The Van Buren press., 1900-06-30
RrYan Greets BOer EnYOYs.

At the recent reception 10 the bOrr
enyoys In Omaha, at the conclusion y
/ the regular program, MIR. Bryan was
called for by the audience and, being
introduced by Gov. Poynter, spoke rs
follows:
''Mr. President, Ladies and Gentle
men-The Boer ENJOYS have been OH
! oially welcomed by the governor OF the
state of Nebraska and by the mayor of
Omaha. ! am here as an American
citizen to join with other American citi-
zens In assuring the ENJOYS of the sym
pathy felt by vast majority OF our
people for the citizens of the Dutch
republics in their valiant struggle for
! liberty.
"Mr. Vessels has told us, in speech
eloquent in its simplicity, of the aims,
the patriotism, and the sacrifices of his
people He has expressed appreciation
of the cordial welcome given him by
the American people. feel that he
and his associates have paid us COM
piment in coming to America. People
who love civil liberty and are willing to
fight for it cannot do US greater honor
than to look to us for sympathy and
commendation and pray that the time
will never come when this the greatest
republic of history will fail to be an
inspiration to those who believe in the
doctrine of self government.
I'VE do not ask whether the Beers
are going to win their fight, we only ask
whether they ought to win. What ii
their resistance to foreign domination
does prove unsuccessful for the time
being2 What If they are overwhelmed
by numbers and suffer II temporary de-
featY They have not fought in vain, 1t
has been said that the blood Of the mar.
tyrs was the seed Of the church. 1t is
true that the patriotism of the dead
animates the living, and the lesson
taught by the courageous band OF Beers
will have its influence on the history OF
the world. Whenever in the future
men are contending for the right to
govern themselves, the voice OF the
Beers, rising from q hundred battle
fields, will proclaim that liberty is
dearer than life.
whether our sympathy will be OF
service to the Beers we know not. 1t
NAV strengthen their arms and revive
their spirits to know that they have the
moral support of those whose ancestors
engaged in a similar struggle; but
whether 1t helps them or not, our own
self respect and our position among the
nations requires us to make known our
views, "There is an irreconcilable con.
flict between the doctrines OF monarchy
and the doctrines set forth In the
Declaration Of independence, u conflict
as irreconcilable rs the conflict between
darkness and light; as the darkness ad.
vances, light retires rs the light in.
creases, darkness disappears.
80, monarchy cannot advance with
out diminishing the area OF self govern
ment, and In this conflict, which must
result in the triumph Of republic or
in the extension Of the domain OF a
monarch, the sympathies Of the Ameri'
can people must be with the republic.
unless commercialism has benumbed
them.
"When on Decoration Day we strew
flowers upon the graves Of soldiers, It Is
not to make their rest more sweet, but
to prove that we are worthy OF the sac
rihces which they made when we rear
monuments TO the memory Of patriots,
1t il not TO soothe their sleep, but to
testify that the living appreciate their
work So when we proclaim to the
world that we watch with anxious
interest and with cordial approval the
efforts put forth by the citizens OF the
Trnnsvaal republic and the OrangelFree
State in defense Of their independence,
we merely announce that we are true to-
the principles promulgated " century
and u quarter ago and satisfied with the
experiment made In America, in the es'
tablishing Of u government OF the peo-
pie, by the people, and for the people,
but am not willing to believe that
this nation Is without influence. We
are today the greatest nation on the
earth We have grown from three
millions to more than seventy-hve
millions, and according to statisticians
we produce and consume three times as
much Ms any equal population In the
world Our voice Is potent In the form
alton Of that public opinion which
controls the policies of nations.
''Let II be known that the American
people deny the justice OF this war; let
II be known that the American people
bid God speed to the Beers and England
will be deprived OF the encouragement
which she would find In the approval or
even In the silence Of our people.
"Some have pointed to England s
friendship toward us during the Spanish
war rs reason why we should befriend
her now. | deny that any nation can
confer upon rs u favor sufficiently great
to compensate for II surrender OF our
ideas of government, During the early
years of our history, when we We're few
In numbers and feeble In strength, we
were able to live without England $ aid
or sympathy. Today we are strong,
whether IN peace or war, and need not
rely for support upon any outside power,