The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-10-22

declared. lneE DtiOlld iiiCi1 al
it is the only place where theN wouiq
feel at home. They make enough tC
keep out of the poor house. but they
never make enough to entice any
broker down nobleman into coming
over and ~disgracing them by marry
ing in the family solomon nae
said feed me with food convenient
for me" No class better came with
in that prescription than the farmer
With neither riches nor poverty he
had food convenient to him. me
farmer, said he. was his ideal Of the
average man. He included in the
classification all the farmers.
He would include. too. the mechan-
les and the toilers in the city
and the toilers in the towns who do
what the do in the country
These two classes. he said. not only
constituate a large portion or the
population but they are the mes VINO
create the country's wealth IN peace
and fight its battles in war. If the
common people are the foundation
of the National prosperity and the
bulwark Of the ~country's trength
are they not then respectable?
He would include. also. the merch-
ants a few of them became mer-
chant princes and tried to climb out;
most Of them are glad to be counted
in.
he "otld iilSlubN az
A few specialists N the city might not
like tn. term, but most of the ply
sicians arc a part of the common PEG
pie. They arise at all times Of night
to minister to suffering. Amid ap-
plause, Mr.. Bryan stated that the phy-
sicians made up the class that did
more work for nothing than any other.
Some Good Lawyer Jokes.
Another class, about which there
---t n11actinn u-aS fh a I Of
the lawyers. There was no use, he
said. to laugh about it. There were
people who made a habit of laughing
when anything good was said about
a lawyer
That reminded him Of a joke. In
Texas / man was running fer Con-
gress and he met an old farmer on the
street and after asking about his crops
and his family remarked:
you know that I'm running for
Yes replied the farmer. i've
hearn the fellers laughing about it
Some people laugh when one starts
out to praise a lawyer. The farmer
laughs-until he gets in trouble and
then he very seriously consults an at
torney.
Out in Nebraska in a convention
made up of farmers, some man who
was nominating a friend mentioned
that he w a a lawyer. When another
friend went to second h nomination,
he realized the mistake and corrected
it. The gentleman had been a laW-
yer, he said, but he had been dis
barred. That restored him to favor
II am not defending h lawyer be-
cause l am one myself" said Mr.. Bry-
an. at has been ten years since l
tried a case and the statute of limita-
lions has run in my favor if it is a
crime" He defended the lawyer be
cause he had a place in society hardly
appreciated by the lawyer himself. He
is most important, not in court, u
in society at large. In the New
York Tribune an editorial writer had
ridiculed the Oklahoma constitution
as being the production of "corn-feld'
lawyers. Il want the newspaper
men to get me right IN this said
he, for at one place where I used
the expression they made me say
'corn-fed' lawyers.
Praise for Oklahoma Constitution.
Now he had read the Oklahoma
and 1t was not only bet
ter than that Of any other State, but
it was far better than he Federal Con-
stitution. 1t was written by corn
field lawyers" in a convention that
was composed of nine-tenthS Demo-
Gratis. II suppose" said he, sit would
been nicer if they had all been
But we must be reason
able and not demand too much. Even
is alloy and 80 per cent pure metal.
Ninety pei cent is good enough either
in money or in a convention.
II have read the constitution of
Oklahoma carefully" he repeated,
l was amused at the care with
these cornfield lawyers puttied
the holes that the trusts have been
shooting in all the other constitutions.
For a quarter of a century the chief
of trusts has been to find
something in the constitution hat
prevent the people from pro-
themselves against predatory
This constitution, although
by cornield lawyers, was writ
from the standpoint of the com
people, and when 1t was submit
to the people, after injunction had
attempted, it was carried by
like 100000 majority, hav-
ing the support Of all the Democrats
and Of a large percentage of the Re-
A great many of their Re-
are Democrats and don't
know it n go on and vote the Re
publican ticket merely by force of
This Is true Notwithstanding
the fact that Secretary Taft went all
the way down there to tell them to
vote against it. This constitution can
>"SAAS IlAAC Wy q lIIdJoA
lty vote of the people whenever the
amendment is submitted to them by a
vote of their legislature and
the Democrats who framed the consti-
tuition were so generous that they put
IN another provision that whenever
10 per cent of the voters petitiOned
.hdt a vote upon any amendment be
had. this could be done n
vote OF a majority of the legislature.
ne republicans of Oklahoma are so
coilluent that they expect at all times
70 De able to get Is per cent. of the
people TO petition for any amendment
ina the| need, even after Secretary
rare maze q special visit down there.
Ne"sI'apers-and Newspapers.
wen my friends. these corr field
lawyer are the champion of every
movement in this country There is
no question so small that it is beneath
their notice and no problem so large
that they DO not grappIe with if. These
corn feld lawyers have threshed or+
and settled all the great reforms he
fore the commonwealth. Yes T an
going to put the lawyers in. for they
belong there. And now 1 am going to