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WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
A Concise But Complete Story of His Life and Services
by
HARVEY E. NEWBRANCH
Lincoln, Nebraska
The University Publishing Co.
1900
Copyrighted, 1900, by Harvey E. Newbranch. All rights reserved.
[Illustration]
Jacob North & Co., Printers
Lincoln, Neb.
DEDICATED
TO
THE BRAVE AND PATRIOTIC LEADER
OF
AN HONEST AND INTELLIGENT ELECTORATE
William Jennings Bryan
OF
NEBRASKA
PREFACE
The author of this little volume, in giving it to the reading public,
feels called on for a few words by way of explanation and apology.
The book is written because there seems to be a field for it. Within the
last few months hundreds of thousands of American citizens have come to
see William Jennings Bryan in a new light. As a result, while they no
longer believe him a demagogue, some still hesitate to accept him as a
statesman. While they have ceased to denounce him as an anarchist, some
are slow to realize that he stands with Andrew Jackson and Abraham
Lincoln as one of the great conservators of American institutions.
Especially for the benefit of this class of his fellow citizens this
little “life” of Mr. Bryan is published. For it is claimed no literary
merit other than a conscientious attempt at clearness, and no historical
excellence save a strict adherence to the truth in the statement of
facts. The work has had to be hurriedly done and at irregular intervals,
and the one object aimed at has been to acquaint the reader with Mr.
Bryan’s character through a narration of his life work.
It is candidly admitted that the book is written in a friendly and
sympathetic vein. To the author’s thinking Mr. Bryan’s personality is
one of the most beautiful and well-rounded in American history, and his
noble characteristics are dwelt on only because they exist and deserve
to be understood.
To many of Mr. Bryan’s old-time friends in Lincoln the author is under
obligations for valuable assistance. Among these may be especially
mentioned Mr. Harry T. Dobbins, Judge J. H. Broady, Mr. T. S. Allen, and
Mr. W. F. Schwind. Others have contributed to a greater or less degree,
and to all due thanks and acknowledgements are hereby rendered.
HARVEY E. NEWBRANCH.
Lincoln, Neb., August 29, 1900.
CONTENTS
Introductory 5
Early Life 9
In Congress 19
The Tariff 30
The Rise of the Silver Issue 40
The Presidential Candidate 53
New Issues 68
Renomination 94
The Indianapolis Speech 114
Bryan: the Man 148
Home Life 164
INTRODUCTORY
About the life and services of William Jennings Bryan will be centered
the labors of those who, in future time, shall contribute to the pages
of history the story of American states-craft and political tendencies
of the dying days of the nineteenth century and the opening decade of
the twentieth. The historian who has to do with Bryan and his times will
deal not only with one of the most momentous and important periods of
American history, but with one of the most remarkable and interesting
characters whose name adorns its pages.
It is not generally while the battle of ideas and ideals is on, it is
but rarely during the developing period of great political and social
movements, that their relative and ultimate importance may be judged;
and it is as seldom, during the lifetime of a public man, whose name is
identified and whose services are associated with the great issues which
constitute the line of demarcation in the field of political thought,
that his true character, his strength, and his weaknesses, may be
appreciated or understood.
In the study of man and of history a proper sense of perspective is as
all-essential as in the limner’s art. The warrior who, with heart
aflame, strives on a great battlefield, can know but little of the
terrible grandeur of the whole, and still less of the import of the
movements of battalions, regiments, and corps. It remains for him who,
from an eminence of distance or of time, surveys impartially the entire
field, to comprehend its sublimities and horrors, and to appreciate the
full significance of its waging and its outcome. And even so, of
necessity, it is most difficult for us who live in the American
republic, at this century’s sunset, to be able or even willing rightly
to appreciate the full import of movements in the advancement or
retarding of which each bears howsoever humble a part. Too frequently in
politics, as in battle, men do fiercely strive with blinded eyes and
deafened ears, and they sometimes wildly strike at him who is their
friend.
And yet there are many things in the life of a public man which his
neighbors and associates can not fail of knowing, and which, when
interpreted, permit his contemporaries to estimate the quality of his
character, even though they may not know the full value of his public
services. In every man, of whatever station, there are elements and
traits which prominently stand forth. These, with such things as he has
done and the words which he has spoken, constitute the material from
which we may form our concepts of his worth.
In William Jennings Bryan are certain traits so prominent and
unmistakable that he who runs may read. They have been well revealed, in
few words, by Judge Edgar Howard, of Papillion, Neb. In a speech
delivered before the Jacksonian Club of Omaha, on July 15, 1900, Judge
Howard said:
“Reverently I say it, that while I do not worship the man, I do worship
those traits in him that, as I read the book, stand unparalleled in
politics. There is not a man of you here or anywhere to be found who has
the nerve to speak a profane or vulgar word in the presence of our
candidate for President. Nor does a man dare suggest a move on the
political chess-board that honor will not approve. He brightens and
betters all those who come in contact with him, no matter who they be.
Then why should we not go before the world and preach this man—the
personification of purity, clean in all things—as well as his
principles?”
