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Show William Jennings Bryan j Was Greatest Democrat During The Past 30 Years (By t'nited Press) "William Jennings Bryan was the greatest democrat of his generation. His absolute party reign ended when he threw the votes he controlled con-trolled to .Woodrow Wilson in the Baltimore National Convention of 1912 and saw a new sun rise on the hosts of democracy. Since the Chicago democratic convention con-vention in 1S9G .he had ruled his party almost absolutely. Three times he had been named for the party leadership and us many times been defeated at the polls. And it takes ability in a beaten leader to continue leading. The story of his accession to the throne will live as long as the political politi-cal history of the United States. The Chicago convention of 1896 was controlled by the free silver men. Silver was the issue. The gold men, however, were making a bitter fight. "Silver Dick" Bland of Missouri was the probable nominee. As the debate grew bitter, n young- man. with flowing black hair, made his way to the platform. "Who is he?" asked one. "Oh, just a dub congressman from Nebraska. They'll choke him off before long." Half an hour later the entire convention con-vention was cheering "The Dub from Nebraska," while the state standards stand-ards were carried in parade down the aisles and grouped in front of Nebraska. , Bland Was Beaten ' David B. Hill, one of the great democrats, was seated down in front. When Bryan started, Hill looked bored and yawned. When Bryan reached his climax and thundered : "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind man-kind upon a cross o gold" and even before that never-to-be-forgotten parade of standards about the ball, Hill turned to one of his friends and said : "That ends Bland's and every other boom in the convention. It did. Bryan was the nominee. Strange to suy, the speech wasn't new, either. Bryan had delivered tions to be a farmer, to be a politician, to be a writer and to he a lawyer. He realized all of them. Bryan was horn in Salem, HI-, March 19, 1800, and, as a boy, was a strong, full-limbed, ltttle fellow, whose chief aims in life seemed to be playing and eating. On both his father's and his mother's side he came of honest right-living. Godfearing God-fearing people, for both the Bryau and the Jennings families were simple, sim-ple, sturdy, earnest people and deeply deep-ly religious. They never attained grent wealth, but they always had plenty for the care and comfort of their own. Bryan's father, Silas Lillard Bryan, Bry-an, was a man who backed up his high ideals with a strong character and a great capacity for work. His ancestors are said to be Irish. A certnln William Bryan, a big landowner, land-owner, who lived . in Culpepper county, Virginia, more than a hundred hun-dred years ago, is the first one of the Bryan family whose name is unknown to his descendants. William Jennings' mother was Marian Elizabeth Jennings, who was born near Walnut Hill., 111., in 1834. The Jennings family came from English stock. Bom a Democrat Bryan's father was a democrat of democrats and soon offer his marriage mar-riage entered into public life by serving in the state senate of Illinois for eight years. To this he added 12 years on the circuit bench and then was nominated for congress, but met with defeat. Returning from the bench he devoted his time to his law practice and to church affairs. Until he was ten years old "Willie" "Wil-lie" Bryan romped and playing and did his share of the chores on a farm a short distance from Salem, which had been1 purchased by the elder Bryan when William was little more than a toddler. About this time William was sent to public school; After entering Whipple Academy, one of the preparatory pre-paratory schools of Illinois College at Jacksonville, be suddenly took deeper interest' lti his studies and that seriousness cf purpose which loomed so strongly fn his later life became manifest. If there was a contest, whether of oratory or athletics, ath-letics, Bryan was in it, if possible. Although not particularly fond of baseball or football, he was a good runner and Jumper, but his first attempts at declaiming were not so successful. In the various, debates and oratorical contests at Illinois College in which he entered it required re-quired quite a number of attempts before he carried off a first prize. He persisted, however, and when he graduated in 1881, Bryan was chosen to make the valedictory address. ad-dress. It was while