The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-11
THIS Is Mr.. BRYAN
PEN SKETCH OF MAN WHO CAP
TURED THE PRIZE AT CHI
CAGO.
AN ORATOR BY NATURE.
FIRST HONORs WON BY HIS SKILL
I'm FRAMING SOUNDING
PHRASES.
HIS HISTORY AND HIS HOME LIFE.
Lives at Lincoln and Has Devoted
His Time to the White Metal
Cause.
AN ORATOR BY NATURE.
HIS HISTORY AND HIS HOME LIFE

William Jennings Bryan was born March
10 1860, in Salem, Ill. He was taught under
his mothers care until he was ten years
Old, when he went to the public school Of
Salem, which he attended for five years. At
the age of fifteen he went to the Whipple
academy in Jacksonville, ILL.,, which Is the
preparatory department OF the Illinois col
lege, located at the same place. He spent
two years in the academy and four years in
the college, taking classical course. He
represented his college in the interstate ora
torieal contest in 1880, and was class orator
and valedictorian in 1881. He then went to
the Union college on law in Chicago, and
while in attendance there, was in The office
of Lyman Trumbull. He left the law school
June Is. 1883, and went to Jacksonville to
practice law, remaining at Jacksonville un-
til October, 1887, when he removed to Lin
coin, Neb., going into partnership with A.. r.
Talbot. classmate of the law school
He had taken part IN political campaigns
since 1880, and made number of speeches
He took part in the campaign of 1888 in Ne
braska. and was nominated to represent the
First district in congress In 1890. He was
elected by the majority Of 6,713, although the
district had gone Republican by 3,400 when
Secretary Morton had been defeated in 1888
and was thought to be certainly Republican.
He supported Springer for speaker in the
Fifty second congress, from whose district
in Illinois he came originally. This led to
his being put on the ways and means COM
mittee. of which Springer was chairman, and
on March 49, 1892. he made tariff speech
literally distributed campaign literature.
H He was reelected in 1892 in spite of the
fact that the legislature had redistrieted the
state, and his district in the previous cleo
ton had given the Republican ticket about
5000 majority. In the Fifty-third congress
he helped to frame the Wilson bill, being a
member Of the ways and means committee,
and took an especially active part In the
income tax provision. At the close Of the de-
bate ON the income tax, in congress. reply
ing to Bourke Coehrane, Aug. 16, 1883, at the
special session. he delivered a three-houF
speech against the repeal of the Sherman law
this speech being more largely circulated
than the tariff speech had been. He also
spoke In favor of the bill to coin the
reney policy and also against Cleveland's
gold contract with the Rothschilds.
In 1894 he became
CANDIDATE FOR THE SENATE
and announced that he would not be q
candidate for the lower house of congress.
He was nominated for United States SEN
ator in the Democratic convention, and the
Populist candidate In his district was in
dorsed by the Democrats for the house of
representatives. The ensuing state legislature
being Republican, John nj. Thurston was
sent to the senate and the Republican cam
didate in his former congressional district,
]. B. Sterode,, was elected by 5000 majority.
During all three of the campaigns he chal-
lenged the opposing candidates to debate, and
several discussions were held.
After his retirement from congress he took
up the practice of law in Lincoln again. but
the silver campaign opening he found that
the calls upon him for speeches and cam
paign work were so frequent that he was
forced to give up his law practice. In Sep
tember, 1894. he became the editor in chief
Of the Omaha World-Herald, and had con-
troll of it's editorial policy on state and nation
al questions
Mr.. Bryan lie man Of small means. He
was married Oct. 1. 1884, to Mary Baird of
Perry Ill., who attended the female academy
in Jacksonville. when he was In the other
school at the same place, and who graduated
the same week that he did, and was also the
valedictorian Of her class. She studied law
and was admitted TO the bar, without any
idea of practicing, but simply to be more
thoroughly companionable to him. She Is
year or two younger than he. Three children
have been born to them, Ruth, ten years old;
William ]. Jr., about seven. and Grace, five
years old. Mr.. Bryan Is a Presbyterian, hav-
ing Joined the Cumberland Presbyterian
church at the age Of fourteen He Is now a
member of the First Presbyterian church of
Lincoln. His father was Silas L. Bryan who
was circuit judge at the time of his sons
to 1872 on the bench of Illinois Judge Bryan
moved on a farm a short distance from Sa-
lem when his son was six years old, and
from that time, until he was twenty-three
years old, Bryan spent his summers on the
farm. In 1872 his father. ran for congress on
the Greeley ticket and was defeated by 240
votes.
His family comes from Virginia His father
was born in Culpepper Court House in that
state, and died in Salem, H., in 1880. His
mother. whose name was Mary Elizabeth Jen-
nings, was born in Marion county Illinois
and died in Salem week ago last Saturday
after protracted Illness. In appearance, MIR.
BRYAN IS IMPRESSIVE,
his face indicating intellectually and power
as well as good nature There is notable alb
sence of the beyish expression seen in the
pictures of him which have been circulated
He Is affable and kindly in manner, easily
approachable and does not lack dignity. In
appearance he Is an illustration of the fact
that some men are never accorded justice by
a picture. which il his case does not pre-
pare one for the expression Of keenness
shown in his face.
Bryan has not long been political figure
IN Nebraska; in fact, he Is comparatively
new man in the political arena of his state
Through his debates on finance with Senator
John M. Thurston. Bryan became known as
the champion of silver. Bryan supported J.
Sterling Morton for congress in 1885, The
latter was defeated. In 1890 Bryan himself
ran In the same district against the sans