The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-10
.CONGRESSMN HEFLIN
 SECONDS NOMINATION

Denver. July 9.-The following speech was made by Congressman ]. Thomas Hehin of Alabama in seeonding the nomi- nation of William J. Bryan for President of the United States on the democratic ticket:
 Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Con-
 vention
 l congratulate the party and the ooun- try upon the outlook for democratic yIc- tory. In the interest Of constitutional gov ernment and the common veal. democrats have thrown aside petty differences and today we present solid front to the ene- mics of democracy.
 The republican party stands convicted of deceit and unfaithfulness to the Amer lcan people, That party has made bar ter of the ballot and sold seats in tho House and in the United States Senate to the highest bidder. The trust is the direct offspring of the republican party and is the giant son of the protective tariff system.
 Today S4,oo0OOO of American people are looking anxiously to the future They see their industries passing into the hands aof gigantic combinations of capital They see the managers of these corrupt com binations absolutely dominating the gov ernment. They see the financial institu- tions of the country controlled by a few men, called money kings, who can pro- duce a panic in 24 hours; they see the republican party humbly registering the decrees of Wall street, and they see that that party no longer respects the as- pirations and the rights of the masses; and they have seen the tariff tax become burden grievous to be borne. The whole country sees now the terrible con- dition that confronts the American peo- pie But the democratic party called at tention to these evils long before the handwriting appeared on the wall in the midst of the riotous Beshazzer's feast of our trust prosperity
 Under the reign of the republican party the mighty rich and politically powerful mock the courts defy the statutes and escape the just burdens of government, while the plain people must obey the law and for each violation suffer its pains and penalties. This favorltism shown trust kings by the republican party reminds me of the following lines from an English bard:
 '"rhe law imprisons man or woman
 Who steals a goose from off the common, But lets the greater culprit loose
 Who steals the common from the goose"
 The republicans have met in national convention and they have rewritten their oft-printed promises to the people, but the country no longer takes republican promises seriously; and in the light of the past, what are their promises worth promises prior to the election?
 Bees, on flowers alighting, cease their
 hum,
 And republicans in office soon grow
 dumb.
 But, MT Chairman. we will not despair of the republic so long as against the ills of evil we hold the remedy of right The cause of democracy is the cause of the people, and to the democratic party the people of America are looking for deliv- erance from the evils that now sorely ' afhiet us. I rise to second, the nomina- tion of a man who is, and has been for a long time, the idol of the democratic masses. Every throb of his heart is sloyRl to their interests. As a patriot, no man ever had a more exalted love for his country than has this peerless demo- crat for the American republic. As a teacher of civics the world has not seen his equal since Jefferson wrote and spoke. As a defender of justice he ranks among hte worlds bravest and best As an advocate of popular rights he is the ablest and most fearless of American cit izens. As an orator, Cicero would have been delighted with his diction; Demos- themes would have been charmed with his forceful sentences; Daniel OConnel would have applauded his fervid eloquence; it Daniel Webster would have been su- premely pleased with his powerful, con- B vincing logic, and the clarion voice of Henry Clay would have found it's coun- terpart in his eloquent tongue. The charm of his eloquence is his sincerity; it's strength is his moral courage. As states1nan he resembles a tower seen afar ;, and under a clear sky rising in grand eur and sublimity at every step of ap- proach This man has given expression to more great thoughts and led more people to higher ground than any other American. He is the intellectual giant of the United States. He is less misun- derstood and more msrepresented than any other statesman in our history. So frank and fair and fearless that he can not be misunderstood so true is he and so uncompromisingly just that his polit- teal opponents and the great trust-con- trolled dailies dare not play fair fight him in the open. Statesmen, world dip lomats and kings have paid him tribute. At the international peace conference in London 800 representatives from 26 of the greatest nations on the globe, in council assembled. requested his assistance that they might profit by his wisdom concern ing arbitration, and his words upon that occasion have become international law. If could speak a thousand tongues and command the eloquence of the world s best I could not express the unselfish- ness of his life nor the power of his ge- nius.
 He is to the tariff robber and trust ridden masses of America what Mira beau was to the downtrodden of Francc He is to the enemies of equal rights in this country what Daniel OConnell was to the oppressors of Ireland. He is the Thomas Jefferson of a new declarations declaration of independ- ence from the tyrany of combines and trusts He is the Uatrick Henry o< d new revolution--a revolution in civic affairs that means the overthrow of plutocracy and the restoration of the ark of our vicic covenant to the friends of constitutional government. He is the George Washington who in the batble of ballots will lead our righteous cause to victory in November.
 Then the advocates of a strong con . tralized government will be driven from place and power and the states will wear again the lofty look of sov- ereignty that was once the constitutio)n- al pride of every American citizen. The