The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-09-15
Planks Used as Seats Give Way
and the Audience Grows
Surly.
BRYAN's FRIENDS MAKE NOISE
Again Those Unanswerable Questions
Are Alluded To by the Noted
Speaker.

OMAhA, NEBR., sept. 14.-W. BourKe
Cochran spoke at the coliseum tonight
to crowd estimated at 1900 people. Sec
rotary Of Agriculture Morton presided.
Several thousand more tickets were issued
and what with heat and the breaking
down of benches and people going out it
was twenty minutes before order could be
had. Several Thousand Bryan men, lncIud-
ing several silver clubs en- masse, were in
the audience and cheered every reference
made to Mr.. Bryan.
Mr.. Cochran began by saying that he
was profoundly grateful for this hearing
and that the West would give to a man
from New Iork-a State which Mr.. Bryan
had denominated the enemy's coun-
try"-such an audience. He hoped never
again to hear citizen of this land speak
OF any part of it as 'the enemy's coun-
try" He had the highest respect for Mr..
Bryan's character. Personally it was
above reproach. That was, he said, what
made his candidacy on the platform that
was made at Chicago by Populists captur-
ing the Democratic convention so danger
GUS. If the nominee were a dangerous
man on that platform there would be less
to apprehend.
If all Mr.. Bryan has said about the
crime of 1873 and the dealings with Euro
pean money-changers were true, our Gov
eminent must be failure. If free coin
age would raise the rate of wages to the
laborer, he himself, not protesting over
weening love for the laboring man, but
simply on the theory that it would benefit
him personally, would indorse free coin
age. He had asked Mr.. Bryan upon what
wages were based, and Mr.. Bryan had not
answered him because he could not. To
raise the price OF everything would accom-
phsh nothing and the agitation would be
useless. If Mr.. Bryan raised the prices of
commo oddities above wages it would be
Injurious 10 the laborer, while if wages
were pushed above commodities il would
injure the farmer. No one could paw 50
for DAYS labor when he could get it for
81 90. Wages are not regulated by phi
lanthropy.
Mr.. Cochran said he had been a great
traveller, but he had never seen people so
prosperous or crops so abundant as those
this year in the West, except that a cloud,
the agitation of free coinage, had been cast
across the country. But this cloud would
be cleared away in Novemb Der by the
triumph of National honesty and honor
The best news he conld take back East
would be that he had seen in this city the
largest audience he had ever seen and that
the Bryan campaign had collapsed.
Secretary Morton made a brief speech
on taking the chair, but even the report
ers could not catch his words, and it was
merely pantomime to the audience, which
was struggling for seats and yelling, 'sSit
DOWN. to those who stood in the aisles.
In the attempt to seat so vast an audi
ence pianks were used. supported at either
end by a chair. People crowded upon
these until the boards broke, and those
who were seated had to stand. Hundreds
OF these boards broke, and the crowd was
spotted frequently with small groups of
standing people who had no place to sit
who could get neither in nor out
When the meeting was called to order
these standing groups interfered with the
sight OF those sitting, and confusion fol-
lowed. Cries of "Sit down" were continu-
GUS from those sitting, and were responded
TO with Kisses by those standing. The
trouble, IT any there was, was in lssuinq
tickets to more than the seating capacity
OF the coliseum and then throwing open
OF the doors for all others to crowd in By
the use OF other chairs and boxes the
broken planks were again made to do
service, and alter the people had again
peen properly seated, there was no further
disturbance, and Mr.. Cochran was &C.
corded respectful hearing, except that his
reference to Bryan on two or three oc-
casions was greeted with rounds of APP
plause by the friends OF that gentleman
who were In the audience.
Several avowed Bryan supporters were
gwen tickets by the committee who had
the meeting in charge, and these men.
probably lnadvisedly, interrupted the
speaker few times by prolonged cheers
for their favorite.