In this little volume it will be attempted to tell briefly the story of
this American’s life and the movements with which he has been
associated. The tale must be hurriedly moulded into form, and we fear
its rough lines and its crudities will be all too apparent. And yet,
withal, it will be the result of sincere endeavor to aid his
fellow-citizens to know William Jennings Bryan even as he is. It is, we
believe, a laudable design, however poorly executed. For here, on the
farther side of the brown and swift Missouri, there dwells a man of
virile and rugged qualities, typically American and truly Western, the
story of whose life is a wondrous inspiration to every citizen of the
Republic and a monument to the uplifting force of right living and high
ideals. For it tells that even in the politics of to-day, honeycombed
with cant, hypocrisy, and insincerity, absolute honesty of motive and
candor of statement is still no bar to the truest leadership and the
highest advancement. It tells further of the marvelous opportunities of
humble American citizenship, demonstrating once more, as in Abraham
Lincoln’s time, that to the man of conscience, brains, and courage, the
highest walks of life are open; to which neither poverty nor obscurity
is a bar. And finally it tells of the great potential power of the idea,
unaided and even bitterly opposed, when forcefully and sincerely stated,
to win its way to the hearts of humankind.
And so it is that to such as will honestly study William Jennings
Bryan’s career, and learn the lesson that it teaches, must come hope and
inspiration and promise of the dawn. For whether he ever hold high
political office or not; whether or not, in the crucible of time, his
political faith prove true or prove fallacious; his life still teaches
that courage and plain honesty may win for a public man such following
and support, such exalted place in the hearts of his countrymen, as has
never yet rewarded the tricks and wiles of even the most brilliant of
opportunists.
EARLY LIFE
William Bryan, the great-grandfather of the presidential nominee, the
first of the Bryans known to the present generation, lived in Culpepper
county, Va. In his family there were three children. One of these, John
Bryan, was the grandfather of William Jennings Bryan. In 1807 John
married Nancy Lillard. To this couple ten children were born. One of
these was Silas L. Bryan, the father of William Jennings Bryan.
He was born in Sperryville, Culpepper county, Va., in 1822. In 1834 he
came west, working his way through the public schools, finally entering
McKendree College, at Lebanon, Ill., and graduating with honors in 1849.
After graduating, he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began his
practice in Salem, Marion county, Ill. In 1852 he was married to Mariah
Elizabeth Jennings. In 1860, he was elected to the circuit bench, where
he served twelve years. In 1872 he was nominated for Congress on the
Democratic ticket, receiving the endorsement of the Greenback party. He
died March 30, 1880, and was buried in the cemetery of his much beloved
town, Salem.
The union of Silas Bryan and Mariah Jennings was blessed on March 19,
1860, by the birth of William Jennings Bryan, twice the Democratic
nominee for President of the United States.
When William Jennings Bryan was six years old, his parents moved to
their farm in the vicinity of Salem. Until he was ten years of age his
parents taught him at home, hoping thus to mould his young mind to
better advantage. At ten years of age William entered the public schools
of Salem. There he attended until he was fifteen, when he entered
Whipple Academy, Jacksonville, Ill., in the fall of 1875. Two years
later he entered Illinois College, and with this step a new life began.
His parents wished him to take a classical course with its Latin, Greek,
mathematics, and geometry. This he did. He was, too, an earnest student
of political economy. During his first year at the Academy, he delivered
Patrick Henry’s masterpiece, and was ranked well down toward the “foot.”
Again in the second year, nothing daunted by his failure to be at the
“head,” he selected “The Palmetto and the Pine” as his subject. This
time he was third, with a large number following. Later in his second
year he delivered “Bernado del Carpio” and gained second prize. In his
sophomore and junior years, his essays upon “Labor” and “Individual
Powers” were each awarded first prize. The winning of the junior prize
entitled him to represent Illinois College in the intercollegiate
oratorical contest, which was held at Galesburg, Ill., in the fall of
1880. His oration was upon “Justice,” which received the second prize of
fifty dollars. At the time of graduation, he was elected class orator,
and delivered the valedictory.
It was here, in his junior year that he first met his wife, Miss Mary
Baird, of Perry, Ill., and she, speaking of her first impression, says,
“I saw him first in the parlors of the young ladies’ school which I
attended in Jacksonville. He entered the room with several other
students, was taller than the rest, and attracted my attention at once.
His face was pale and thin; a pair of keen, dark eyes looked out from
beneath heavy eyebrows; his nose was prominent—too large to look well, I
thought; a broad, thin-lipped mouth and a square chin completed the
contour of his face. I noted particularly his hair and smile. The
former, black in color, fine in quality, and parted distressingly
straight. In later years his smile has been the subject of considerable
comment. Upon one occasion a heartless observer was heard to remark,
‘That man can whisper in his own ear,’ but this was cruel exaggeration.”
The graduating exercises of Illinois College were in June, 1881. The
valedictory is given below, not because it possesses great merit, but in
order to show his style and the turn of his mind at the time.
