The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-10

and he must be man known to be free from the influences that control the re- publican party. He must be a man of superior intellect sound judgment, posi- tive convictions and moral courage-one who will meet the forces of plutocracy with the naked sword of truth-one who knows no surrender. He must have a ge- nius for stateeraft he must be a man of wide experience in public affairs; he must have ability to formulate policies and courage to defend them.
 But above all, he must have faith in the people. He must not only believe in the right of the people to govern h,t in their capacity to do so. And he must be man whom the people know and trust
 The democratic party has many distIn- guished men who might be chosen as our standard bearer; but it has one man who above all others possesses the necessary qualifications and is eminently fitted for this leadership.
 He is man whose nomination will leave no doubt as to where our party stands on every public question His ge- nius for statecraft is shown by the con structiye work he has done in proposing reforms and by the ability with which i he has fortified his position. But we may gor further.
 A few months since he visited the prin- cipal nations of the world He came in contact with the leading minds of Chris , tendom and the world abroad reoognzed
 his greatness and paid him that tribute justly due to men of high attachments. In the most distinguished peace conven- , tion that has assembled in recent years he proposed plan which, if adopt ed would prove more effective than any arbitration treaty that has yet been made and by his influence he secured It's ap- proval by the representatives of the 26 leading nations there assembled. Is he thoroughly informed regarding the 1 issues of this campaign? Read h.s ] speeches and his writings, which for 1 nearly 20 years have been part of the l political literature of the nation. Is he sincere, brave and determined? Even his political opponents now admit that he is. 1 l have had close personal and polt- l ical acquaintance with this man, whose | name Nebraska presents, since he entered political life. I can testify from observa- l ton as to his political conduct before he was known to fame. He was honest, brave and unyielding then; he is honest, brave and unyielding now.
 Honesty is inherent in him. He was an honest lawyer before he entered poli- l ucs He was honest in his political 1 methods before his statesmanship was 1 recognized by the nation; and he has been honest throughout his political l career His convictions have been his political l creed. He has impressed these convic- ], tions upon others, not by dictation, but l by arguments addressed to the judgment l and the conscience.
 I Relieving in the ultimate triumph Of | the right, he has never examined ques- tions from the standpoint of expediency. | He has never inquired whether political principle was popular; it has been suffi- oient for him to believe that it was right. He has been a consistent champion of the reserved rights of the states. He favored the election of senators by direct vote before the House of Representatives ever acted favorably upon the subject. He championed tariff reform when the west was the hot-bed of protection.
 He favored income tax before the income tax law was written He at tackled the trusts when republican lead CTS were denying that any trusts existed. He advocated railroad regulation before
 
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