The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-12-01
|fers to Sign With as Many
Boys as Will Decide to
Lead Temperate Life
|INE NOT NECESSARY
AT STATE DINNERS
diplomacy Does Not Require
Making Man Drunk to Deal
With Him


hool boys In the Hill auditorium
turday night-as the outstanding
hture Of the largest Y. NJ. c. A.
ys conference ever held-disclosed
new national field of activity In
hich he proposes 10 enlist the most
werfully persuasive voice In the
lblic life OF America today.
This new moral project, suggested
Mr.. Bryan by the phrasing OF The
peal OF 1900 Michigan boys. for his
esence at their conference, was re-
(aled by the secretary OF state In a
gression from his address, THE
aking Of Man" The foremost
Iaoe advocate OF the world has Sc.
red the signatures of 80 govern.
ents TO his arbitration proposal; he
bw proposes TO get the youth OF
merica TO sign up" with him In a
venant Of absorption from alec.
Tic beverages Fully three-fourths
the great body of young men arose
hen he called for an expression.
he pledges, headed by the signature
the secretary OF state, Will be cir.
lated by the 1000 Y. Nj. G. A. boys
Michigan, who invited Mr.. Bryan
the conference.
Mr.. Bryan's significant depression"
as as follows:
Having told you something that
y mother stamped upon my mind
fore | was 10, and something that
y father stamped upon my mind be-
re | was 10, / come TO third thing
at they united In impressing upon
Q when / was 80 young that | can
BIT remember" said Mr.. Bryan.
II do not remember when l first
gned the pledge. IL | had to guess |
lould say that IL was the first day
at learned to sign my name, but |
ay have signed 1t a few times pc
re that with my mark. But what !
know Is that | have been signing
le pledge all my life. And know
rther that, as long as | live, ] shall
gn the pledge any day II, by signing,
can get one human being TO sign
It'll me. (Applause)
II believe In signing the pledge. II
hs been a protection to me. When |
emit into public life they told me a
an had TO drink In order TO be In
blitics. II is lie. A man does not
hve to drink TO be In politics. There
no position In the world that a
bber man cannot fill better than n
linking man. cloud applause.)
when the president asked me to
ecome a member OF his cabinet I
bid him that I knew OF but one OBJ
ection that could be raised against
be, and that was that | did not use
Inc and would not serve II. He left
for my wife and | to decide, and
aid not take us long TO do It, CAP
lause) We have not found it neces-
airy TO use wine in extending hos
itality TO those who represent other
ations and our diplomacy is not OF
he kind that requires you to have a
han drunk In order to deal with
i'm" (Applause.)
May digress just a moment? The
ay before I left home l met a friend
tho was drinking and | asked him II
| Q would sign the pledge with me
| nd he said that he would. | drew
|p the pledge and 1t read: We, the
Undersigned, promise, God helping us.
lever to use intoxicating liquor as
leverage After he had signed 1t /
Pf II, and / will keep one and give
four wife the other And he said 10
he, Do you know that my wife Will
|hink more of that pledge than II you
lave her a thousand dollars? / said,
he Is worth more to her than a thou
land dollars" And | had that pledge
IN my pocket as | was coming east
The other day when your leader, Mr..
Yam Dis, met me In Chicago and
bhowed me this invitation, signed by
900 boys. / could not resist such an
Invitation. (Applause)
81 could not decline II and do you
know how that invitation began? Read
TIVE, the undersigned'-and that
made me think OF the pledge In my
pocket and am going to make a
proposition to you. | want to sign
/ pledge with just as many OF you
Is will sign ! am going to ask those
n charge OF this meeting to give you
! chance TO sign a pledge here or
when you go home. I have already
signed II. ] would like to sign II with
you. would like to have every boy
here sign that pledge, and then /
would like to have him go home and
get as many more signers as possible,
with his parents and his
brothers and sisters, and with his
friends.
"Oh, my countrymen, II we could
Just get men to sign the pledge and
keep Il, we would not have the dis
graceful spectacle that we have In
his country today with four times as
much spent for liquor as for educa-
lion and 10 times as much as In spent
Tor religion. II we had this condition
we would not have to have all the
sorrow and suffering that drink
causes. And II the young men OF this
state will bind themselves together in
not to drink, II will soon
be easy TO solve the liquor question
and drive the saloon from our midst.
T do not want anyone OF you TO
ffse unless he is willing. do not
want this to be done In any sudden
or At of enthusiasm. II Is a
pledge for life. But, how many Of
ron have thought about II enough 10
-fse and indicate that you will be
willing TO sign the pledge with me?
low many OF you? CAT this point
,early all the boys In the audience
lrose). Boys, I am much obliged to
you. and want these folks down
iere TO know that they rose up there
90. (Applause.)
sYou know, when ] am working in
politics I have TO get majority 10
Gree with me before I can get any.
hing believe in put into opera
ION. And 10 is not as easy as you
night think to get majority TO
,gree with you always. But II I can
AXE something like this and get ne