Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-15
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
Sounds the Opening Gun for the
Year 1900.
WANTS CLUBS ORGANIZED
To Hold Regular Meetings and Discuss the
Political Questions of the Day.
DECLARES FREE SILVER IS NOT DEAD
He Says the democratic Party Will Be
Stronger as Erring People Discover
Their Mistakes = He ia
Coming South.
DECLARES FREE SILVER is NOT DEAD

Lincoln, Neb., Nov. 14.-Under the aus
pices of the Lincoln Bimetallic club, the
Local Travelling Mems Bryan club, and
what was known during the campaign
as the Bryan Home Guards, w. J. Bryan
tonight delivered his first formal address
since the election, sounding what Is gen.
orally accepted as the keynote of himself
and his followers in the campaign which
coinage of gold and silver.
Mr.. Bryan was given f1attering re-
ception by the people of his home city.
The meeting was held at the Funke opera
house, which was crowded to the doors.
Mr.. Bryan was in good voice and never
in his many speeches before Lincoln au-
diences has he spoken with greater vigor
or earnestness.
1t was Bryan day in Lincoln, begin
ming at o'clock this afternoon when
the democratic candidate spoke to ladies
only and concluding shortly before IL
O'Clock, when he rounded his effort before
crowd which was unable to gain ad-
mittance to the opera house and waited
patiently for his appearance at Bohan-
nar's hall.
Mr.. Bryan was loudly cheered when he
made his first appearance this after
noon. He spoke deliberately and with
emphasis, saying In part:
Mr.. Chairman, Fellow Citizens-I do
not Know that l can make myself heard
for any length of time. My voice, which
has served me well for several months
during which it has been sorely tried, is
worse today than it has been al any time
during the, campaign. l want to say a
word for the future. We have passed
through this campaign and we have been
defeated and l want you to remember
this, that there is not in this land sin
gle advocate of free coinage who Is not
willing to abide the decision of the Amer
lean people without complaint. (Cheers.)
You do not find among the silver men
those who say, as a distinguished repub-
lican in New York said, I'VE may not
abide by the result" You do not find
amG1g the silver men persons who will
stai M and express doubt as to whether
the j ll Il the American people is SUI
prenle.
The people who say that you find
among the great corporate interests of
this country which are entrenched be-
hind the republican party, and who
threatened not to abide the decision of
the election, unless they could continue
to represent the American people. Among
the men who called us anarchists you
find the ones who hinted at possible
means by which the will of the people
could be defeated. l am proud that In
our ranks we had men who loved this
the people say, they rule and we bow
to their supremacy. But, my friends,
bowling to decision and bowing without
complaint, the result of an election does
not mean that we shall surrender our
convictions, or that in the future we
shall fight with less earnestness than
we have fought in the past.
You must remember that in the history
of this nation some party has always
been defeated, and yet parties have not
-. q
feat. Remember that the democratic
party lived for many years without ever
having won presidential election, and
then failed to get the President elected,
because 1t is the opinion of democrats of
this nation that Samuel ]. Tilden was
elected President of the United States,
and yet the people who supported him
were willing to abide by decision of
tribunal instituted for the purpose of
settling that dispute.
/ say the democratic party has lived
through defeat, and the republican party
has lived through defeat; all parties have
lived through defeat, if they had any
thing to live for, and when our oppo-
nents tell US that this defeat means the
annhilation of those who believe In free
silver they take a counsel of their hopes
instead of their judgment. Great cheer
ing.) sxS
believe that we have made great prog
ess in this campaign. We have not
made, the progress which we hoped to
have made; we have not achieved the re-
suits which we expected 10 achieve but,
my friends, the cause of bimetalism was
stronger the day after the election than
Ii was at any day during the campaign.
/ want to say this, and you observation
VIII bear out my remarks, that we went
into this fight disorganized army, we
came out OF 1t fighting force that has
never had a superior in history. Cap
plause) Now we have passed the stage
of argument.
want to suggest to those who are 60
ing to continue the organization of the
clubs that they meet at stated times, say
once q month, or at such times as the
members Of the clubs may decide, and at
these meetings they discuss public ques-
tions
I understand from the papers that the
chairman of the republican national COM
nlittee has suggested that they will also
keep up their organization. I am glad
of 1t. i have never advised those who
believed with me to do a single thing
that would not advise our opponents to
do, and when / advise our people to keep
organized and to keep discussing, I ad-
wise our opponents to do the same thing,
because II they would discuss more and
think more there would be less of them
cloud cheering and great applause)
Now would like for all the silver clubs
In the United States maintain their or
ganiza ton, hold regular meetings, discuss
these questions, and would like for all
the republican organizations to keep up
and their meetings kept up and then /
would see joint debates between our or
ganizations and theirs, because, my
friends, II they can convince our people
that we are wrong. we have no claim up
on our people. and II we can convince
them that we are right. then think we
viii not only have claim but we will
successfully assert 1t. (Applause)
AT the conclusion of his opera house
address Mr. Bryan was taken to Bohan-
mans hall. where another large crowd
awaited him His speech at this place
was virtually repetition OF the first.
Mr Bryan leaves tomorrow evening for
the south to be the guest Of Gov. Stone