The Irish standard., 1897-01-30
Glance 1at88 its Pages and
What They Disclose to
its Il ss'.;~
the Reader. ::
MRS. BRYAN M HER HUSBAND.
Bimetallism, trusts, Gold Dem
ocrats andsOther Features
Discussed.

the Hon. W. J. Bryan's book, have gone
to press and the w. B. Conkey Co., the
publishers of Chicago, expect to have
the first copy bound in about week;
The book embodies story of the cam
paign of 1896, it's principal events and it
includes the most noteworthy incidents
of Mr.. Bryan's famous tour. 1t also con-
tains the principal addresses and docu-
ments relating to the. silver movement
and some of MI. .Bryan's speeches. Con-
siderable space is given to his connec-
ton with the silver agitation while in
congress and prior to the Chicago con-
vention and to a discussion of the cleo
ton returns and an analysis of the poli-
tical situation. <
One of the interesting features of the
book is the biographical sketch written
by Mrs. Bryan who thus describes their
first meetings: :
"My personal knowledge of Mr.. Bryan
dates from September 1879. He was
then entering upon his junior year.
saw him first in the parlors of the
young ladies school which 1 attended
in Jacksonville He entered the room
with several other students, was taller
than the rest and attracted my attention
at once. His face was pale and thin;
pair of keen dark eyes looked out from
beneath heavy brows; his nose was
prominent, too large to look we'll, |
thought; broad thin-lipped mouth,
and square chin completed the contour
Of his face. He was neatly though not
fastidiously dressed, and stood, firmly
and with dignity: / noted particularly
his hair and his smile. The former
black in color, fine in quality and parted
distressingly straight, the later expan-
sive and expressive. In later years his
smile has been the subject of much COM
ment, but the well-rounded cheeks of
Mr.. Bryan now check it's expansion and
no one has seen4 the real breadth of the
smile who did not see it in the early
days. Upon one occasional heartless OBJ
server was heard to remark: THAT man
can whisper in his own ear but this
was a cruel exaggeration. AS to- the
criticism that Mr.. Bryan had not distin-
guished himself as a lawyer, she says:
''Those who complain should consid-
er that he entered the practice at % and
left it at 80 and during that period be-
gan twice and tXies. became more than
self-supporting. At the time of his cleo
ton to congress-, his practice was in
thriving condition and fully equal to
that of any other man in the city"
She concludes the sketch thus: sTo
give an estimate of his character or of
the mental endowments which he may
possess, would be beyond the scope of
this article. I may be justified, howev-
er, in saying that his life has been one
of earnest purpose, with that sort of
genius which has been called "a capacity
for hard work.
'The first Battle" is dedicated to the
Hon. Richard P. Bland, of Missouri, Gen.
James B. Weaver of Iowa, and the Hon,
Henry M. Teller, of Colorado, whom the
author considers the foremost cham
pions of bimetallism in their respective
parties"
The early chapters are devoted to an
account of Mr.. Bryan's connection with
the silver movement and the develope-
ment of the silver sentiment. Then fol-
low the chapters devoted to the Republi-
can and Democratic national conven-
lions, including the memorable contest
over the Chicago platform. Referring
to the fact that the concluding sentence
of his convention speech had been wide
ly criticized, Mr.. Bryan says:
II had used the idea (cross of gold and
crown of thorns) in substantially the
same form in speech in congress, but
did not recall the fact when 1 used it in
the convention. "A portion of the speech
was extemporaneous, and it's arrange
ment entirely SO, but parts of it had been
prepared for another occasion"
A chapter is devoted to the silver par
ty convention, and another to he Popu-
list convention. In one entitled the
triple demand 81 + FIR f financial Independent
&C." o,a v
"In a speech made in Ohio, think in
1898, senatS8fE.s Sherman used language
something lika. ibis; I quote from mem
Dry: The parit1I between gold and sill
yer can only 'benmaintained by the use
of gold as a stHahtfdard with silver coined
in limited qFaSs}ntifies as legal tender:
This can properly be called bimetalll-
ISM; This dehrlition Of bimetallfsm has
within the iiE}sf f8ur years become quite
common ampua those who favor the gold
standard, but are. not wiling to be known
as mono-meAnfsts Bimetallism means
two-metalism. Just as certainly as the
word biped means an animal with two
feet. It means:sthe use OF two metals
as standard money and to be standard
they must be treated alike If
to use gold as a standard with silver
coin in limited quantities as limited le-
IL