Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1904-10-26
DEMOCRACY A RELIGION
William ]. Bryan on Basis of
Democratic Faith

Democratic Faith
At Lawrenceville, Ind, William
Jennings Bryan, who is stamping
the country in the intere st of the
Democratic ticket, made the great
est speech of the campaign, q
speech he himself says is one of
the best he has ever delivered. In
it the apostle of free silver scars
to oratorical heights in telling his
hearers the basis Of Democratic
faith, in which he likens Democ-
racy to religion. Following is the
peroraton:
81 have had people ask me why
Democrats seem to be 80 intensely
earnest about their Democracy
My reply is that, with every Dem
ocrat who knows what Democracy
means, it is a religion, and when
you hear a sgood Democratic
speech it is so much like sermon
that you can hardly tell the diff
erence between them. A good
sermon is built upon the Ten Com
mandments, the Sermon on the
Mount and the Eleventh Com
mandment. Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself
"And a good Democratic speech
is built upon the doctrine of human
brotherhood and equal rights and
self-government. Love of man
kind is the basis of both, and De-
mocracy can never die while there
is in Democracy love of mankind.
Democracy does not go as far
sometimes as we would like to
have it. Ask a mother as che
holds in her arms her baby boy
what her hope is. She will tell
you that she hopes his heart will
be pure, that his ambition shall be
so holy that he can whisper it in a
an angels ear, and that his life
will be so clean that his mother,
his sister, his wife, his child can
read record of his every thought
and act without a blush for what
he has said or done.
"That is the ideal that every
has for her child; but ask
her if she lie going to require that
perfection in him, and her great
heart tells you no. That is her
hope, but she will make him as
good as she can. She will follow
his footsteps with daily prayer
that her blessing will rest
upon him wherever he goes,
throughout the world, and that
she will hope that when he dies
the world will be better for his
having lived. That is about all
'he can say to you.
"And 30 if you ask me if my
platform has all that | want in it
say no; you ask ME if my candi-
lidate stands for all | would ,
ike to have him stand for, no. {
But shall l throw away the good [
le promised because | cannot get
ii that / want? 1t is a slow work, {
his work Of raising humanity. c
Why it IS only two or three hun
red years ago that We were burn b
ng witches; only few short de- C
AIDES since We were prosecuting d
eOple for conscience sake. We f
re doing better now. But we are n
ar yet from the goal. {
81 read n poem when ! was in r
choOl, one stan2a Of which has
lung to my memory; III oaven is :,
ct gained by single bound; We -
uild the ladder by which We rise :,
.om the low y earth to the vaulr- '; ';
/ skies and mount to its summit, ~
,und by round You ask me if =, n
le Democratic ladder reaches the II
iies. No; but rs | look upward g
see no other ladder whose TOP is
igher than ours. plant my foot m
l the lower round, ! will climb as ST
r as that ladder reaches and "a
len / will pray to the God of 10
osts that He may give US p'
rangth and wisdom to raise it NJ
CHER and higher until its top is -
st in the clouds. We SOW seed r
oadcast in the political world. Il
nave been sowing for many years w
it seems to me that the
eds have fallen on stony places, ep
metimes on barren ground, but on
think | have seen evidence that WI
ME seeds have fallen on fertile We
il and have grown up and II
ought forta fruit ore hundred Al
d." ed
ed
Orchards in Full Bloom ~"