The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-20
TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE
 LISTEN ID NEBRASKAN
Great commoner Takes Up the Rec- ords of Roosevelt, Hughes and Taft and Exposes the Weak Points
 In Their Shields.

greatest of present day evils is "ths domination of politics by the favor-seek- ing corporations" and asserting that the democratic party is the best qualified to undertake the task of correcting lhis William Jennings Bryan tonight cele- brated his 18th birthday by delivering a speech on national issues before big mass meeting in the Seventh regiment armory on Sixteenth street. Mr. Bryan took for his subject, why Democracy" and after discussing the records of Presi- dent Roosevelt. Governor Hughes and Sec retary Taft, as regards corporation leg islation. he answered the question by say ing:
 Because the democratic party is the only party sufficiently large to give hope of success and sufficiently democratic to give hope of relief after victory has been won.
 The speech by MT. Bryan was the only one delivered at the meeting Carter il. Harrison, former Mayor of Chicago. pre- sided. About 10,Oo0 persons crowded into the big building and 1t was nearly an hour past the scheduled time of o'clock when MT Bryan began to speak.
 MT. Bryan's Address.
 MT Bryan said in part:
 Assuming that reforms are necessary what party can best be intrusted with the work of serving them? l beg to pre- sent the claims of the democratic party. What are the evils to be corrected? The greatest of all the evils-and it is the fruitful source of almost all the other evils--is the domination of politics by the favor-seeking corporations. By domi- mating politics. they dominate the gov eI'lment national and state There is no | question uwou which the people are think | ing, which does not to a greater less extent involve this question-shall the government be administered in the inter- est of the whole people, by unpurchasable and incompatible representatives of the people, or shall the favor-seking corpor- ations control the elections, raise their representatives to power and through them to exploit the country?
 If the present situation Is satisfac- tory: If the people are contented with the distribution of wealth and with the predomnating influence of these eombi- nations, then there Is no good reason why the republican party should not be con tinued in power, for it has created the conditions which now exist and must have credit or blame according to wheth- CT these conditions are desirable or un- desirable.
 ''I think I can safely assert that con
 
 port of this assertion I can point to the fact that remedial legislation is de- manded by practically all of the demo- cratic party and by very large pro- portion of the republican party.
 Presidents Popularity. Whatever popularity the President has is due to the efforts that he has made in the direction of refrom, although theso efforts have been spasmodic, rather than ft1affA II by his own party. The democratic party can claim the right to carry out these reforms; first. because that party Is al- most unanimously in favor of reform, while in the republican party there is a very large minority. If not an actual majority, against any and all important reforms
 While the republican party is spending its time between reformers and stand patters the democratic party is ready for action. Then. too. democratic admin istration will, If elected enter office pledged to specific reforms named in the platform while the republican party will ask the public to trust 1t to carry out such reforms as may be outlined after the election In the one case the people know what to expect in the other case they are left in uncertainty. But this is not the worst of 1t, a republican President will have no straightforward platform declaration with which to draw republican legislators up to specific re- forms. while democratic President will have platform which will commit those elected with him to certain clearly de- fined measures.
 President Roosevelt's 8 trouble has been that his platform promised nothing, and. with all his great energy he has not been able to secure any substantial re- forms. The democrats have the ad- vantage in that they make distinction haf U hn v11 ftfr ous persons called a corporation They recognize that man was placed on earth to carry out divine decree, while the corporation was created to make money, ana this difference in the purpose of crea- tion necessitates a difference In the treatment of the two.
 Rights of Man.
 The republicans on the other hand have confused the natural men and the corporation, and have given to the cor pora ton all the rights of the natural man. besides the special rights given the corporation by law. The difference be- tween the democratic position and the re- publican position can be Illustrated by reference to the position taken by three prominent republicans. Take the Presi- dents position on national Interpretations. He favors the incorporation of railways and interstate commerce corporations by the federal government. and by so doing he ignores the right of the state to reg ulate corporations doing business within the state.
 NOW, the democrat believes that it is better for the corporation to suffer such annoyance as may be occasioned by state Legislation, rather than that the indi- vdual shall be denied the protection that comes from state legislation.
 Record of Hughes.
 "If you will read the speeches of Gov ernor Hughes you will find that they are very general when they come to the dis cussion of remedial legislation and very earnest when they refer to possible injus- tice to the corporations. He is just now 
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