going to college at Jackskonville tint Bryan met Miss Marjr Baird, the daughter of a merchant mer-chant living in Perry, 111. Mary Baird also was studying at Jacksonville. Jack-sonville. There began a love affair that resulted in marriage in 1884, and gave Bryan a wife and a great helper in his political life all in one. Three years later, Bryan, called to Lincoln, Neb., on business, was so impressed with the beauty of the city that he made plans for moving there. platform. With Bourke Cockran, he staged one of the greatest debates of a career full of oratory. The erect young form that had electrl-i electrl-i fied the 189G convention had grown somewhat paunchy, the long, jet-black jet-black hair of yesteryear had begun to turn and was much thinner. But Bryan had the same force, the same I magnetism, the same fire, the same easy flow of though nnd language, the same eloquence. Cockran, the great Irish orator of Tammany Hall, was cool, keen, logical and Incisive. In-cisive. And when it was over the convention rose and cheered its old hero to the echo. For perhaps the last, Bryan saw the standards carried car-ried in parade for him. It was a tribute to the great party leader who was passing had just passed. Voted Against Bryan. Then the delegates calmly returned re-turned to their seats and voted against Bryan's eloquence and for his opponent's logic and their own personal preferences. It was the party's parting salute to a peerless but stricken political gladiator. Fowr years later a little less Bryan attended the meeting of the Democratic national committee at Washington and was barely noticed. Gone alike were his friends and foes. Many were dead, including the brilliant Cockran, his San Francisco adversary. Others were retired from politics. Still others had been violently vio-lently retired by the voters. It was as if Napoleon had returned to the field of Waterloo. "Chap" Clark, on whose ambition Bryan had trampled at Baltimore, had passed on. Wood-1 row AVilson, estranged, hnd death's seal already on his bowed head. I What Bryan thought as he passed i through the throng, no man knows. Bryan never wore his heart on his sleeve and had killed more than one fair young political boom with his own hands. He knew that in politics poli-tics the man who wields the sward must also perish by the sword. But he made no sign. The Break With Wilson. Although Bryan had broken years before with the party leaders, he always retained a large following among the masses of his party, in the south and west, especially. He never had been strong in the east. His break with the Wilson forces, when he resigned Bis office as secretary secre-tary of state in 1915, had .alienated him from the bulk of the new men who led the party for eight years under Wilson. Bryan was named to head the Wilson cabinet in 1913, partly because be-cause of the part that he took in the Wilson nomination and as a graceful recognition on 'Wilson's part, but more because Wilson needed the help of the Bryan con- it, climax and all, a dozen times, hut never under such dramatic circumstances. cir-cumstances. Bryan made a wonderful campaign. cam-paign. He traveled 18,000 miles, spoke nt every stopping place and was defeated by Wm. McKiuley by 271 electoral votes to 1776 for Bryan. Bry-an. Senator Mark Hanna of Ohio had carefully planned the campaign for McKiuley. The "free silver" issue is-sue was held up to scorn as the fallacy of a Populism gone mad an evil that combined all the weaknesses weak-nesses and, at the same time, all the destructive forces of Greenback-ism Greenback-ism and Populism. Bryan was de- ridprl no n cw.nrl "SJ-l.-lwa Tnvrp" be guided in the right light. The former secretnry took part in the ! campaign, but was not as active s 1 he had been in some previouse ones. 11 His brother, Chnrles W. Bryan, then :s' governor of Nebraska, was the '" Democratic nominee for vice presl- ' dent. J ' Easing up on his political activl-ties activl-ties with the 1920 national com-pnign, com-pnign, Mr. Bryan took a greater in- ! terest in the affairs of the Presby- -terian church and devoted more of ' his time to lecturing. In 1923 he was !; defeated for moderator of the general gen-eral assembly of the Presbyterian church after an exciting contest. He was elected vice nioderotor nt the general assembly of 1921. for, year by year, during his reign: 1894. A graduated income tax. " Federal license for corporations. Government operation of telegraphs tele-graphs and telephones. A double monetary standard. Tariff for revenue only. Election of senators by popular vote. The president to be ineligible for re-election. Mnjority vote to override a presidential presi-dential veto. Popular election of all federal judges. Limitation of the term of all federal fed-eral judges. A three-fourth jury verdict in civil cases. The initiative and the referendum. 