The age-herald., 1900-07-11
DEMOCRATS SOUND
 CAMPAIGN KEYNOTE
Speakers of National Reputation Deliver Address at
 Lincoln to an Immense Audience.

 upon the threshold of the campaign of l 1900, wherein the allied reform forces Of the country hope and intend to restore l the action of the federal government to the principles of Washington and Jeffer- l son. To re-establish by the spirit of 1886 the doctrine of 1776; the principles or | Washington and Jefferson, no alliances or entanglements abroad and at home equal l rights for all special privileges to none. 'The man who sees in the campaign or l 1896 only ordinary political contest has | little insight. That campaign was the be- ginning of a life and death struggle be- | tween opposing forces of fundamental l character and between which, in the very l nature of things there can be no trace of party until victory shall have crowned 1 one or the other. It was the first real clash of arms between those who would | transform this government into an oligar- l chy of wealth and privilege and those who | would arrest our present progress in that l direction and retrace our steps to the l safety and glory of the ancient ways. l Republic in Danger
 | "The republic is already in danger. In | the midst of social questions of gravest | complexion to whose solution are requisite | the best intellect and loftiest patriotism Of
 this country, the vigilance of the people
 are taxed by the occurrence of war whose | noble inception has disguised It's conse- | quences until. within the little space of | two years we have travelled further from | our old ideals than would even so short | time ago have seemed to be the possible | accomplishment of a century, if indeed | ever possible at all. Already are in | the very shadow of the empire
 1 My friends, if the citizens of this coun- | try at the forthcoming election shall rah- l fly and confirm the presumptious stretches l of authority that have characterized the | conduct of this administration, then we | shall not be in danger of establishing an Er.y IAaf, aIt dHr | established"
 | MT. Towne criticised the attitude of this | government toward the people of Porto l Rico and the Philippines, saying: We | walked across Porto Rico on a carpet of flowers spread by the confident enthusiasm | of the inhabitants and we have compelled | them to walk upon thorns in return. We | are piling up expenditures by the hun 1 dredS of millions on land and sea in order l to make commercial returns in thousands. | We have ceased to quote the Declara- | tion of Independence We have grown con- | temptuous of the Constitution. We have | rechristened slaughter and named it civili- l zation. We are putting men to the sword l by the thousands and dare to call ourselves | the agents of Him about whose lowly | cradle nineteen centuries ago the angels of | heaven sang Peace on Earth, Good Will l to Men"
 MT. Bryan Spoke Again
 MT. Towne was followed by MT. Bryan, | who was introduced amid tremendous ap- l plause. He spoke follows:
 l II am deeply grateful to the good people
 of this city and State for their approval ! of my nomination. Four years ago the | State gave us about 1900 plurality and on | three occasions since that time the people | of Nebraska have declared their adherence
 to the political principles for which have | been contending l am not vain enough to | believe that their support is meant a l I a O | the steadfast devotion to the principles to | which I have been welded.
 | We enter this campaign under condi- ] tions far more favorable to success than | those which surrounded us in 1896. But
 whether we win this year not, the fight l must be continued until organized wealth | ceases to control the affairs of the nation | and it becomes again a nation of the peo l pie. I don't care to enter at the present | time upon a discussion of the issues pre-
 scented by the platform adopted at Kansas l City. can say, however, that it is, in my | judgment, the greatest platform adopted in ! recent years, If not in the history of the 1 country. It is a greater platform than the ! Chicago platform, for 1t endorses the prin-
 ciples set forth in that platform and in ad-
 dition thereto presents the party's position | on several new and vital questions There
 is no evasion about the platform, ambi- | guilty or no double dealing. It is as clear l as the tones of bell, as clear as the tones
 of Liberty Bell. It deals honestly with the | people. It's candidates are pledged to its | maintenance.
 When the convention came to the selec-
 tion of a candidate for vice president there l was divlrsity of opinion Some preferred | an eastern candidate, believing that he 1 would strengthen the ticket in the east. | Some preferred MT. Towne, knowing of the | sacrifice which he made for the principles | and of his devotion to the principles set l forth in the Chicago platform. But the | choice fell upon a distinguished Illinois | Democrat, who once discharged with great l credit the duties of the office.
 l Was an Able Defender
 In the campaign of 1896, when plutocracy l and Democracy met face to face, Adlai | B. Stevenson was an able and courageous l defender of the cause of Democracy. Dur l ing the campaign he spoke in several of | the close States. When I visited Bloom 1 ington, near the close of the campaign, he l was chairman of the meeting. In begin ming my speech I referred to him fol- l lows: We who have been keepers of the | Democratic faith love Adlai E. Stevenson, | not only for what he is, but we love him 1 also because he Is all we have left of the 1 last national Democratic ticket. The Bible l tells you of the father who loved the l prodigal son when he returned. I tell l you of the Democrat father who loved the son who went not astray.
 q know that some of our allies felt I grieved that they were not given the sec l ond place upon the ticket. but am sure l that they cannot feel unl1indly toward one l like MT. Stevenson, who was loyal to the | ticket nominated at Chicago, and who is l able to defend the magnificent party creed | set forth at Kansas City. In this campaign issues are greater than men. l shall not | ask any one to vote our ticket merely | because it's the ticket of the party. It de- | serves support because it stands for the | Declaration of Independence in dealing | with the Philippines, and for the doc | Urine of equal rights for all and special privileges for none in all domestic ques- tions."