The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-07-30
A new AND TRUE VIEW OF BRYAN.
THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE
As A LAWYER.
He Has Always Been Il Poor Man--A
Consistent Foe OF MOnopolies and
an Advocate Ofthe Right.

an Advocate or the hight.
James Creelman in the New York World.
LINCOLN, Neb., July lS.--William }.
Bryan has never at any time in his
life earned more than $6, 800 q year.
When he reached this figure SIS 1000
consisted Of his salary as a member OF
the House Of Representatives. His
income US @ lawyer has averaged about
aged to increase it to 81 800. His sal
ary us II political editor Of the Omaha
World Herald was 81 500 year. To-
day his whole wealth hardly amounts
So, 600, and yet he is II mature, highly
trained man, with thousands of friends
and q national reputation rs an orator.
But his easy contempt for money, his
aversion to the advocacy Of corpora
tion interests, and his absorbing pas
sion for specch-making have prevent
ed him from acquiring wealth. The
truth is thut while he has dabbled ut
law and journalism. the serious busi-
ness Of his lie has been politics. The
White House has always been his goal,
although he looked upon the United
States Senate as the proper field for
his peculiar talents.
MIR. Bryan makes no secret OF these
fucti. He entered the Union Law
School at Chicago in 1881, and sat
three years by the side Of A3Oiphus r.
Talbot, his present law partner, who
is now candidate for the State Sen
ate on the Republican ticket. These
two men have been intellectual and
social intinates for fifteen years.
While Mr.. Bryan was studying law
he served as q clerk in the late Lyman
Trumbull's Office at 81 week He
.,il ilxy Of hi -.
had a weakness for buying books re-
lating to various forms of modern gov
ernment. He immersed himself in
constitutional law and shrank from the
technical side Of his profession. The
first school debate which indicated the
trend of his mind turned on the ques-
tion whether q legislator should abide
by the promptings Of his own judg
mont or ascertain the wish Of his con-
stiuents and follow that. Young Bryan
held that q legislator should take care
to ascertain the truth himself and
should then educate his constituents on
sound principles, leading rather than
following the people.
Within twenty four hours, however,
Mr.. B"ya" h"s told me that he believes
a hs!ri"t, ,ah no right to depart
from ti.c .!ai',rm on which he is
elected. Ii he cannot consistently
carry it out he should resign. The
people do not hire q legislator to think
| for them, but act for them.
In his college debate he argued that
statutes should not be based upon op-
portunism, but that each law should
| be brought into absolute harmony with
certain great fundamental ideas. This
| WAS his constant theme. 1t accorded
with his love of generalitics, his pro
| ~ No
selves to metaphor.
He was a. tremendous student, but
his chosen studies lay along the lines
| OF least resistaDCe-pleusant abstrac-
tions and broad political propositions.
He had no head for dry details. His
philosophers were jackson, Jefferson,
l.incoln, Benton, Judge Cooley.
There 10 always peculiar religious
grain running through Mr. l'ryuns
thought 1t was Inherited from his
Baptist father. And this tendency is
marked when he discusses popular
government.
His favorite answer to those who
question the intervention OF God in the
affairs OF men is the last verse Of Iiry-
ants lines, "T0 q Waterfowl" which
| heard him repeat last night to the
newspaper correspondents who accom-
panied him from Chicago when they
met in his house.
| He who from zone to zone
| Guides through the boundlcss sky lhy
| certain light,
| In The long way that | must tread alone
| Will lead my steps nriGht.
| After graduating from the law school
MIR. Bryan served six months more in
| Lyman Trumbull's Office, and then
went TO jacksonville, H., whore he
| studied law for about four years in tho
| Office OF Brown Il Kirby.
1t has been said that hc never in his
life has appeared in court as the rcp-
rcscntative OF corporation. In a
sense this is strictly true. On two or
threo occasions, when the senior NOM
bers Of the firm were absent, he made
minor motions for them in tho Jack
sonville courts on behalf OF u railway
company which they represented. But
he has never accepted fee, directly
or indirectly, from corporation.
When he left Congress he was Offer
cd q salary of $4,000 Il year for his
services as general attorney for a rail
way and oil enterprise ownel by tho
Standard Oil Company. His answer
was that he would not take the posi-
tion for all the profits Of the company.
A few days later he mentioned tho
fact to his present partner.
YOu have made u great mistake,