The Democratic advocate., 1908-05-15
AN OPINION OF MIR. BRYAN.
DIR. Lyman Abbott in Outlook Anal
yZcs His Character.


Whatever differences of opinion
there may be regarding Mr.. Bryan S
political philosophy and conduct, all
reasonable men must unite in regard
ing him as one of the most extraord1n-
ary and interesting figures in Amer
lean political history. He is human
phenomenon whom only the un1ntel-
ligent can brush aside with contemptu-
GUS illusions to his alleged loose
thinking. demagoguery, and persistent
office-seeking Next to President
Roosevelt, he is unquestlonably the
most widely known living American.
The position which he has attained as
a public parsonage, both at nome ana
abroad, has been gained not merely
without the prestige of public ONCE,
but in the face of two most disastrous
political defeats in American history
In his tour around the world he was
both regarded and respectfully treat
ed. not as a private citizen, but as, In
a certain sense, a representative
American. No officer of the Govern
ment except President Roosevelt, prob
ably not even Secretary Taft or Secre-
tary Root, could have received greater
demonstrations of popular interest.
And yet he has been twice defeated as
a candidate for the highest office in
the land, and excellent judges in his
own party assert that if nominated
he will again be defeated in the COM
ing election. The only public Office
which he has succeeded in obtaining
was that of Representative in Con-
gress from Nebraska for the four
years preceding his first nomination
for the Presidency, and during that
four years he was twice unsuccessful
as a nominee for United States Sena-
tor in his own State. In spite OF this
record of nearly fifteen years OF fail
ure to obtain political office there
is not a hamlet or cross-road country
store in the United States where his
name is not discussed today as the
probable candidate of the Democratic
party for the Presidency.
Mr.. Bryan is an unsuccessful poll
tician if office means success; he is
commonplace author when judged
by the best literary standards; he is
not a great executive in industry or
finance; and although lawyer, he
does not try great cases nor is he re-
garded as one of the masters OF his
profession by his colleagues at the
American Bar. How, then, are his
undeniable prominence and personal
influence to be explained?
Mr.. Bryan is moral teacher and
preacher. A man of personal integ-
rity, trained from his early youth to a
firm belief in the simple fundamental
principles of a practical religion, he
has been preaching to his felloW-citi- |
zens with the power of stirring elo-
quence the doctrine of faith in God |
and justice and good will to men. In
fact, his power as a preacher is the
real explanation Of his failure asa can
didate for office. The great preacher
is rarely a great executives; it is his
function to inspire others to do the
real, often monotonous, and always
persistent work of administration.
Few great pres chers ilaye been blsh-
OBS of the Church. No considerable |
body of men would have thought of
selecting Henry Ward Beecher or
Charles H. Spurseon, st. Francis
Zavier or Savonarola, for the great ad-
positions of the Church |
Moses was an executive, not preach
er; Elijah was a preacher not an eX-
ecutive.
have a man who can gather great au-
diences and hold them in close atten-
ton for two hours at time while he
speaks to them upon the moral and
ethical duties of the citizen. Not
many preachers of the Church have
this power. A half hour is about as
long as the average congregation is
willing to listen to the average minis
ter speak upon the text Thou shalt
not STEAL" and yet at a recent address
in Carnegie Hall in this city Mr.. Bry-
an spoke upon that text to an audi
ence of two thousand people, compos
ed largely of men and women who
were naturally opposed to him polit-
ically, and held the rapt attention of
this great audience for one hour and
Even at the close OF
this long sermon his auditors did not
leave the hall, but waited to hear Mr..
Bryan extemporaneously answer ques-
tions suggested by his address