his magnetic influence wins for him the -favor of his audience. Simple is his delivery and bearing. “As he stands -before his listeners,” said Mr. R. L. Metcalfe, in a book published four -years ago: “he presents a bold and striking picture; intelligence is -stamped on every feature; he commences in the soft, pleasant tone, -instantly riveting your attention upon him. Your eyes are fastened upon -the orator. As he moves, you in spirit move with him; as he advances to -his climax his audience advances with him. In perfect harmony orator and -audience travel over the path of thought, until the climax is reached, -and then, as the last tone of the deep, rich, melodious voice of the -orator is uttered with a dramatic force, there breaks forth the full, -earnest applause that marks the approval of those who listen. The hand -of the orator is raised; instantly perfect silence follows. The sweet -tones of the marvelous voice are again heard within the enclosure, no -matter how vast. - -“There is much in Mr. Bryan’s oratory that recalls to us many of our -noted speakers of long ago. Search his speeches through, whether in -Congress, before the convention, or on the stump, and you will find them -absolutely free from personalities. No audience ever sat within the -sound of his voice and caught a word that would appeal to the lower -passions of anger, hate, or revenge. He is always the master of -himself.” - -The directness, simplicity, and purity of Mr. Bryan’s style as an orator -and the loftiness and beauty of his sentiment are well shown in the -appended excerpt from one of his Congressional speeches on “Money,” in -which occurs his famous apostrophe to Thomas Jefferson: - -“There are wrongs to be righted; there are evils to be eradicated; there -is injustice to be removed; there is good to be secured for those who -toil and wait. In this fight for equal laws we can not fail, for right -is mighty and will in time triumph over all obstacles. Even if our eyes -do not behold success, we know that our labor is not in vain, and we can -lay down our weapons, happy in the promise given by Bryant to the -soldier: - - ‘Yea, though thou lie upon the dust, - When they who help thee flee in fear - Die full of hope and manly trust - Like those who fall in battle here. - Another hand by sword shall yield; - Another hand the standard wave; - Till from the trumpet’s mouth is pealed - The blast of triumph o’er the grave.’ - -“Let us, then, with the courage of Andrew Jackson, apply to present -conditions the principles taught by Thomas Jefferson—Thomas Jefferson, -the greatest constructive statesman whom the world has ever known; the -greatest warrior who ever battled for human liberty. He quarried from -the mountain of eternal truth the four pillars upon whose strength all -popular government must rest. In the Declaration of American -Independence, he proclaimed the principles with which there is, without -which there can not be, ‘a government of the people, by the people, and -for the people.’ When he declared that ‘all men are created equal; that -they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that -among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to -secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their -just powers from the consent of the governed,’ he declared all that lies -between the alpha and omega of the Democracy. - -“Alexander ‘wept for other worlds to conquer,’ after he had carried his -victorious banner throughout the then known world. Napoleon ‘rearranged -the map of Europe with his sword’ amid the lamentations of those by -whose blood he was exalted; but when these and other military heroes are -forgotten and their achievements disappear in the cycle’s sweep of -years, children will still lisp the name of Jefferson, and freedom will -ascribe due praise to him who filled the kneeling subject’s heart with -hope and bade him stand erect—a sovereign among his peers.” - -In all of his rapid utterances and unpremeditated sentences one would -fail to detect the slightest lapse from good English; not only good, but -admirable. His talk is not that of a pedant,—far from it; but he does -speak like a cultivated, well-read man; like a polished man of letters, -but not so polished as to leave nothing but the gloss apparent. You may -search his numerous speeches, lectures, and addresses without finding -the slightest “_lapsus linguae_,” and all without sterility or banality. -In his speeches he shows a very remarkable versatility. “He will talk -along in a colloquial manner,” says Mr. Metcalfe, “making you laugh or -stirring your heartstrings with his pathos as he wills, and suddenly he -will throw forth his periods in language that makes one involuntarily -suspect of plagiarism from Milton or the prophets. Simplest words are -chosen, and they are formed in short, pithy sentences. No word is used -solely for its sound; the mere jingle of words has no place in the -mental workshop of our orator. To him words are the servants of thought, -and take their real beauty from the thought that blazes through them. -His style is as pure and captivating as