The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-08-20
DEPEW ON BRYAN's SPEECH
He was Not Surprised and Says the
Speech was a Failure.


While at Manhattan Beach Mr.. De-
pew read Mr.. Bryan's speech, and also
the accounts of the way in which it was
received He remarked yesterday that
he had expected the result of the
Il am, he said, always interested in
public speakers, and have made
study of their habits and customs. 1
felt assured when it was first announc-
ed that Bryan would make the speech
of his life in New York, that he would
fail. With a man of great ability and
genius, such as Webster or Clay, when
an extraordinary occasion was present
ed he rose to the emergency and sur
passed any previous effort. With a
man of moderate ability, however, 1t
is different. If he has made reputa-
ton, usually it is local and based upon
one happy speech, and when he is con-
fronted with a great crisis ne fails
He desires to Guido himself, he departs
from his usual tactics in vain effort
to gain a greater height, and the result
is he deals in platitudeS and becomes
weak, Vapid and thin. His effOrt,such
as the one made by Bryan, is always a
demoraizfng failure
In all the history of New York
can think of only two men who have
come to this city heralded as great
orators who have lived up to their rep
utatiOns or surpassed themselves. The
first was Abraham Lincoln, in his
speech at Cooper Institute, and the
other was Henry w. Grady, in his
speech at Delmonico'S. Both came to
NEW L OTh dQN6ILlSGQ aS specimens u
strength and logical reasoners. Both
surprised even their own friends and
scored an instantaneous success. No
other much heralded orator that I can
think of has justified the predictions
made for him previous to his appear
ance in New York.
After all. the true test of an orator
and the only one is a New York audi
ence. That will be denied in the south
and west all over the country general
~ where there is a latent prejudice
against the east, but it is true and I
will tell you why. I venture the asser-
ton and I believe that what I say is
true, that not one out of 500 persons
who went to the Garden the other
night to hear Bryan was born in New
York. They were born, some in New
England, some in the south, some in
the west, some in the Pacific coast
states, some in Europe and so on.
There is no more cosmopolitan city
in the world than New York. The cry
against New York has no basic foun-
dation. We have within our city men
from every state in the union. Great
lawyers, great bankers, successful
business men, students, theologians,
artists, writer's and thinkers, as they
develop and grow out of their environ
ment, naturally drift to New York
They are a broad minded and highly
critical class. They are catholic to the
broadest degree. They care not what
a mans religion is, what his political
faith, what cult he advocates. They
judge him upon his merits, and if he
lIlpIGSS6S IuGHl Lney applaud. II he
fails, they don't. In this way they set
a more equal standard, perhaps, than
any other part of the country can boast
Of
Bryan came here the natural pro-
duct of environment and education He
was hera1ded far and near as coming
wonder, a second Lincoln, the savior of
his people, and, above all, a calm log
ical reasOner, and a man of great elo-
quence and oratorica1 ability A New
York audience listens to all of this ad-
vance notice in silence and is not i'm
pressed by it. 1t waits until it can see
the man, hear the orator, and then it
deduceS it's own opinions. Bryan went
before the people of New York They
were ready to give him the due recog-
milton that his abilities demanded, and
no matter what his political faith or
creed was, if he had lived up to his
reputation of being an eloquent orator
magnetic person, a good reasoner.
he would have been received kindly and
commended, even if not agreed with
He came, he was studied criticallyand
he failed. They may say what they
will about the east, but the mere fact
that Bryan failed to hold a New York
audience and proved a. dismal failure
is going to hurt his reputation all over
the country. He was not hoOted at he
was not ma1igned; he was not treated
to any discourtesy. He simply failed
to attract or to interest. and those who
went to see him slowly filed out with
no word of condemnation, but a lust
criticism that he was not equal to his
task"