Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-07-24

west. who have done not hiile 10
ward making him popular anu Keep |
ing him at the front His VIE Was
his classmai- in college In the can
vass of 1896 she accompanied MIN
wherever he went. aud -he repoSei
much confidence In her Judgment IN
the political movements. which 10
most women would be u maze ana as
Incomprehcnsibe ms n plan of battle
MIR. Bryan started life as a poor
boy, and while in the public school
he worked on a farm. All through
lie he has been hard worker and
conscientious man. i'uring his law
studies he was connected with thr
Office of Senator Lyman Trumhull ana
on completing his studies returned 10
Jacksonville to practice. Here his
struggles have been liScned 10 those
of Lincoln. under the same conditions
In the same state. Al first his prac-
tice did not amount 10 much Much
Of his time was given 10 speechmak'
ing i'm the country districts. The man
ayers OF every camp meeting ana
country fair wanted young Bryan to
talk TO the crowd. He was fond. too,
of freauenting a certain village gro
Gerry store to exchange witticisms Win
the sages Of the town. Here the rate
of the nation was nightly settled. 10
be decided again when the debaters
gathered next night around the crack
or box or whitfield the benches out
side.
IL was I'm 1887 that Mr.. Bryan decid-
ed to 90 west. He arrived IN Lincoln,
Neb., in October OF that year and be
came member of the law firm of Tai
bot & Bryan. He had known Talbot
I'm Illinois. and 1t was he who had in
duced him to go to Nebraska. Bryan
| at once attracted attention as IN ora.
tor, but for long time his fame did
| not extend beyond the district In
| 1889 Bryan wrote to j. Sterling Nor.
! ton. the Democratic nominee fer &c
gress. afterward President CLEVELAND -
secretary OF agriculture, asking per
mission to take the stump for him.
Morton had heard Bryan, and he nc
cepted the offer Morton was defeated
in the political revolution of that year
and O'Connell, the Republican, elected
by more than 1000 majority. But the
defeat of Morton caused the birth OF
Bryan as a political power, He had
interested the people in himself by
his oratory, and the politicians We're
forced to take him up. He made a
fight for the Democratic nomination
the next year and captured it. That
was the year of the Republican slump.
The district repudiated OCounell and
the Mckinley tariff and gave Bryan
its old time Democratic plurality OF
1000.
1t is said the "cross of gold and
crown Of thorns" speech made Bryan
national figure. 1t is an unusual
combination Of luck and the intelli-
gent seizing of an opportunity. Mr..
Bryan had seen his chance when the
Democrats began to tinker in the
house with the tariff The wave Of
Populism then at its height had filed
the house with men of mediocre abil-
ity. Among the new members OF
merit Bryan stood pre-eminent 10y rea-
son of his intellectually and power in
debate He became Il leader, and, be-
ing precise in his words, graceful in
manner. master of sarcasm and irony,
he soon had large following The
Chicago convention, full of men of
Populistic tendency, was as gunpow.
der to the fire of earnestness supplied
by Bryan in his famous speech. He
carried them off their feet, and he
awoke to find himself famous.
His genial disposition and kindly ma
ture are as often spoken of by Bryan's
friends as his ability and uprightness
of character. His home life Is declar.
ed ideal. The family lives at Fairyiew
beautiful country home, which Mr.
Bryan insists every one shall regard
as a farm. There Is no pomp there
The family is astir at I O'Clock every
morning and at half past sits down
to breakfast.
This breakfast Is hearty one Aft.
err that the farclcr- editor plunges into
his work of the day by opening the
mail received by free rural delivery
When Mrs Bryan has finished her
household duties she becomes ste.
nOgrapher and takes down the an
Swers to her husbands letters He
then dictates to her most of his edi.
tOrials.
The organs have three children
Ruth Bryan Leavitt. wife of an artist
now in Paris; William Jennings Bry.
an, Jr., and Miss Grace Bryan. who
attends school In Virginia Mrs
Leavitt has two little children. one
Ruth, named after her mother, who
Is four, and Bryan, who is nearly
three years old These two are the
two real rulers of the household So
cial life at Fairview is very demo
cratic. The family has great many
friends in Lincoln, and there Is much
visiting to and fro. The farm
Rbounds with attractions both bucoliC
and urban. There are plenty of horses
and dogs and barns and crops ant
shady hooks, library filed with wei
selected books and porch where al
visitors are cordially received ant
made to feel that they are welcome
to we'll appointed, thoroughly Amer
lean home.
Boats Of Concrete.
: A writer in Harper's Weekly make
the interesting statement that the us
Of concrete in boat building will large
ly take the place of iron and steel