that of Irving or Addison, and -not dissimilar to either. But style with him, as with those two great -masters, is valued not for itself, but because it conveys in the most -pleasing manner the thoughts which he would have others know. - -“Mr. Bryan is not averse to the employment of the thoughts of others -wherever they add force and attractiveness to the argument in hand. -Accordingly, we find his speeches interspersed with quotations from some -of the best writers in both prose and poetry, but in each instance the -quotation has a natural fitness for the place in which it is found. -There are some productions which pass for oratory that are mere -mechanisms—the offspring of minds cold and plodding without a ray of -genius to illumine their path. The work of genius springs spontaneously -from the depths of the heart ruled by purity.” - -In the preparation of his deliverances Mr. Bryan reads widely and -extensively, exhausting all the available sources of information. By -carefully and thoroughly acquainting himself with every possible phase -of his subject, by viewing it in all lights, he prepares himself not -only to prove the correctness of his own position, but to meet every -objection that may be offered against him. - -In the diction of his speech the most acceptable language is chosen, and -so clear and simple do the most profound thoughts appear when they come -fresh-coined from his brain, that men have no difficulty in -comprehending them in all their force. - -But it takes more than good English to make a great public man, though -good language is one of the most essential features of the part. An -instance that is told will illustrate one of his other qualifications. -On his arrival in a large city in the East, he had been taken for a -drive, and a number of people were waiting for him when he alighted on -his return. All the American people seem to consider it a duty to shake -hands with a public man, and these were there for that purpose. Among -them was a faded woman, apparently having worked out her hopes and -ambitions; while her face showed refinement and intellectuality, her -hands were gnarled by years of labor. As the candidate stepped from the -gay carriage, he was at once encircled by a throng of local dignitaries, -who successfully monopolized his attention, to the hopeless exclusion of -the woman, who was thoughtlessly jostled aside. - -Mr. Bryan, glancing quickly about, saw her turning away, her -disappointment shown in her worn face, and, maneuvering about, he -delicately managed to bring himself in front of her, and, as he saw her -face light with pleasure, he extended his hands and murmured a few words -of pleasant meaning to her and passed on. - -It is extremely doubtful if, among the public men of all time, there has -lived one more abounding in a superb vitality, or possessing so -magnificent a physique as Mr. Bryan. In his case, as in that of most men -of profound mentality, the powerful mind is found with powerful muscles -and a strong constitution to back it in its contests. His massively -moulded frame, capable of enduring the severest hardships and -nerve-racking strains, is the result of a clean, strong ancestry and -pure and temperate living in the life-giving atmosphere of the great -West. - -Altogether Mr. Bryan is a good specimen of an American. He is, for -example, neat in his dress, but his apparel is the least obtrusive part -of him. He is frank, companionable, courteous without subserviency, -aggressive without boorish insistence, well poised, witty and yet -cleanly minded, learned without conceit. And he loves his family above -all else on earth. At one place a hasty departure from a hotel had to be -made to catch a train, and one of the party took Mr. Bryan’s coat by -mistake. The discovery was made as soon as the garment was put on, and -to ascertain to whom it belonged the wearer put his hands in the pocket -to see if any article might be found that would serve for -identification. There were only two things found, and those were -photographs of Mr. Bryan’s family. He had evidently put them where he -could find them most readily. - -One can not help but remember the marvelous campaign Bryan made four -years ago. A terrible campaign for mind and body; no one who traveled -with him will ever forget it. As for Bryan himself—though, needless to -say, he worked harder, thought more, and shouldered an infinitely -heavier responsibility than all the newspaper reporters who kept -constantly in his wake—he was least fatigued of all. Hoarse and husky he -certainly did become toward the end—speaking from the rear end of a -train to open air crowds of thousands, a dozen times a day, and at the -top of his voice. But Bryan, upon a physique of the most vigorous and -massive kind, inspired by a stupendous vitality, which should keep him -in good condition for sixty years to come, had superimposed a brain of -the healthiest, keenest, and most capable sort. In addition he had a -colossal firmness, and an unmitigable will; he had thorough belief in -the goodness of his cause, and in himself as its champion; and finally -he understood the people, loved them, was in touch with them, and won -their confidence to an extent and to a degree of enthusiasm that can not -be paralleled in modern times. Had some of the qualities above named -been less in him, or more, he might have been a broader statesman; but -he would not have been so mighty and formidable a leader of men. - -Other men are admired or feared, or can spend money, or swing a machine; -but Bryan is personally trusted as no other man is, and as he deserves -to be. “Bryan is a man standing plumb on his own feet, other candidates -have been propped on their feet by other persons. Which will last the -longer? No man can count on the ultimate triumph of his cause, or even -know how strong or how weak it is, unless he comes out flat-footed and -tells the people exactly what it contemplates and requires. He must show -the seamy side as well as the smooth one; else, when the seamy side -shows itself (as it is certain to do) the people will leap to the -conclusion that the fabric is seamy on both sides, and the reaction will -sweep it out of existence. McKinley, in laboring to make the people -believe that his policy is all sweetness, honor, and virtue, is -preventing himself from discovering how abhorrent it really is to the -desires and wishes of the people.” - -Bryan’s method is just the opposite of President McKinley’s. The only -criticism to be passed on him is that he is too uncompromisingly -outspoken and sincere. He says things that make his own party friends -and managers shudder. He never strives for popularity except in so far -as it may be consistent with truth and right. He does not want to please -any one who can not be pleased with facts and realities. Bryan, in -short, from the standpoint of mere policy, always puts his ugly foot -forward, always turns his seamy side, always says “If you don’t have me -this way, I am not to be had at all.” - - - - - HOME LIFE - - -A very wholesome theory that a man’s home is his castle and that the -sanctuary of private life is one that must be respected has no -application in America to a public man. The fact that few public men -quarrel with the general idea upon this subject proves that it has its -basis in sound judgment and honest desire for greater intimacy rather -than in impertinent curiosity. - -In the case of Mr. Bryan he has never quarreled with this widely held -theory. For ten years he has been in the glare of publicity. From the -night, a decade ago, when he discomfited the champion of Republican -politics in the opening debate of his first congressional campaign, a -light has been constantly turned upon him and from him to his home life. -That he has come out from under this strong scrutiny a more commanding -figure, viewed either from the standpoint of the wise statesman or the -typical head of an American family, is a statement that will meet with -no attempt at refutation. - -[Illustration: THE BRYAN HOME] - -On the first day of October next Mr. Bryan will have been married -sixteen years. The ceremony was the culmination of a courtship extending -over a period of four years, a wooing that had its inspiration in the -atmosphere of school life, and which was continued during the years when -he was a diligent student of the law and a struggling young attorney -with the unblighted courage and the indomitable energy that have come to -be such marked characteristics of the man. They first met at a reception -given in the parlors of the Presbyterian Academy at Jacksonville, Ill., -to the young men of Illinois College. Mrs. Bryan, then Mary Baird, was a -student at the Academy, and Mr. Bryan was in attendance at the College. -There was little of romance attached to either their meeting or their -courtship. Both were young, he twenty, she nineteen. Some sentimentalist -has told that she was first attracted to him by hearing him recite some -school book classics. The fact is that some friend pointed her out to -Mr. Bryan as a girl he “ought to meet.” And mutual friends introduced -them. - -Miss Baird was born at Perry, Ill., on the seventeenth day of June, -1861. Her father was a merchant, one of a firm that conducted a general -store in that town. His employment gave Mr. Baird, naturally a studious -man, much leisure, and this he improved by reading. His daughter -inherited his taste for literature and it has abided with her. The -invalidism of her mother prevented her from finishing the course she had -begun at Monticello Seminary, at Godfrey, Ill., but later she was able -to attend the academy at Jacksonville, from which she graduated with -first honors of her class. - -The young couple began their married life in a little home of their own -in Jacksonville. With the prudent care that has always distinguished -both of them, they postponed their happiness until he had secured a -practice sufficient to support them and until they were able to have a -roof-tree of their own. Three years after their marriage Mr. Bryan came -west on a business trip for a client. At Lincoln he met an old friend -and classmate, A. R. Talbot. Talbot had made an excellent beginning in -the West, and he suggested to Bryan that he locate at Lincoln and join -his law firm. Mr. Bryan said little at the time. A few months after his -return, however, he wrote to Mr. Talbot and asked him if he was in -earnest in making the proposition. Mr. Talbot replied that he was, and -outlined the prospects in the West, then the center of a vast -speculation in lands and town lots. Mr. Bryan had been enchanted with -the city of Lincoln when he first saw it, and he had simply waited until -he could talk it over with his wife. - -In this sentiment lies the keynote of the perfect sympathy that has been -so marked a characteristic of their wedded life. Mr. Bryan came first, -his wife and his young daughter remaining in Jacksonville until he had -become settled. They then joined him. They immediately began the -erection of a modest home in Lincoln, buying a building lot on D street, -and upon it erected the home he now occupies, at No. 1625. The money was -furnished by Mr. Baird, but has long since been paid. Three children -have been born to them, Ruth, now nearly fifteen, William, aged eleven, -and Grace, aged nine. The first named is now a registered student at the -seminary at Godfrey, where the mother first began her college career. - -Even the most casual visitor to the Bryan residence is impressed with -the distinctive home atmosphere of the place. Mrs. Bryan, as its -presiding genius, has stamped upon it the impress of her individuality, -no less marked in that sphere than her husband’s in his. The house -itself is little more than a cottage, although it boasts of a second -story and a cupola. Outwardly its lines are a little more impressive -than when it was first built. This can be traced to the addition within -the past year of a many-columned porch, stretching across its entire -front and bending in a graceful curve to a point midway of the rear. -With its paneled roof and the electric lights, its cosy corners and -inviting arm chairs, it is an enticing retreat, and here the Bryan -family spend most of their waking hours in the summer months. - -There is no ostentation displayed in the furnishings of the Bryan -residence. The parlor is the parlor of the well-to-do middle class. The -sitting room is simply furnished, but home-like and inviting. The -library is the workshop and no unnecessary tools are lying about. On the -walls hang large portraits of Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and -Lincoln, and steel engravings of Benton, Webster, and Calhoun. They are -inexpensive pictures, but typical of the ideals of the occupants of the -room. Another picture shows Henry Clay, addressing his colleagues in the -United States Senate. The artist’s perspective was sadly at fault, but -it was not the art, but the subject, that attracted Mr. Bryan. The -library is an extensive one, but unique in its character. Fiction and -the classics find very little room. In their places are histories, -orations, works on political economy, lives and speeches of famous men, -who have helped build the nation of the past, dissertations and -addresses upon the hundred and one questions that have vexed and still -perplex the modern school of statesmanship. Upon few of these has any -dust accumulated, and upon all of them are the unmistakable signs of -frequent usage. - -The characteristic that strikes the visitor most is the _bon homme_, the -_camaraderie_, of the household. A wholesome sympathy seems to be the -bond that unites all members. Neither the father nor the mother is a -strict disciplinarian. They do not believe in tyrannizing over their -children. They believe in encouraging their respective bents, and in -guiding them in the right channels, rather than in forcing in the ways -hallowed by tradition. Mrs. Bryan is essentially a home body; her -husband and children are her chiefest, but not her only cares. She is a -mentor to them all. Miss Ruth is much like her father in temperament. -She is quick and impulsive, warm-hearted and generous. Her popularity -among her girl friends is attested by the number that throng her lawn -every evening. William is a sturdy youth in build, and, boy-like, more -self assertive than his sisters. As his father is a typical American -man, so is the youth a typical American boy, fun-loving and possessed of -a harmless mischievousness that often disturbs the young girls who are -his older sister’s confidantes. Grace, the youngest, is delicate in -health, and her father’s favorite. It is to him she goes with her -childish troubles, sure of the sympathy that never fails her. - -Mr. Bryan takes great pride in his household, and he bends every energy -to the end that the bonds of mutual confidence and love, the elements so -essential in a perfect home, may be strengthened and cemented. Every -hour that he can give to them he gladly spares. For four years he has -had no other office, no other working place, than in this home. After -the campaign of 1896 he gave up, to all intents and purposes, his down -town office, and has spent his time at home. His office is now in his -library, an inviting room opening off the parlor