Evening star., 1924-08-12
BY the Ass0riat,A Press


nominee follows:
Mr.. Chairman and Members of the
Committee:
You. will understand, with, little
explanation on my part, the feelings
which have led me to fix our meet
ing at this spot in the hills of West
Virginia. These are the hills that
Graded me and to which as boy and
man l lifted up my eyes for help. In
this soil rest four generations of my
people-artisans, tradesmen, farmers
and sprinkling of the professions
laborerS all. who played in simple
fashion their appointed parts in the
life of this. community. Among them
now lie those who gave me life, and
to whose high precept and example l
owe all that 1 have ever been and all
that l can hope to be.
These witnesses who surround US
are the companions of my youth and
manhood. With them most of my
days have been spent and when cir
cumstances have called me elsewhere
they have followed me with a regard
and affection that has laid on me u
debt of gratitude greater than l can
repay. Twenty-Five years ago they
first called me to their service as
their representatives in the Legisla-
ture of this State, and since that day,
have fought with them increasingly
the battle for democratic ideals and
democratic principles.
Presented Him for Presidency.
"Of their own free will and mo-
tion they presented my name to the
Democratic convention as one de-
serving its conside era ton. Better
than all others, they will know
whether what l shall say to you to-
day is in Keeping with the convic-
tions | have expressed and the ac
tion | have taken in the past. and
more than any others, they will re-
sent anything l may say or do that
shows their confidence misplaced. 1t
is in the presence of these hills, these
graves, these witnesses, that l wish
to hear your message and give you
my reply.
You come to give me official notice
that l have been chosen by the Dem
ocratic party as it's nominee for the
highest office in the gift of the Amer-
lean people. You invite me to take
the reins of leadership and marshal
its hosts for the coming campaign. No
weightier commission could be laid
on any man. He must be vain in
deed who does not feel his own un-
aided strength inadequate to such a
yond reason whom thought Of fame
or honor tempts to undertake it
without the fullest sympathy with
his party and it's aims. l reflect, how
ever, that you are the representatives
of millions of Americans who are
dissatisfied with existing conditions,
who long for the day when America
will set her face to the front again
and who are ready to follow when
i l. l.
have read your platform and it's
declarations of party principle and
find them such as 1 can heartily ap-
prove. For these things l thank God,
and take courage.
Conduct rs Lawyer.
81 take .note, Mr.. Chairman. in pass
ing, of what you were good enough to
say concerning my past career and
conduct as a lawyer. | have no apology
to offer for either. The answer to any
criticism on that score must come not
only from those who, like yourself, have
won the highest distinction at the bar,
but also from the more than one hum
dred thousand other honest and pa
triotic men and women who make up
the legal profession in this country.
They know, and they will gladly join
you in testifying, that the upright law
yer sells his services, but never his,
soul. A word of personal history in this
connection, however, may not be out
Of place.
When I was advised OF the purpose
OF President Wilson to appoint me to
the high office of Solicitor General. my
FIRST act was to surrender all private
employment and to sever my connec-
tion with the law firm of which I was
then a member and OF which my re-
vered father was the head.
Served Only Nation.
From that day until my duties as
Ambassador to Great Britain were
ended, eight years later, had no other
client or employer than the Govern
ment and the people of the United
States. Whether l served them well or
faithfully, not l, but others must say.
:, "As soon as the convention over
which you SO ably presided had de-
cided in my behalf / realized that l
was called upon to repeat my former
action. Within the week, therefore,
I signified to all my clients that could
no longer serve them and severed my
connection with the honorable gentle
men who were my professional part
ners.
II have no clients today but the Dem
people of the United States.
Confronted BY Grave Problems.
Many and grave are the problems
of the hour, and all the resources OF
patriotism and statesmanship at our
command will be taxed in their solu-
tion The allied forces of greed and
dishonesty, of self-seeking and par
tisanship, of prejudice and ignorance,
threaten today as they have rarely
done before the perpetuity of cur
national ideals, traditions and insti-
tutions. Men ars locking askance at
one another; are fnistrusting one
another: are doubling each the
Others good will and honesty of pur-
pose. The solidarity of the great
war has given way to chaos of
blocs and sections and classes and In
terests, each striving for its own ad-
vantage. careless OF the welfare of
the whole. Government itself, to
which the humblest citizen has the
right to turn with confident reliance
in it's even-handed justice, has fallen
under the prevalent distrust.
There is abroad in the land feel
ing too general to be ignored, too
deep-seated for any triAing, that men
in once can no longer be- trusted to
keep faith with those who sent them
there, and that the powers of gov.
eminent are being exercised in the
pursuit of personal gain instead OF
the common service. Out OF this and
because Of it there has developed an
alarming tendency to take the ad-
ministration of the law oat OF the
hands of constituted officials and tc
execute its processes through fndivfd-
uals or through organized societies
by methods little different from those
of private revenge.