Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-02-12

| luton and revolution and eight out
of twelve of the months have r"
in them! Civilization, which has
been tottering for 80 long, might do
a complete Brodie.
However, anyone who has seen
| Leon Enrol perform knows what a
| lot Of tottering can be done without
an actual fall. Besides, If Mr..
Bryan should get us into such a
| direful situation it is possible that
he would know just what to do and
| how to do 1t to avert the final catas-
trophe.
But Mr.. Bryan and his relation to
| the presidency are not to be consid-
cred in too much of a spirit of lev
| ity. Mr.. Bryan is serious in all that
he says and does and he is not to
be regarded lightly. wen by those
| who differ with his views Or take
some of them lightly. His career
has been essentially dignifed, and
his earnestness and sincerity are not
to be denied. He has exerted a
great influence in the affairs of his
party and of the country for consid-
erably more than 3 quarter of q CEN
fury and he has commanded a per-
sonal following such as it is given
to few men to inspire and to lead.
Those who saw and heard Mr..
Bryan at Chicago in 1896, at st.
Louis in 1904, and at Baltimore in
1912, are not likely to underrate his
power or his character. He was at
his best and greatest perhaps, at st.
Louis in the early morning hours of
that memorable session of the
Democratic national convention,
when Alton B. Parker served notice
that he would not accept the presi-
Dental nomination unless there was
a gold plank in the platform.
That was a situation without
precedent or parallel, and never was
q convention so demoralized, so ut
terly at loss to know what taAdo.
1t was an anti-Bryan convention. A
large majority of the delegates were
not merely against him, but were
ready virtually to read him out of
the party. Under the direction of
the bosses-the MurEheys, Taggarts,
SulltVans, Guffeys, and such-they
had named a candidate for presi-
dent who meant more to them than
a name, but in their hour of ex-
tremity they did not turn to the
bosses for guidance. They turned
to the mar they feared, or hated,
or despised, and when he entered
the coliseum at dawn a hush came
over that vast a~ssemblage that was
more thrilling than any ovation.
And Mr.. Bryan told them to do
as Judge Parker demanded, al
though they would have done any
thing else he said. He had been
thirty-six hours without sleep, fight
ing in the committee on resolutions.
and when he began to speak his
voice was scarcely more than a
whisper. AS he proceeded, how
ever. it was soon again that most
wonderful of Instruments that has
thrilled and swayed thousands and
tens OF thousands, and when he
reached his magnificent climax of
self-defense, self-justification and
defiance of his opponents-"What-
ever they nay say of me, they can
not say I have not fought the good
fight, they cannot say I have not
kept the faith!"-even the veteran
newspaper correspondents, cynical
b1ase and immune to oratory though
they were. found themselves alto
gether like the most fcrvent believ-
| ers in Bryan's greatness.
J Again, eight years later at Balti-
more-but that is too long a story.
it suffices to say that the mar who
| can do what Bryan has done will
be a factor in the Democratic presi-
Dental situation until his voice Is
stfiled forever and there are no
| longer any worthy disciples to do
| battle for his faith.