on one side, and the -sitting room on the other. His work is performed on a big flat-topped -desk that occupies a goodly share of the floor space. Here he is -surrounded by book-cases and statuettes, by curious mementoes, ink -stands, canes, a hundred and one articles that admirers in all sections -and climes of the country have sent him. Most of these have been -gathered together in a glass-covered compartment that separates the two -big book-cases. - -Mr. Bryan finds that his best work is done with his wife as his -counselor and guide. She has a place on one side of the big desk, he on -the other. She is no less indefatigable as a worker than he. She finds -time between her consultations with him, when an important work is on -hand, to care for her household, and to direct the work of the one -domestic employed. Mrs. Bryan’s thorough understanding and appreciation -of every detail of his labors make her companionship and aid almost -indispensable. Together they have gone over the details of his campaigns -in the past years, and with him she still plans for the future. What he -writes, she either passes upon or assists in its production. Her -self-poise, marred by no self-consciousness, but marked by a quiet -dignity, is one of her remarkable possessions. Perhaps the best -delineation of the characteristics of this woman, remarkable in many -ways, is furnished by the eminent novelist, Julian Hawthorne, who spent -some time at the Bryan home during the past summer. Of her he said, -“Mrs. Bryan is as unusual a woman as her husband is a man, but she is so -unobtrusive that few people have much idea of her true character. I had -the opportunity to learn something of her during the campaign of ‘96, -and I well recollect her admirable bearing at the great meeting in -Madison Square Garden, when she was recognized and greeted on entering -her box by more than ten thousand people. It was a tremendous ordeal for -a woman to undergo. But she sustained herself with steadiness and -self-possession, remarkable in any woman, but more than remarkable in -her, who had always lived in quiet domestic ways, occupied with her -husband, her children, and her household duties. She is a woman of great -courage and unshakable faith, of exceptional intellect, also, nourished -with adequate education. She possesses the coolness of judgment which -must often have served him well in times of doubt. She is not led away -by imagination or hope, but sees things as they are, and resolutely -faces facts. Should the decrees of Providence see fit to place her in a -position of the first lady of the land, I should have no fear that she -would discharge her duties irreproachably. A true American woman, she is -such as you may always be glad to match against the great dames of the -old world. The dominant expression of her face is penetration, combined -with a gentle composure. But there is the sparkle of demure humor in her -eyes, and she can use speech as the most delicate of rapiers when she -chooses. It is easy to know her as an acquaintance, but I surmise that -no one really knows her except her husband, and probably she will be -able continually to discover new resources and depths even to him. She -is a good woman, with strong religious convictions, and she regards -Bryan’s political aspirations from that point of view. If it is the will -of God that he shall reach the highest place among his countrymen she -will accept the mission with good will and confidence. But should he be -defeated she will welcome the life of obscurity with unshaken -equanimity, believing that the councils of the Almighty are -unsearchable, but faithful. If she be destined to higher things, the -example to the nation, irrespective of party, of such a wife and such a -mother as she is, can not but be beneficial. If not, ‘Those also serve -who only stand and wait.’” - -Sociability is one of the graces that attach to her naturally. The -number of visitors to her husband is so large and his amiability so -great, that if Mrs. Bryan did not maintain a watchfulness over them they -would consume all of his hours. This guardianship of his time has imbued -her with a little more sternness than is her nature, but at the same -time has endowed her with shrewdness of discernment that enables her to -gauge every one’s errand with astonishing accuracy. The true democracy -of the man is shown in his earnest desire that even the lowest of his -callers shall be received with the same consideration bestowed upon the -great ones, and no visitor ever leaves the Bryan home, even though he -may not have gained his wish, without the consciousness of the gentle -courtesy and a full-souled welcome. - -But Mrs. Bryan is in no sense a society woman. She is of a turn of mind -too serious and too well poised to enable her to find enjoyment in the -frivolities and vanities that go to make up so much of the life of the -society woman. She likes to meet with her friends and talk with them, -and she misses no opportunity to indulge in this pleasure. Club and -church work take up much of her leisure. She has been active for years -in the work