Birmingham state herald., 1896-07-11
THE MAN AND THE HOUR.

1 cTdtlc DdHner Tn the nanuS or the most
 brilliant young man in America. The
 hour and the man have met When the
 platform was adopted success was made
 certain. When William Jennings Bryan
 of Nebraska was named as the partys
 standard bearer success was made l doubly sure.
 There has never been a time when the
 occasion demanded it that the leader
 was not forthcoming. The people have
 been casting about for months for the | man to lead them to victory in the great l struggle that is on for financial and in-
 dustrial freedom. Twice before in the
 history of this country it became neces-
 sary for the people to break away from the powers that were grinding them down and strike for their liberties and
 their rights.
 When British demands had grown un- bearable, in the latter half of the eigh- teenth century, a declaration of inde-
 pendence was formulated and promul- gated. War followed and a leader was
 needed. In the person of young Wash ington he was forthcoming. In a. struggle
 lasting eight years the great. brave and
 gallant young Virginian marched at the
 head of the column and by their help
 won victory, which was freedom and in-
 dependence, for the people, and became
 the first president of the United States.
 Today his memory is dear to every
 true American.
 There came another crisis. When the
 United States bank had gradually and
 insidiously fastened its poisonous fangs
 upon the government, grew bold and de-
 manded more power and a longer lease
 on life, the people again found them
 selves in need of leader to grapple with
 the viper they had warmed in their bo- som and aid them in casting aside the power that would destroy their free gov ernment and with it the fruits of the v.c- tory won under the leadership of Wash ington. The leader was at hand in the person of Andrew Jackson, the brave and sturdy son of Tennessee. With the peoples banner in his hand and the cause of the people--truth and justice on his side he went forth to meet the 1 money power, and once more the people | were victorious, the arrogant money 1 power routed and the true democratic | colors planted on the ramparts of the
 enemy that would, for selfish gain in dol-
 lars, strike down the liberties of a people
 who, through the blood of-ther fathers,
 had received it,as a precious inheritance. As a result of the civil war and the | issues leading up to it the control of the government passed out of the hands of | the democratic party, the party that has l always guarded the interests of the peo- l pie, and the republican, a new party, came into power. The misfortunes to the government and the people following in | the wake of the bloody. contest furnish | ed the opportunity to the money power to strike once more for the enslavement | of all the people. While the patriots of l the north and east were engaged in the 1 struggle on bloody battlefields for the 1 freedom of the black race the money | sharks and shylocks were laying the 1 foundation for the financial enslavement l of both races. By the time the struggle l had come to a close they had their plans sso well laid that the republican party,
 which had sprung into existence
 and power on the issue of hu-
 man freedom, became the easy 1 prey and pliant tool of those whose de- | sign it was to strike down human free l dom by fastening the shackles of finan-
 cial bondage upon the American people. | Link by link the chain with which it
 was intended to bind the people and keep
 them and their posterity mere hewers of
 wood and drawers of water for the ben
 eft of those into whose hands the con-
 trol of the money of the country has been 1 concentrated, principally as the result l of iniquitous republican legislation, has
 been forged. So insidious has been the encroachments of the money power since
 the close of hostilites between the sec
 tions that only within the last few l years have the people come to realize that again a crisis is at hand. Notwith- l standing the encroachments have been l made by degrees, the fact that the crisis is at hand and that the people have come to full realization of it is none the less true In this instance, as in the two former the leader is at hand
 This time he halls from Nebraska. It is the gallant Bryan, ''the eloquent boy 1 orator of the Platte." From the walks of l private life in his far western home this l sturdy young man has been called by l the people to lead them in the most i'm l portant and momentous struggle ever engaged in by the American people. | With the democratic banner in his hand, with a platform of true democratic prin- rciples upon which to stand, he goes forth to lead the contest, and nothing is surer l than that triumphant victory awaits | him and the people who have made him | their leader. The new declaration of in | dependence formulat ted and promulgated | at Chicago will be sustained, the money | power that would enslave the people will | be routed, the financial shackles of 1 slavery will be. stricken from about the
 people, and William Jennings Bryan will
 become the next president of the United States of America and go down in his
 tory as the third great and triumphant | TRIBUNE of the PEOPLE.
 WE SAY YOU HAVE MADE TOO LIMITED AN APPLICATION OF THE l WORD BUSINESS MAN" THE MAN | EMPLOYED FOR WAGES IS AS | MUCH A BUSINESS MAN AS HIS EN- PLOYER. THE FARMER WHO GOES | OUT TO TOLL IN THE MORNING IS | AS MUCH A BUSINESS MAN AS THE AT A