Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-09-21

l
At Topeka he was surrounded by the
flower of the Kansas Democracy. for
that was not local banquet but an
important annual function under the
management Of the state committee.
But these leaders of the party in the
| Sunfiower State, most Of whom had
seen and heard him before, were as
eager TO clasp his hand and receive his
greeting as any baekwoodsmen who
crowd to depot to catch the first
glimpse of his glowing countenance.
A RecognixedsLeader.
At st. Louis he was in the presence
of the elite of the Democracy. not Of
imperial Missouri alone. but of the en-
tire Mississippi valley, together with a
sprinllling OF the Democratic big In
| Juns from beyond the Rockies and Z.e
Alleghanies. In that vast assembly
Were dozen men who may be truly
said to have national regulations, yet
Bryan was the observed of all obsery-
ers, although there was scarcely man
/ or woman out of the 12,000 there as
sembled who had not been entranced
by his eloquenee hitherto. SO aston
ishing was the enthusiasm for him
that when Ex-Governor William J.
Stone, man of vast reputation, ma
tionai committeeman and a recognized
| leader. arose to introduce Bryan the
crowd would not hear him. but kept up
such a cheering for Bryan that at last
Stone gave up the effort to talk in
despair and Introduced Bryan with a
pantomimic performance whose coun-
terpart cannot be found in the entire
/ history of American politics
AT Bland's funeral the congressional
escort and political bigwigs marched in
| double column from the hotel to the
opera house, where the funeral serv-
ices We're held, distance of three or
/ four blocks. between banks of Ozark
mountaineers. 1t so happened that I
was Immediately behind Bryan in the
procession and had a good chance to
observe what happened. If l saw one
man or woman reach out a hand to
merely touch his garments. l saw 300.
a pathetic performance that l never
saw, read or heard of ia. the case of
| any other man.
! At Omaha he was in his old con-
/ gressional district, among people who
4 had seen him AMI heard him frequent
| ly for the last ten years. In his case
familiarity does not breed contempt,
most assuredly not-quite the contrary
| His old constituents, neighbors and
friends hailed his appearance with
| such prolonged and vociferous shout
ing that the concussion produced there
| by must have endangered the lives of
the catfish in the Platte river. Then
/ for hours and 3j minutes that vast
multitude of people stood, packed like
sardines in box, sweltering in a
tropical heat, to listen to the flow of
his oratory. They literally hung en-
raptured on his accents. When he
concluded near midnight, like oliver
| Twist they cried for more.
! Distinguished Among All Men.
1t is so wherever he goes. l win
guarantee the fact to be that no au-
dienee can be assembled in America at
any place betwixt the two oceans, even.
one containing the president and his
| cabinet the whole corps of foreign
diplomats, the officers of the army and
navy the supreme court and both
houses of congress, in which Bryan
will not be the most distinguished per-
son, the one most looked at, most talk
ed about, most sought after Why is
it thus?
1t is not his learning, though he is
learned: it is not his handsome pres
ence. though he is handsome; it is not
his eloquence though he is the greatest
living orator. perhaps the greatest that
ever lived. IT is a settled conviction
that this man stands for humanity:
that in this age of commercial politics
he at least places the man above the
dollar. Added to this is deep seated.
Ineradicable. well founded belief that be
was elected president in 1896 and will
be elected again in 1900 and still again
in 1904, and people looking at that
open countenance and square, heavy
under jaw believe that when elected
he will use all the mighty and multi
farious powers of his high office to
carry out his promises.
1t has always appeared amazing to
me that the great metropolitan dailies
have not had more to say about the
| unprecedented stutiing of the ballot
boxes in 1896. Take Ohio, for example
The rule in old, settled communities
like Ohio is one vote for every five
inhabitants, and yet in 1886 in the
Buckeye State Mark Hannas own,
the ratio was one vote for every three
and half inhabitants, That that was
an honest count is thing incredible
Have all the people coming of age in
Ohio in the last % years been boys
Have the women and girls been dying
faster than the men and boys? Mark
owes it 10 the scientific world to ex-
plain how that thing happened, for
statistics show that all over the world
The proportion of boys and girls born
q of the former to 20 of the latter
Because people believe that Bryan was
counted out they love him all the bet
ter and are the more determined to
elect him again.
Democratic Camp Meeting.
Imperial Missouri leads the Demo
cratic hosts. not only in electral votes
and the framing of issues. but IN the
plan of campaign.
She presents something new, Dem
ocratic camp meeting of two days du-
ration at Palmyra Marion county, in
the middle OF September. The credit
of this innovation belongs to Colonel
John A. Knott, editor of the Hannibal
Journal; Hon. Samuel j. Harrison.
chairman of the Marion county com
mittee, and Hon. H. Clay Heather.
prosecuting attorney of that great
county
Democrats came by the thousands.
Old Democrats, young Democrats, mid
die aged Democrats, Union veterans,
Confederate veterans, famous Demo
Gratis, obscure Democrats, the leaders
and the boys in the trenches. all were
there. cheerful. enthusiastic for Bryan
and the Chicago platform. AS I faced
that vast audience, that bewildering
battery of eyes, | thought of the coon
skin, log cabin and hard cider cam
paign of 1910 aud what came of it. and
1t came to me that Messrs. Knott. Har
rison, Heather aud their coadjutors, IN
originating and engineering the Pal