The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-07-09

and turbulence; they listened to appeals,
to threats, to cries for mercy and finally
they watched the jubilant majority seat
its victor and the vanquished stalwarts
vanish forth into the daylight. The bat
tie for the supremacy of Democratic
principles was fought out in 4 session
that lasted from II in the morning until
shortly before in the afternoon. Each
side sent its champions to the forum.
Senator Tillman of South Carolina,
Senator Jones Cf Arkansas, eX-Congress-
man William Jennings Bryan of Ne
braska crossed swords with Senator Hill
of New York, Senator Villas of Wiscon-
sin and Ex-Governor Russell of Massa-
chusetts. The sinister-looliing senator
from the state of Calhoun, with his eye
blazing defiance at an audience which
manifested its unfriendlness by a storm
of hisses, opened the debate with a wild
ly impassioned speech in which he af-
firmed that the battle for the restoration
OF silver was war for the emancipa-
ton of the whites slaves as the war of
1850 had been one for the emancipation
of the black slaves. Disruption of the
Democracy had brought about one and
he invited another disruption if it would
result in this other emancipation. He
went to the extreme in glorying in the
suggestion presented that the issue was
a sectional one, a declaration which
aroused the ire of Senator Jones and he
rcpudiated it in speech which aroused
great demonstration.
Senator Villas, who was postmaster
general under Clevelands first admins
tration, bitterly denounced what he
termed an attempt to launch the party
on a career so wild that the world stood
aghast. With wave of his arm he
sounded his warning.
Somewhere in this country" said he,
there may be some Marat, some Dan
ton, but we will not follow them into
another French revolution"
Governor Russell of Massachusetts
pleaded for a word of concession, of con-
ciliation and concluded with solemn
warning that the country, if not the con-
vention, would listen. Demonstration
followed demonstration at frequent in
tervals throughout these speeches, but
it was Senator Hill who aroused the
and Bryan, the boy orator of the Platte
who set the silver men ahame. The
for Hill, who with close
logic and trenchant blade, sought the
very heart of the convention as he as
sailed as undemocratic the new creed
which the majority was to proclaim,
u demonstration that lasted ff-
teen minutes.
The fame of the brilliant young orator
from the plains of Nebraska has blazon-
ed brightly on the convention for two
days. There were several demonstra-
tons in his behalf yesterday, but this
was the first opportunity he has had to
show himself. His audience had been
warmed up and was full of pent up en-
thusiasm. The powder magazine need
ed but the spark and Bryan applied it
with the skill of genius. His very ap-
pearance captured the audience. Dressed
ike a plain westerner in plain suit of
alpaca, he stood with smile playing
over his handsome, mobile clear cut face,
while with uplifted hands he awaited 81
ence. His eye is bright, his nose Ro-
nan, his wavy hair is brushed back
rom his forehead and falls to his collar.
With well modulated voice, which grad
tally rose in pitch until it penetrated the
limits of the hall, he wove
he spell upon his audience. His speech