of the Nebraska state federation of women’s clubs. She can -write, and frequently does, for newspapers and periodicals. She can also -speak and speak well, but this she does rarely. Her range of information -is as varied as that of her husband, and she knows the ins and outs of -politics as well as she does the theories of good government, and the -vagaries of the different schools of political economy. For years Mrs. -Bryan’s father has resided with them. Now he is sightless and infirm, -but his hours are cheered and his burden lightened by the loving care of -his daughter. - -The passing years have dealt very gently with Mrs. Bryan. She is above -the average in height, but her figure is matronly. Her face is pale, but -there is no pallor, the graceful curves of youth have softened in -outline, but in manner she has gained the dignity that does not hint of -reserve. Mrs. Bryan is always well dressed, the unobtrusiveness and -appropriateness of her garments marking the taste of the wearer. Her -gowns are usually of one color, relieved here and there by the bright -tints women love. - -“Mrs. Bryan’s whole life has been one of study,” says Miss Wright, of -Lincoln, a friend of the family. “Long before she could read she knew -the names of all the bugs her little hoe turned up in the garden. In her -early life the doctor said she must be kept out of doors. Luckily she -did not like indoor life. All day long she tagged her father, and they -played together in the garden. By the time she was old enough for books -she was kin to everything they told about. She idealized the earth and -its generating and regenerating character. From a weak child she has -grown to be a strong woman with rare power of endurance and -concentration. She and her father would sit on the porch at night and -study the skies, and the Greek and Norse stories of the stars were -repeated until she had committed all of them to memory. He told her how -far away they were and what a speck the world would look if it could be -seen from Venus. The idea of the immensity of the Universe and the -relation of the world to the solar system seldom enters the mind of a -child, but with Mary Baird, it was the most interesting story that could -be told. Early star-gazing and her father’s influence trained her to -think of things abstractly, nakedly, and without the impediments of -custom and fashion. During her first days in school, her text-books were -distasteful, as they were new, but she studied them nevertheless, and -soon was at the head of her class. This habit of study has clung to her -ever since.” - -Social dissipation is unknown in the Bryan household. Since Miss Ruth -has grown to the dignity of young womanhood, and has gathered about her -a bevy of young friends, an added gaiety has been given. She has had her -little parties, but her parents receive rarely, and then but informally. -The Bryans have several carriages and horses, and in these they find -their chief amusement. Once in a while Mr. and Mrs. Bryan are seen at -the theatres, but only at the best plays. Mr. Bryan has grown much -stouter in late years, and has taken to frequent horseback rides as both -an exercise and a pleasure. His favorite animal is a Kentucky bred -saddle horse. It was presented him by ex-Governor W. J. Stone, of -Missouri, and in compliment to its donor, Mr. Bryan has named it -“Governor.” - -The figure of W. J. Bryan on horseback is a familiar one in the city of -Lincoln, a city where horseback riding has never been in vogue. Governor -is a coal-black, high-spirited animal, and prances and pirouettes with -nervousness at every halt. Mr. Bryan’s favorite ride is to his farm, -four miles east of the city. Here, on a thirty-acre tract, he has for -several years been making experiments in farming, or rather in -endeavoring to discover whether he has forgotten the lessons instilled -into his mind by his agricultural experiences in youth. Mr. Bryan -insists that he is not a farmer, but an agriculturalist, and defines the -difference tersely in this wise: “You see, a farmer is a man who makes -his money in the country, and spends it in the town. The agriculturalist -makes his money in town and spends it in the country.” - -Mr. Bryan has no intention of taking up the life of a farmer. Ten years -ago, in the boom days of Lincoln, he purchased a five-acre tract close -to the suburb of Normal. He had driven out east of the city one day, and -at the top of a hill stopped to rest his horse. As he sat in his -carriage the splendid panorama of field and house and tree unrolled -before him. He was enchanted. Then and there he resolved to build a -permanent home upon that spot some day. The original five acres cost him -a good round sum, but his later purchases, made now and then, have been -at greatly reduced figures. The buildings upon the farm are largely -temporary in character. The house is a small one of five rooms, and -shelters the man who does the real work on the place. Mr. Bryan has -found much pleasure and recreation during the summer at the farm. During -the planting season and in the weeks that followed, he