The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-02
BRYAN SPEAKS his MIND.
PEOPLE, NOT THE POLITICIANS.
THAT COUNT, NE SAYS.
Declares His Independence In . DrieT
speech ~ tho Democratic Club
tho Party Must Not L0ok backward
IN ORDER 70 ReOORnlze lts Leaders.

the Party Must Not Look Backward
In ORDER 20 ReCoSnlze Its Leaders.
Before three score prominent Democrats
Of the city and WI Democratic Governors
of States, William Jennings Bryan yesterday
afternoon delivered hinasclf Of q speech
which was considered by It's hearers as being
at onCe a vindication Of his political opinions
and q defiance to possible insurgents from
the party Of which Bryan IL looked upon IA
the se~lf-confessed leader.
Those who heard Bryan defend his re-
Gently enunciated platform in the rooms
Of the Democratic Club shortly after 3
o'clock yesterday believed that what he
said Is the most important move In the
Democratic campaign that has been made
since tho campaign for 1908 first began to
- talked Of.
Confessing that he had been spurred to a
declaration by editorial comment and re-
ported detection in the Democratic ranks,
Mr.. Bryan delivered himself Of what was
virtually a declaration Of independence.
In reply to q speech Of introduction made
by President John Fox OF the Democratic
Club, who said in presenting the Com
moner that he introduced q man who, it
was hoped, would be the future candidate
OF the Democratic party, Mr.. Bryan said:
your president has said that I might be
a candidate for President. Whether l an
or not M nan can % say. Fears were
expressed for the ideas l entertained ten
years ago. Those ideas have now been
made respectable by adoption in high quar-
tiers.
"A few months ago 1t looked as though
/ might be asked "a be your candidate,
but I was assured by reading the editorials
in the papers this morning hat some OF
those who were for me then will not force
It on me now. Garfield said that he valued
nothing 40 much as the approval Of his own
conscience, and now I tell you. gentlemen
that I would rather have the approval Of
own conscience han the approval OF
all the people in the United States. Every
must act in accordance with the die
tates Of his own conscience.
Il remember when I was a boy my father
telling me that l should not be afraid TO be
in the minority and that IL the minority
was right il would some time come to be a
majority. The majority Ia not always in
the right, though IL Ia presumed to be in
government. And the only way for a man
who finds himself in the minority Ia to fight
for the ideas that he believes to be right
until the majority is with him. IL is a fact
kiAaN " AAD n AA1AA AAAA1C AAAhnN y AAAAC IVY VI
one he in said to be a fanatic. When others
are won over to his cause he is an enthusi-
asst; but when the majority Is on his side
he is called a leader.
i have no monopoly in thinking for the
Democratic party. We deny thai any
man 10 appointed a leader by the Almighty.
man can lead unless he goes with the
people. He may be a little in advance OF
the people, but he cannot be behind them.
A Democratic party does not want TO rave
~ lrnk hark a I'D 10 roN0Unt1a Nhafr laaHara |
I do not care the politicians think.
If / know what the people van to-day l
know h the politicians will want to-
morrow. l now the politicians to be the
most timid Of men and hat they always
want TO do h the people want them to
And l say now, gentlemen, that II the
politicians do not agree to my course It
worries me little; the people l want TO con- |
vince are the voters Of this country and
the politicians, who pretend to dictate
10 those voters while in reality they truckle
to them
Mr.. Bryan left the Victoria Hotel at
5 O'Clock and was escorted TO the
Club by Richard Croker, Jr.,
%s1o %Ili1 TT.1 aHfs1; pr SSd 4 81 ne %s. SSTSs
There were not a. many in attendance as
some Of the club members could ave de-
sired, because the reception had been
planned but a few days before.
Mr.. Bryan was escorted into the build
ing and the various members and guests
Of the club were introduced 10 him.. Gov.
Folk OF Missouri had been brought down
TO the club by a special committee. After
all Of the members had been introduced
Gov. Folk stepped up to pay his respects
TO the guest Of honor.
Governor said Mr.. Bryan. Il van to
see you before / leave the city"
And | van to see you, too said Gov.
Folk very earnestly.
They shook hands and arranged a date
for the meeting. Just ut this lime the
formality Of the meeting between the puta-
tive candidate for President and the Gov
ernor of Missouri was relieved by one Of the
club members, who vouchsafed the informa-
ton that Bryan's father and Folks grand
father both lived in Culpepper county,
Va, now ~Rappahannock county. They
knew IA another, ventured
Mr.. Bryan, and thereupon the first stiffness
Of the meeting between the two favored
sons OF Democracy was dissolved.
Among the men who were present at the
reception and who heard Mr.. Bryan's dec
Of independence were Gov. Jennings
OF Florida, Justice James B. Mexican OF the
Of Special Sessions, Charles V. Fornes,
Judge Wyatt, Judge Edwin O'Dwyer. |
Eugene Busche, Isidor Straus and Theodore
Connolly.
After remaining a scant half hour at the
club Mr.. Bryan was taken in a carriage by
James Smith and Congressman
Sulzer to the Twenty-third street ferry,
where he embarked for Newark.