1896: Free silver. 1900.' Anti-imperalism no c6lonies for the United States. 100.6. Government ownership and operation opera-tion of railroads. The elirht-hour linv. Enters Public Life Bryan now entered into public life by becoming an active worker for the democratic organization and going to the state convention as a delegate. Bryan was elected to congress in the campaign of 1890. Bryan's activity in congress won him a place on the ways and means committee and then came another important event in his carer as pub-lie pub-lie speaker. This was his tariff speech, delivered in March 16, 1892. He now aimed higher and after refusing to be a candidate for reelection re-election to the house in 1894 announced an-nounced that he would run for the senate. This campaign gave Bryan his first taste of defeat, but did not dishearten dis-hearten him. The Republican landslide land-slide wiped away his efforts and his onnonent. Thurston vn pliWnrl Simpson. "Free Silver would close the factories and the working man would starve," was the cry of thousands thou-sands of orators and hundreds of newspapers. "Full dinner pail" parades were organized by employers employ-ers all over the nation. McKiuley made a "front lawn" campaign at Canton, O., the forerunner of the "front porch" campaigns of later years. McKinley was posed as the champion of conservatism, the defender de-fender of property rights. Suave, dignified, imposing, McKiuley looked look-ed the part. The republican press spoke of Bryan in terms compared with which Chas. Evans Hughes' characterization of the Bolsheviks was a compliment. To the republican republi-can ornlors Bryan was a wild-eyed torch-hen rcr rpnrlv In wiwl.- thn gressmen and senators from the west and south to carry his policies into legislation. There never was any real friendship friend-ship between Bryan and Wilson. Both were men accustomed to giving orders, not taking them.. There was too much iron in the constitutions to bend. The result was forecast by friends of both men. When the world war broke, both Wilson and Bryan were pacifists. As it progressed, pro-gressed, Bryan adhered more and more to the idea that the United States should withdraw from all European interests and not under any consideration allow the United States to be dragged into the conflict. con-flict. Wilson, at the start, as pacific as Bryan, found himself upiwnenc, xuurscon, was eioctea. In the fall of 1894, Bryan entered upon' newspaper work as the chief of the editorial staff of the Omaha World-Herald giving much of his time to this work, until the national convention of 1896. At this time, Bryan also branched out as a lecturer, and In addition to his speechmaking on behalf of the Democratic party he took up Chautauqua Chau-tauqua work. This irns the real beginning be-ginning of his travels over the United States. Then came the presidential campaign cam-paign of 1896 nnd the Chicago Democratic Demo-cratic national convention.. Bryan, after bis second defeat for president, started "The Commoner," a political magazine, at Lincoln, which, with his lectures, writing and newspaper work, gave him a comfortable fortune. United States. Killed by Free Silver. Free silver killed Bryan politically insofar as elective office-holding was concerned, as dead as oil killed others; gold some nnd free trade others Although the 1890 camf paign was the only one that Bryan made on n strictly free silver platform, plat-form, the mass of the voting public could never be convinced that Bryan was not a hair-brained theorist, whose cult was ruin. Long after the body of Mark Ilnnna had rusted to dust in a Cleveland cemetery, the effect of the bitter campaign of 1896 kept its veto on Bryan's elective elec-tive ambitions. In many ways, Bryan was a statesman in advance of his times. He was accustomed to say that economic eco-nomic progress, while it hnd made legal establishment of Free Silver, 16 to 1, unnecessary, had proved the soundness of Its theory. He lived to gravitating the other way. Wilson and his secretary of state were getting get-ting further nnd further apart on the' foreign policy of the United States. Then came the Lnsirania disaster. Just whnt happened will remain a secret, unless Bryan divulges it in his memoirs if ho wrote any. The story current in Washington at the time nnd told by Senator Lodge on the public platform wns that the ultimatum to Germany calling her to account, was written by Bryan and Wilson, and that Bryan included includ-ed a confidential note, to the effect that Germany could regard this as a matter of form and not worry about it that it was only a diplomatic diplo-matic gcsture Wilson objected to the confidential section. Certain members of the cabinet threatened to resign if any "kicker" appeared in the ultimatum. Garrison wus one. Wilson then eliminated the confidential section and Bryan re- . 