The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-09
THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS
 GATHER AT JACKSON DINNER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ID


 Jersey discussed the tariff and other ls- sues before the country, but his refer ence to the currency question awakened the greatest interest.
 The country" said Governor Wilson,
 will not brook any plan which concen- trates control in the hands of the bank CTS.
 "The bankers of the country may have the highest and purest intentions, but no one class can comprehend the coun- try; no one set of interests can safely be suffered to dominate it."
 William R. Hearst, who was given rousing reception, expressed his faith 'n the principles of democracy and said his only design was to lend his best efforts
 ito help true democrats control the par ty in the interest of true democracy
 William J. Bryan
 MT. Bryan, who came last on the pro g1amme, spoke on the subject "l'he Pass | ing Plutocracy." Nothing that he said ! awoke so much enthusiasm as his poetic peroration, quoated from Byron. This is | what MT. Bryan quoted:
 'The dead have been awakened-shall l sleep?
 The worlds at war with tyrants- shall l l crouch?
 The harvest's ripe-and I pause to reap?" | When MT. Bryan had spoken these | lines the banquet hall rang with deaf eEing din. Here and there above the
 noisy tumult could be heard mingled
 cries of "Yes, stay asleep, and You are ! still q live one" Mr Bryan continued
 his quotation when the tumult had sub
 sided and concluded with this
 q slumber not-the thorn is in my couch | Each day a trumpet soundeth in my ear
 Its ache in my hear"
 | Referring to political affairs Mir Bryan 1 characterzed the movement of popular | election of senators as the greatest na- tional reform of the generation and urged | elimination of the partisan issue that has | injected into the controversy, asserting l that neither of the great parties could hope to win a constitutional victory un- l aided.
 He indorsed the direct primary and ad- vocated it's application to national elec- | ton in every state.
 i q conyratulate the democratic Con- gress," said MT Bryan, "on the record
 it is making. It Is earning the confi- dence of the nation. In the matter of 1 the tariff the country is rapidly ap- | preaching the democratic position and | while there are individual opinions as to | schedules there can be no differences or | opinion among democrats as 10 the sub stantial advantages to be secured to the people by the reductions that are being | attempted"
 l Speaking of the future work of Con- gress, Mr. Bryan made plea for the in-
 mediate declaration of the nations pur-
 pose in the Philippine question adherins 1 to the democratic platform promise of l independence.
 Tn speaking of the approaching cam | rffsfT n 1 the democratic party, MT. Bryan warned 1 his hearers "that at this time when the whole country is alive with progressive sentiment it will be criminal folly for | our party to falter in it's onward march or to show eowardce in the face of the
 power of the enemy which is drawn up
 in battle before us.
 Speaker Clark | Speaker Champ Clark's speech at the l Jackson day dinner here tonight was an appeal to all those who are opposed
 to "standpatters'' and to "standpat' pol
 icies to stand together. pull together | and work together" The only hope 1 of the country for progressive legisla-
 tion, he declared lies in the democratic party because the "standpatters" are fin | the majority among the republicans 1 Referring to the split of the republican I party, the Speaker said it looked as though nothing short of miracle could bring the warning factions together but at the same time he warned against | depending for success upon opponents dssensions.
 l "Demoerats desire progressive legis- | lation" said Mir. Clark. independents 1 and divers republicans want it. The majority of the American people favor l it. The only way to achieve 1t is at l the hands of democrats. The insurgent t,1t trFatI n n remedial legislation if they could, but the standpatters are in the majority in 1 that party and 1t looks as though they will continue to dominate 1t indefinite 1 ly. It may be for years and it may be l for ever. They have control of the republican machine and they will run | 1t over the insurgents ruthlessly. The | independents, having no separate party reorganization. will make their influence 1 felt at the polls by voting for those candidates who appear to most nearly approximate their standard; but as they can entertain no reasonable hope of | remedial legislation from the republf- can party so long as it is dominated 1 by the standpatters, it Is to be hoped didates this year. As the insurgent re- publicans can achieve nothing except | when working in conjunction with democrats they would most easily and most certainly accomplish their pur- | pose by voting for democrats all along l that they will give us their aid and comfort by voting for democratic can l the line We are politically somewhat | in the same condition which wise old l Ben Franklin described himself and his 1 icompatriots to be in when, after sign ling the declaration of independence, he exclaimed, Now, we must all hang to- | gether or we will all hang separately 1 Must Hold Voters | "One thing is clear as crystal" con tinued the Speaker, 'in order to win we must hold all the voters we had in 1908 and draw to us about 800,000 who were against us then. Consequently 1t | is of supreme importance that we enter
 the impending contest thoroughly uni
 ted in purpose, in principle, in policy and in heart
 I've owe the present democratic House | to the splendid record of t,e House dem ocrats of the Sixty-first Congress, and we owe our present improved-vasty inn l proved-3tatlto in the country to that rec l ord plus the magnificent record of the l democrats in both House and Senate at | the extraordinary session of the present Congress It was a record glorifed by unparalleled unity of purpose and of ac- | tion and by constructive statesmanship l of high character. We set the pace for | future congresses as to quantity and quality of legislative work done. It de- tracts nothing whatsoever from our rec ord that the President nullifed by llis vetoes the benefcient results which would have flowed from our enlightened and patriotic endeavors.
 We made our record; he made his. The people, the court of last resort in politics. must decide the case upon those