The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-14
SHE'S AN ORATOR. TOO.
Interesting Wife of the Democratic
Presidential Candidate


. Mrs. William j. Bryan, the wife of
the Democratic candidate for president
is of rather different type from the
wives of most presidential candidates.
She is quiet, reserved modest but
determined little woman, slight in
figure, but erect and graceful She
is a woman of ideas. They are ad-
vanced ideas too. Some people might
call her a new woman, but the term
does not exactly fit her in it's present
and accepted significance.
Mrs. Bryan is a lawyer.
She rides a bicycle
She is student Of political questions.
She is something of an orator and
possesses not little of the eloquence
of her husband
She cares nothing for society.
She pays little attention to fashions
and her dresses are seldom of stylish
make.
She is devoted wife and the mother
of three children
These are the striking features of
Mrs Bryan's personality. She was
born in Illinois, which is also her hus-
bands native state. Her father, John
BAIRD, was prosperous merchant of
the lively town of Perry. 1t was there
she spent her girlhood AS mere girl
she was studious, and every opportun-
lty was given her to cultivate the I'M
usually fine mind which she gave evil
dences OF possessing. And Mary Baird
missed none of these opportunities She
attended the common schools in Perry
until she was is, and then she went to
Monticello seminary, near Alton Later
she went to Jacksonville, Ills, where
she entered the annex of the Illinois
college.
At the very time when she began her
studies at Jacksonville, William Jen-
nings Bryan was a freshman in the
same college. They became acquainted
after time, and before the end of the
course they had become something
more than fast friends-there was an
understanding between them, but no
open engagement until later. Both
graduated with high honors, and they
were the valedictorians of their re-
spective classes.
A year later Mary Baird returned to
the college and took a postgraduate
course. During this time Mr. Bryan was
studying law in the office of the late
Lyman Trumbull, who died the other
day in Chicago just as his young pro-
tege was being honored by the conven-
ton.
In 1884 they were married and short
ly after that removed to Lincoln. Neb..
where Mr.. Bryan hung out his single
and his wife began to study law in or
der to be his helpmeet in the full sense
OF the term. About a. year after their
first child was born she was admitted
to the bar. She did this because her
husband had drifted into politics and
she wanted to be competent to handle
his law business when necessary She
81 f1aof o+x
looked upon her as something of a curl
osity, but she paid no attention to them.
When her husband was elected to
congress, she went with him to Wash
ington, and there they took rooms in
modest little boarding house near the
capitol She worked as hard as he did
to make his congressional career a sue
cess. The great tariff speech which
made a sensation in the house and
boosted the 'boY orator of the Platte
into instant fame was almost as much
her work as his. Together they labored
on it's production, and when it was de-
livered the man who was holding the
house spellbound by his eloquence
would occasionally look up to a little
woman in the gallery, not for encour-
agement, but for instruction as to
whether his delivery should be in
| creased or not. They had arranged a.
code of signals and cody planned to
take the house by storm. This is the
kind Of a helpmate William j. Bryan
has.
Mrs. Bryan's eldest child, Ruth is
young miss of IL years. William j., Jr,
is years old, and the baby of the fam
lily is Grace, who is 5. Mrs. Bryan is
very domestic in her tastes, but finds
time to be her husbands political conf
dental adviser and coworker as well as
to do some literary work on topics of
special interest to herself She is an en-
thusiastic orga sh;er of women's clubs
and is a member and ex-president of
the Lincoln Sorosis. During the COM
ing campaign Mr.. and Mrs. Bryan will
be in the thick of the fight
Annette Crawford.