River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1925-07-30

in Scopes evolution case.
yention. Mr.. Bryan was nominated for
the Presidency upon a platform de-
manding the immediate remonetiZa-
ton of silver and its free coinage at
the ration of sixteen to one; and Ar
thur Sewall of Maine, believer in the
single gold standard, was named for
Vice-President.
The Populists also nominated Bryan
for President with Thomas E. Watson
of Georgia for Vice-President. A con-
siderable faction of Gold Democrats"
bolted and nominated John M. Palmer
for President and S. B. Buckner for
Vice-President The Republicans on
gold standard platform, nominated
William Mckinley and Garrett A. Ho-
bart.
Defeated by Mckinley,
The campaign which followed was
one of the most exciting in American
history. Mr. Bryan made a whirlwind
campaign, speaking In as many places
as possible and rousing much enthusi-
assn by his remarkable oratorical pow
erS.
The election of 1896 resulted in Mr..
Bryan's defeat, but it did not destroy
his political ambition; rather 1t slim
ulated it. In December, 1897, he visited
Mexico, returning home before the out
break of the war with Spain.
Although a pronounced pacifist, he
entered the army and was commits
stoned as colonel of the Third Nebras-
ka infantry but had no active service
at the front.
Nominated Again in 1900.
In December, 1898, he resigned his
| commission and resumed his campaign
ing, making not free silver but "anti-
imperialism" his leading issue.
On that issue, which principally
meant American abandonment of the
| Philippines he secured the Presiden-
| tial nomination in 1900 from the Dem
ocratic, Populist and Silver Republican
parties. After another exciting cam
paign he was again defeated by VIII
liam Mckinley.
He then re-entered journalism,
| founding at Lincoln, Neb., a weekly
political paper called The Commoner.
The Democratic convention Of 1904
passed him by and nominated for the
Presidency, Judge Alton B. Parker.
| Judge Parker was defeated by Theo-
dore Roosevelt. Mr.. Bryan's return
to party leadership was effected in
| 1908 after he had made tour around
the world and had done a vast amount
of newspaper writing.
Defeated for Third Time.
He had his third Presidential NOM
nation in 1908 and suffered at the
hands of William FL. Taft, his third
and worst defeat.
In 1912 when the convention met
at Baltimore, he was its dominant fig
ure He bitterly opposed Champ
Clark, the leading candidate and it
was probably because of his course
that Woodrow Wilson was finally nom
mated Because of the schism in the
Republican party, Mr.. Wilson was
elected and in recognition of his work
at the convention and in the cam
paign and of his undoubted popular
following in the Democratic party he
made Mr.. Bryan his secretary of state.
In that office one of Mr.. Bryan's ac-
complishments was the negotiation of
treaties with 30 countries providing
for investigation of disputes before
| going to war.
The World war began in 1914. Mr.,
| Bryan's pacifst views were well
known. On numerous occasions his
| views and those Of President Wilson
did not coincide. On June 8, 1915, he
| felt constrained to resign his office.
Active in Later Years.
In 1929 he became deeply inter-
I ested In evolution, the theories Of
| which he discredited. He delivered
many lectures and addresses against
"Darwinlsm" and published book on
the subject, entitled In His Image" In
which he argued for literal interpre-
! tation Of the Biblical cosmogony. If
man must choose, he said, between be-
ing descended from a monkey and be-
ing made out of mud, he preferred
! the mud.
He had already published several
volumes: THE First Battle" 1897, a
review Of the campaign of the preced-
ing year; "Under Other Flags" 1904,
and 1.-THE Old World and It's Ways"
1907, based on his foreign travels, and
"Heart-to-H Appeals" 1917.
He received the degree OF LID
from the Universities of Nebraska and
| Arizona.
In 1925 he was the leading figure In
word-famOus trial in which he de-
Tended the Bible against the theory OF
! evolution of man