Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-08-20
COCKRAN'S REPLY TO BRYAN
Great Enthusiasm Aroused by
His Eloquence.
GREATEST EFFORT OF HIS LIFE
Eighteen Thousand People in
Attendance.
Remarkable Gathering Of Democrats in
Madison Square Gardsn-Tbe SCENE NOT
to be Forgotten--A Comparison with the
Bryan Moeting--where the Chlcago Can.
didate Failed Cochran TrIumphed. +.


didate Failed Cochran Triumphed. /.
New York, Aug. IS. - ". Bourke
Cochran made the greatest effort Of his
life tonight, before the largest crowd
that ever assembled in Madison Square
Garden. He was in excellent voice and
superb form and held his vast audience
with the magnetism of his eloquence.
Naturally, comparison will be made
between this meeting and the one adj
dressed by William j. Bryan in the
same place last Wednesday. ASH mat
ter Of fact, toinight's demonstration
was an answer to the, Bryan demonstra-
tion, Just as Cockran's speech was a
reply to Bryan's 1t is fair to say,
however, that the conditions were not
altogether the same. Mr.. Bryan was
fatigued and his voice impaired by
much speaking. Mr.. Cochran was
fresh, strong and in complete trim for
the occasion. Bryan. spoke, on one OF
the hottest nights in years. Mr.. Cock
ran had the advantage Of temperature
cool and agreeable. 4t5
But these conditions, which favored
one speaker. more than the other, do
not. after all. explain why Bryan failed
and Cochran achieved a triumph in
the very place and before similar
crowd. Bryan read bis long speech.
Cochran spoke entirely without notes,
and extemporaneously. Bryan failed
in the very field 10 which be was sup.
posed to be d master, and his dreary
utterance empried the hall Of half its
audience. Cochran was .impassioned.
strong. at times witty, often eloquent,
and some of his periods were magnif-
cent. Yet he never sacrificed his argu-
ment to rhetorical effect. The speech
held and swayed the crowd, and APP
plause followed nearly every sentence.
The Bryan meeting was the
greater in the number of people who
wanted to get in. There was an over
whelmiDg eagerness to hear tho Neb-
raska orator who had captured the
Chicago convention with his crown Of
thorns, cross of gold" speech. The
Cochran meeting was, owing to the
more complete arrangements, larger in
the number actually admitted to the
building, and above all it waa greater
in the number who actually stayed to
hear the speech. The Bryan meeting
was moro notable for the excitement
which pervaded it. the tension Of feel
ing that in 1T perhaps might be the
germs of revolution. The Cochran
meeting was by all odds the most pic
turesque. The big auditorium was
beautifully draped with flags. and every
one who entered received small flag,
SO that when there was great demon
stration Of applause 10000 to Is, 900
flags would be waved in the air, max
ing an indescribably beautiful, pictorial
effect. q.,t
The scene when Cochran was intro
duced was ono which those who wit
messed it will not soon forget. For
nearly five minutes the crowd stood
and cheered, waving the flags all the
time. Then the, band started the "Star
Spangled Banner" aud. led by choir
OF singers, every one in the Garden
sang the inspiring words and music OF
the national song. Mr.. Cochran Joined
in the singing, and when the music
came to an end be began his grafton.
The meeting was held uuder the
auspices of the Honest Money Demo-
cratic League of America. 1t was
Democratic meeting. There were a
number of Republicans present. includ-
ing Mayor Strong, who was cheerAd on
his entrance, but they generally kept
modestly in the background. All the
officers and speakers of the meeting
were Democrats. Senator Gray was
one of the vioe-presidents. There was
no attempt to boom Mckinley. The
whole attempt was to voice the Demo-
cratic Reputation of Bryan and dis
honest money. Major John Byrne,
president Of the League, called the
meeting to order; Perry Belmont acted
as chairman and Bourke Cochran made
the Grafton.
1t was the character of the meeting
the assembly of Democrats who, as
Major Byrne stated in his speech, put
their country above their party-.that
made the meeting the most impressive
ever held in New York, certainly since
the war. The patriotic nature Of the
demonstration was evident from be-
ginning to end. 1t was not partisan
but a patriotic demonstration. The
doors were opened at o'clock, although
the meeting did not begin until 8. 30,
but thousands waited patiently over
two hours for the speaking to begin.
An hour before the meeting was called
TO order the Garden was filed. The
police arrangements were excellent,
and there was no iamming as at the
Bryan meeting.
There we're employees as we'll as en-
ployers, wage earners as well as capt.
talists. The silver men will say that
the Wall street element was conspicu
Gus, and point to G. p. Huntington,
sitting in box, with his akull cap on
Isador Wormser. in a front seat near
the press enclosure, and X. T. Wilson,
sitting with j. Edward Simmons, on
the platform, near the orator of the
evening. Conspicuous, also, was Mayor
"Pat" Gleason Of Long Island City,
who has changed his mind and come
out against Bryan. The long wait
before the beginning Of the speaking
was relieved by the usual incidents of
big massmeeting. There were Kisses
for Bryan, some applause for Mckinley,
and H. II. Hart called for cheers for
Cleveland, to which many responded.
Bourke Cochran. before speaking, re-
ceived a dispatch from c., A. Keller,
chairman OF the National Democrats
in San Antonio. Tex, az follows:
1.-THE National Democrats of Bexar
county, assembled in massmeeting to
elect delegates to Sound Money State
convention, send fraternal greeting and
words of good cheer to their brothers
of New York. -
Major Byrne, in calling the meeting
to order, made quite hit with several
telling sentences. He welcomed .'the
Democrats who love their country above
their party and hold American order
above party fealty. " Then came ex-
Congressman Perry Belmont, one Of
tha Nav York 1elepates who boltad