Kansas City daily journal., 1896-12-27

y
this in order to get you down within reach.
Uaughter.) If could have had my friend
to have gone around over this country in
stead of having gone myself, would have
been cabinetmaker instead of a lecturer
at this time. naughter) In the introduc-
tion he has been so exceedingly compli-
rneEtary that he has raised expectations
which cannot be fulfilled. and in being
mere than fiatterar has been less than
kind to me, and I want to tell you of this
introduction I had at Buckhorn school
house, so that II you ever have to be in
troduced by him you may be able to tell
him about it. I look back to that intro
duction as the best one ever had, not
withstandfng this. Timothy Flynn was
chairman of the meeting, and he asked
me how he should introduce me. I was
ther a young lawyer and wanted all the
advertisement could get in my profession,
80 told him to say that Mr.. W. ]. Bryan,
AN attorney-at-law, would now address
them, thinking that maybe some of .hem
might have some law business, and it
would be profitable fo- me to have the
notoriety of being a lawyer. Tim went
over it several times. and then Just before
calling the meeting to order, he came to
me and asked me 20 repeat It to him, which
I did, and I shall never forget the way in
which he introduced me. He said: The
meeting will now come to order. Mr.
o'Rrien will now spake.' always look
back to that as the best introduction
ever had daughter and applause), because
instead of an exhibition of eloquence with
which mine could not compare, instead of
raising expectations to be disappointed he
simply threw me on the mercy OF my audi
enoe and allowed me to hoe my own row.
hope my friend will remember this Il he
should ever introduce me again. CAppIause)
Now, 1 want to warn you in advance
against disappointment by telling you that
Il is not my purpose tonight to entertain
you. and the eloquence to which you have
listened makes it unnecessary for me TO be
eloquent, although I had intended to be
eloquent, and / shall just talk to you in
plain, everyday. matter-of-fact sort of
way.
My only purpose is TO leave you some
thoughts in connection with a subject very
near to my heart, in the hope that these
thoughts will awaken themselves In your
minds, and that this activity in your minds
will lead you 10 better citizenship.
Il have been impressed, during the last
few years especially. with the power of an
idea; with the dynamic force of an idea
The more have observed the greater has
been my estimate of the influence of an
idea. An idea takes possession of a per-
son. ii reyolutionizes person. 1t takes
possession of society; ii revolutionizes So
ciety. IT takes possession of n nation and
IT can convulse a nation. Ideas are the
things which live: they are the realities
You take the various departments of life:
YOU take an idea which relates to that
department launch it forth and it spreads,
81 gains momentum as it goes and finally
St sweeps everything before it"
Then giving illustration of his thought
Mr.. Bryan said
Take the first idea of utilizing steam.
for instance. as a power. Simple thought
The vast utility Of steam did not dawn up
on the man who first thought Of the use of
st. He saw some little use of it: suggested
81: II grew until that one idea enables us
10 plow the oceans with great ships and to
cross the continent in q marveIously short
time. That one idea has changed the whole
face OF civilization.
Take the thought OF using electricity.
bringing down the lightning from the
clouds. You utilize It first in Il little way.
and then we find IL Lighting our houses:
We find 1t furnishing heat. we find ii used
60 transmit sound 80 VIC can hear the voice
Of our friends. Ave, more than that. And
we iiud IL possible to wind the voice up on
cylinder and then unravcl It. We have
not reached the extent OF it. We take the
ideas which have rpvolutionizcd the mate
rial world but that is not the only place in
which the idea Is important. The religious
idea takes possession Of one II changes a
person in a day. The things which he loved
he hates: the things which he hated he
loves. and he goes forth a changed per-
son. religious idea takes control OF \
community. OF a nation OF a world until
men viii die for It as well as live for it,
It changes society"
Turning from these illustrations to one
more pertinent the speaker said:
Tho idea in regard 10 a government will
he spoken by some one. Strange II will
sound at first. Then some one under whose
observation that idea comes takes IL up
and then another and the idea grows until
q government is replaced with Il new gov
ernmeut until the whole organization OF 7
government underEocs \ change These
ideas. say, grow; they develop. You for
get the person who first gave utterance tC
the thought but the thought goes on and
the person who originates the idea becomes
as insignificant compared with results as
the man who starts the condIgratioR which
destroys a city. Now. with the diversity oi
Industries with the intense application ot
ores mind to particular line Of business
comes a rev thought We VIII have oui
people divided out into lawyers. phySl
clans, merchants. Then the merchants arc
divided. and we have the grocer. and The
man who handles shoes, and the man whC
handles dry goods. and TIC butcher: anf
We have the lawyers divided into variou,
branches Of the law; and the physicians
and an idea goes out and II It concerns The
grocer It will pass by the other until Il