1907. Government guarantee of national bank deposits. A postal savings bank. 1908.- Annibilatlon of the trusts. 1911. Prohibition. Publicity for campnign contributions. contribu-tions. World peace by International arbitration. ar-bitration. 1915. A referendum on war. Time won for Bryan quite a few of these issues. Others are still issues. is-sues. Some are dend beyond recall. Later in life he left Nebraska and bought a home iu rioridn, becoming a citizen of that state and taking a hand in Its politics. Racks MrAtko. Having become n permanent legal resident of Miami, Flo., Mr. Bryan was elected from that state as a delegate to the Democratic national convention at New York in 1924. He took a prominent parr, In the proceedings, pro-ceedings, but his influence wns greatly curtailed as compared with that which he exerted at previous national conventions of the party. His ndvocacy of the nomination of William G. McAdoo hnd no effect In breaking the deadlock which continued con-tinued for nearly two weeks between Mr. McAdoo and Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York, the contest eventunlly being ended when the delegates switched to John "V. Davis, who was nominated. Mr. Bryan wns n member of the resolutions committee nnd at one of the sessions when the K. K. K. Issue wns liolng discussed he dropped to bis knees and urged the other members of the committee to joiu with him iu prayer that they might The Baltimore Convention. After Bryan's defent by Taft in 1908, the presidential campaign of 1912 brought Bryan into the public eye again. As the head of the Nebraskn delegation. dele-gation. Bryan went to the Democratic Democrat-ic national convention with instructions instruc-tions to support "Champ" Clark, but when the convention deadlocked and the Tammany delegates swung over from Underwood to Clark, Bryan swung his forces to Wilson and gained the hitter's nomination. Prior to this, ill 1911, Bryan hnd isueii n public statement, In which he gave up his life's hopes, saying: "I shall never he president, but I would rnlher go to my grave with the consciousness that I hn've done right, that I have done nil in my power to give to my country the best possible form of government, than to be president." Whnt Bryan Stood For. These are the things Bryan etood see four of his pet ideas become the law of Ilie land. Prohibition, woman wo-man suffrage, direct election of United States senators an direct primaries. Bryan was a prophet, not without with-out honor, but without elective success suc-cess iu ills own country. The mass of the volers cheered him, admired him, but wouldn't vote for him. His issue of imperialism imperial-ism fell flat. His issue of governmental govern-mental ownership of ther nilroads was rejeclcd by bis generation. Whether time will vindicale that, as It did oilier Bryan issues, time only can' answer. Bryan's Ijist Fight In the convention of 1920, when .James B. Cox of Ohio was .selected as the DemoiTMl ic stamhird bearer, Miyau held a proxy ami made the fiijht for u dry plunk ill the national signed. Bryan believed ;the ifn-soflened ifn-soflened ultimatum meant war and he was against war. Wilson issued a categorical denial of the story of a confidential note. So did Secretary Tumulty. Bryan and Garrison refused to talk. Lodge Inler IssuJ-d a slatement which, In effect, said : "The President denies. The President is always right. Therefore this version is an error." It is said that the bitter filed between Wilson and Lodge dated from that slatement. Wilson regarded re-garded the apparent evasion as an insult. lie believed an absolute wilhdniwal was the least ujKilogy Lodge could have made. Be (hat as it may, the Lusitania ultimatum marked the retirement of Bryan from official life. It was ent minus any confidential note. Bryan's Early Ambitions Bryuu, from a lud, hud four uuibi- |