Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-31
KANSAS DEMOCRATS FEAST
Leaders of the Southwest Touch Upon the
Party Policies for 1900,
BRYAN DENOUNCES MlLITARISM AND TRUSTS
Declaration is Made that Democrats
Who Got Out of the Fold Are
Being Brought Back Again
Other Speakers.

TOPEKA, Kan, March 3O.-The Gemo-
cratic conference and banquet under the
auspices Of the democratic state central
committee was held in this city this even
ing
Prominent speakers, including Governor
William j. Stone Of Missouri William J.
Bryan of Nebraska, Champ Clark Of Mis-
souri,, Allen o. Myers of Ohio and Sidney
Clark of Oklahoma, were present.
Covers were laid for more than 1000
guests. The new library hall, where the
banquet was held presented a brilliant
scene with thousands of incandescent lights
and decorations of natural roses, flags and
bright colored bunting
The meeting was in the nature of CON
ference of the democratic leaders, the poll
icy of the party in the campaign of 1900
being touched upon. Mr. Bryan himself
was given the most prominent place. his
subject being Democracy"
Mr.. Bryan stood out squarely for the Chi
cago platform and said that there had been
no retreat from the positions taken in 1896
I'VE are not only holding our own" he
declared, but we are gaining back those
democrats who left us without fully under
standing the nature of the struggle.
Sometimes we hear pleas for harmony
from those who opposed the party in 1896"
continued MIR. Bryan, "but harmony, in
stead of being a thing hoped for is at last
a thing realized; not a pretended harmony
between those entertaining antagonstic pr.n-
ciples, but an actual harmony between
those who are united in a common purpose
against common enemy. The democratic
party was never more harmonious and it's
harmony can only be disturbed by admitting
within the fold those who are at variance
wi re nrinn
Adhere 10 the Platform of '0G.
"The democratic platform of 1900 will be
written by those who stood upon the plat
form OF 1896, not by those who tried to
overthrow the democratic party in that
campaign.
THE failure which attended those who
organized the gold party and wrote the In
dianapolis platform ought to restrain them
from proffering their services as platform
makers for some years to come
Mr.. Bryan declared that events have been
vindicating the policies proposed by the
democratic party in 1896, He then passed
on to the subject of trusts and character
lied them as the products of republican
methods. He gave this warning: IF the
republican party goes into the next cam
paign upon platform defending the trusts
it will antagoniZe sentiments which are rap
idly growing against them, even in the ranks
Of that party
Mr.. Bryan closed with denunciation of
militarism and what he termed the tendency
of the present administration toward i'm
perialism. He said THE republican party
came into existence in an attempt to ap-
ply the Declaration of independence to the
black man; it seems likely to go out of
existence for it's refusal to apply the same
principles to brown man-only half
black"
Champ Clark of Bowling Green, Mo, had
for his subject "Prosperity-Past, Present
and Future
The toast responded to by Sidney Clark
of Oklahoma City was oklahoma, the Next
Star in the Flag of the Union"