The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-27
SPEAK , OF" FLORAL ISSUE"
twill It Pay" substituted for
 ''lS It Right.
Says the People are Quick to See the "Hand of God" if Dol lar is Contained
 Therein.

New Y0rk, Jan. 26.-EVery seat in the Madison Square Concert Hall was taken tonight when William J. Bryan began his speech on Moral Issues."
 In the audience there were many wo- men, while the body of the hall was more than hall filled with clergymen.
 There was no presiding officer, MT. Bry- an being escorted to the platform, where he was greeted with prolonged appleuse. He said in part:
 T have preferred to speak independent ly of any organization, because l do not care to embarrass any friends or sup porters who may differ from me in opin- ion.
 T do not speak with any authority; I am not a candidate for any office; l am only a private citizen and ] can prove by the editorial pages of nearly all our leading dailies that have excellent pros- poets of remaining a private citizen dur ing the remainder of my life.
 Right and the Presidency.
 "Why have flung away ambition? Why have I rejected this proffered eat ness and been deaf to the entreaties of those who talk only of getting together: l want to know what they are getting together for, whether to defend rights or to enter upon a course of pillage.
 'The trouble with our Government to- day is that 1t is too much influenced in its
  loyalty to moneybags. will it pay?' has been substitute for is it right?' and as a consequence our legislative assemblies, city, State and national, have become auc- tion rooms in which governmental privi- leges are knocked down to the highest bidder.
 "One evidence that our party was hon. estIy seeking to secure justice to the masses in 1896 and 1900 is to be found Ill the fact that our campaign funds were insignificant in both campaigns. In 1S92, the Democratic Party collected large campaign fund from the corporations.
 Plutocratic Democracy.
 ,"It spent more than $l,OOO,OOO in the two States of New York and Indiana alone. and what was the result? The most pl l. ,tocratie administration this country had eve- known. We witnessed surrender to organized and predatory wealth so ab- ject and So complete that seven years absence from power have not entirely removed the stain from the party.
 You ask why am opposed to the re- organization of the Democratic Party? ? Because I want my party to define the rights of the people; I want 1t to be the fearless champion of their interests; I want it to present the moral issue .n- volved in public questions and to appeal to the public conscience.
 How can we restore respect for the doctrine of self-government; how can we fight the trusts, how can We obtain just financial system; how can we op- pose high tariff; how can we safeguard the rights of labor or secure the election of Senators by popular vote? The first step followed for any party is to write an honest platform.
 When the next Democratic Convention undertakes to write a new platform, It will find the last one model of clear ness and conclseness and of square deal ings; and I hope that the delegates to the convention will be instructed by tne various States to endorse it.
 As to Candidates.
 t"And how about candidates? It does not matter much what the name of the Presidential candidate is. but it does mat ter what he stands for and in what direc- ton he is going to lead the party. Let the Republican party be challenged to meet the moral issue presented-this is Democratic; this is patriotic. If We lose 1t will be but a temporary defeat and will bring no disgrace with it. If we win, the victory will mean much for our country and the world.''
 Mir Bryan departed frequently from the text as previously given out.
 Coming to the subject of imperialism MT Bryan said:
 ,"I believe that in the last campaign this subject appealed to the American people. l was willing to put all other subjects in the background, although I was welded to them. I must confess that I was disappointed that so many were indif- ferent as to the issue and the questions. Some people thought, as the Republican party must have done, that the gambling chance in the Philippines was Gods will Some people are quick to see the hand of God if it has q dollar in it. What pained me most In the campaign was that the ministers of the Gospel saw the hand of God in the killing of rne brown people in the Philippines and allowing a carpetbag government out there"