made a visit -daily and spent several hours “puttering” about, directing things here -and bearing a hand there himself, at the harder tasks. In the rural -atmosphere, away from the conventions of the city, he threw aside every -care and every burden. His ordinary clothing was cast aside for the -habiliments that distinguish the farmer at work. Mr. Bryan confesses to -a weakness for high-top boots, in which his trouser ends can be -hidden,—and then to work. - -The one singular thing about everything that this man does is that he is -at all times able to preserve his dignity. There is nothing -selfconscious about that dignity. In the West, that sort is dangerous to -attempt. Simplicity is the dominant note in his character, his manners, -his talk, his walk. His amiability is inexhaustible, his patience -unending. If a delegation of Democrats passing through Lincoln do not -have time to go out and see Mr. Bryan, Mr. Bryan finds time to ride down -to the depot and see them. He has, since his nomination, made several -speeches from horseback, to boisterous but zealous delegations, and -always with the old charm and effect. - -As to his patience, no better witnesses to its enduring qualities need -be asked than the newspaper correspondents who form a corps of watchful -guardians upon his footsteps. Many are the questions, some of them -impertinent, that are asked him, and during a campaign, the presence of -the press representatives, unobtrusive as they are, really destroys -whatever privacy remained to him. And yet through it all, his courtesy -is ever gentle, his good nature unfailing, his temper always under such -control as to seem to be an absent quantity in his make-up. - -Lincoln, the city of his residence, has always been dominated by the -Republican party, and so great has been the preponderance of that -political organization that Mr. Bryan has never been able to carry it in -any of his campaigns. Mr. Bryan came to Lincoln a young man, and entered -into a very brisk competition with a number of other young lawyers, most -of them Republicans. None of these have risen above the political level -of county leaders, nor have they found fame or other reward at the bar. -The rapid flight of Mr. Bryan and his pre-eminence has engendered in -their breasts a bitterness of partisanship, accentuated and multiplied -by their personal jealousies, that has found its vent in mean and -malicious assaults upon his political integrity and attempted -belittlings of his abilities. This influence has in the past over-ridden -a local pride that would have justified an endorsement at least of his -Presidential candidacy, and added flame to the fires of partisanship -that particularly distinguishes the city. These two facts form the -solution to a mystery that has seemingly vexed a great many good people -in America, who do not understand the local conditions. Mr. Bryan seems, -too, to have pitched his tent in the most rabidly Republican section of -the city, as evidenced by the elaborate display of McKinley pictures in -the front windows of the houses of his neighbors, who are as lacking in -good taste as in civic pride. - -None of these elaborate attempts at incivility have ever ruffled his -temper, nor have they caused him to retaliate with the weapons he so -well knows how to use. The fact is, he has many warm friends among the -Republicans of the city. His old law partner has long been a Republican -leader, and is now president of the State Senate. This year he has -espoused Mr. Bryan’s cause. - -It has been said that the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bryan is a typical one. -It is more than a type; it is an ideal. The simplicity of the life his -family leads, the wholesomeness of the atmosphere, the absence of -affectation, the presence of a democracy that includes courtesy, -gentleness, amiability, and cordiality invariably impresses one. The -home life of a man is the mirror of his character; and in its limpid -depths one sees the secret springs of thought and reads the heart -aright. That that of Mr. Bryan reflects with truthful fidelity is a fact -within the knowledge of all who know the man and revere the woman. The -words he himself used in describing the beautiful home life of a friend -who had been called across the river apply with equal fitness to his -own: - -“He found his inspiration at his fireside, and approached his ideal of -the domestic life. He and his faithful wife, who was both his help-mate -and companion, inhabited as tenants in common that sacred spot called -home, and needed no court to define their relative rights and duties. -The invisible walls which shut in that home and shut out all else had -their foundation upon the earth and their battlements in the skies. No -force could break them down, no poisoned arrows could cross their top, -and at the gates thereof love and confidence stood ever upon guard.” - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - - 1. Silently corrected typographical errors. - - 2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - - 3. 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