The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-07-10

with many, yet he had fought the
fight for silver for so many years and
failed that there were many who
thought some one with fresh blood in
his veins and new ideas in his head
should be chosen. The convention was
engaged in picking such a man, when
on proposition before the convention.
a newspaper reporter, who was doing
the convention for the Omaha World
Herald, and who had won a few laurels
as a member of congress, arose to ad-
dress the convention. Only those who
knew him became quiet that they might
hear. The others did not know
him and were not interested. But they
we~e vitally interested a moment later
when he had closed his first sentence
of the greatest speech of any political
convention before or since. The orator
who made the babble to stop and the
delegates to listen with rapt attention
was william Jennings Bryan. He
plainly and in impassioned words told
the eastern delegates that the west had
pleaded, but they had been needed not.
They had asked, but deaf ear had
been turned to them. Then, in ringing
words, he demanded fair and exact JUS
tice to all as the constitution provided.
In mighty peroration, referring to the
gold standard, this young Nebraskan
uttered these famous words:
"You shall not press down upon the
brow of labor this crown of thorns.
You shall not crusify mankind on a
cross of gold"
It was thirty minutes before the con-
vention was quiet again, and in that
thirty minutes the delegates gave vent
to the pent-up enthusiasm they had
possessed, waiting for some one to
come along whom they thought worthy
to assume the mantle of leader. In the
thirty minutes nearly every state In
the Union had it's banner stacked up
against that of the state of Nebraska
and Mr.. Bryan was nominated for
president. At once Democracy took on
new hope and new courage seized the
people. With such a leader they might
yet wrest the scepter from those whose
success boded i'll for the republic. There
were those who dissented, but 100000
votes were polled for the Democratic
candidate after one of the most re-
markable campaigns In history, and
had $4,000 votes been properly distrib-
uted the election would have been won.
Mr.. Bryan was not known then, and
where accepted, was taken with the
reservation that he was man with
one idea, though thoroughly honest In
that. Those who insisted on the ONE
idea theory soon changed their minds.
Mr.. Bryan grew on the people. He went
down to defeat, but was stronger than
ever. Since that memorable campaign
the hearts of the people have turned to
him. Those who revilee him learned
to respect him fer his sturdy manhood
ing with the issues he presented. AS
new issues arose, he was found to have
anticipated them and had given De-
mocracy platform to stand on in ad-
vance Of the occurrence.
When war with Spain was declared,
he was among the first to offer his SER
vices to his country and raised a regi-
ment to go to the front. He remained
with that regiment till the war was
over. He has guided the party over
the shoals in the four years past, and
the remarkable spectacle was presented
at Kansas City Of the men who opposed
him in the convention in 1896, and
whom he openly defied, rising in their
seats and in eloquent and laudatory
terms seconding his nomination with
the statement that the country wanted
him for president and would have him
If united Democracy could bring 1t
about. No longer was it question of
sectionalism, but the warmest support
the Nebraska man, who made the Chi
cago convention about face by the very
strength of his character and the elo-
quence of his words, received, came
from the east. The New York delega-
ton, which accorded him only respect
full silence in 1896 gave him boisterous
approval in 1900.
| 1t is a wonderful achievement, but
Mr.. Bryan Is a wonderful man. The
country needs an Andrew Jackson at
the helm and the opportunity of the
people is present.