“Beloved instructors, it is character not less than intellect that you
have striven to develop. As we stand at the end of our college course,
and turn our eyes toward the scenes forever past, as our memories linger
on the words of wisdom which have fallen from your lips, we are more and
more deeply impressed with the true conception of duty which you have
ever shown. You have sought not to trim the lamp of genius until the
light of morality is paled by its dazzling brilliance, but to encourage
and strengthen both. These days are over. No longer shall we listen to
your warning voices, no more meet you in these familiar classrooms, yet
on our hearts ‘deeply has sunk the lesson’ you have given, and it shall
not soon depart.
“We thank you for your kind and watchful care, and shall ever cherish
your teachings with that devotion which sincere gratitude inspires.
“It is fitting that we express to you also, honored trustees, our
gratitude for the privileges which you have permitted us to enjoy.
“The name of the institution whose interest you guard will ever be dear
to us as the schoolroom, to whose influence we shall trace whatever
success coming years may bring.
“Dear classmates, my lips refuse to bid you a last good-bye; we have so
long been joined together in a community of aims and interests; so often
met and mingled our thoughts in confidential friendship; so often
planned and worked together, that it seems like rending asunder the very
tissues of a heart to separate us now.
“But this long and happy association is at an end, and now as we go
forth in sorrow, as each one must, to begin alone the work which lies
before us, let us encourage each other with strengthening words.
“Success is brought by continued labor and continued watchfulness. We
must struggle on, not for one moment hesitate, nor take one backward
step; for in the language of the poet:
[Illustration: MRS. BRYAN]
‘The gates of hell are open night and day,
Smooth the descent and easy is the way;
But to return and view the cheerful skies,
In this, the past and mighty labor lies.’
We launch our vessels upon the uncertain sea of life alone, yet not
alone, for around us are friends who anxiously and prayerfully watch our
course. They will rejoice if we arrive safely at our respective havens,
or weep with bitter tears if, one by one, our weather-beaten barks are
lost forever in the surges of the deep.
“We have esteemed each other, loved each other, and now must with each
other part. God grant that we may all so live as to meet in the better
world, where parting is unknown.
“Halls of learning, fond Alma Mater, farewell. We turn to take our
‘last, long, lingering look’ at the receding walls. We leave thee now to
be ushered out into the varied duties of an active life.
“However high our names may be inscribed upon the gilded scroll of fame,
to thee we all the honor give, to thee all the praises bring. And when,
in after years, we’re wearied by the bustle of the busy world, our
hearts will often long to turn and seek repose beneath thy sheltering
shade.”
In September, 1881, William Jennings Bryan entered the Union College of
Law at Chicago. Out of school hours his time was spent in the office of
ex-Senator Lyman Trumbull, who had been a great friend of young Bryan’s
father. His vacation and summer months were spent on the farm, and it
was these years of rugged, outdoor life which gave to his manhood that
vigor, stability, and splendid physique so helpful to him in his life as
a student and in his work since he has left college.
Mr. Bryan stood well in the law school, taking an especial interest in
constitutional law. He was also connected with the debating society of
the college and took an active part in its meetings.
At the age of twenty-three Mr. Bryan finished a collegiate course and
started in life for himself, leaving the farm, robust and ambitious, to
grow in the knowledge of his profession. His parents were devout
Christians and members of the Baptist Church. So Mr. Bryan was early
taught those principles of right and wrong, justice, equality, and the
advantages of a pure life. His father’s example convinced him that the
old saying that “no honest man can become a lawyer” was a myth and a
mistake. And on July 4, 1883, William Jennings Bryan began the practice
of his profession in Jacksonville, Ill.
Stocked with a liberal education, a conscience void of offense, a
character unsullied, and an ambition to know the law, and to apply this
knowledge for the benefit of the people, he began at the very bottom of
the ladder. The drudgery and disappointments, the hardships and jokes
common to a beginner without means and alone, in competition with men of
gray hairs and wisdom that come from years of toil and practice, was the
portion of Mr. Bryan. But he was a courageous man; Napoleon-like he knew
no such word as fail, and with that force and enthusiasm so
characteristic of the man, he labored on, believing that each
disappointment contained its lesson, and that every hardship endured had
its counterpart in a triumph. His early practice was not unlike that of
other beginners, taking such cases as usually come to the young lawyer.
At the close of the first year, and during the fall of 1884, his income
was such that he could support a wife; a modest home was planned and
built, and in October, 1884, he was married. During the next three years
he lived comfortably, though economically, and laid by a small amount.
Politics lost none of its charms, and each campaign found Mr. Bryan
speaking, usually in his own county.
Three years after graduation he attended the commencement at Illinois
College, delivered the Master’s oration, and received the degree, his
subject being “American Citizenship.” From that time until he entered
Congress in 1891, his only support for himself and his wife was from his
profession. Mr. Bryan continued in a growing practice of law in
Jacksonville until October, 1887. In July of that year, while on a
western trip, he passed through Lincoln, Neb., to visit friends, and in
two days was so impressed with the city and its possibilities that he
disposed of his business in Jacksonville, and located in Lincoln.
Political ambitions did not enter into this change, as the city, county,
and state were strongly Republican. Mr. Bryan began his lot as a lawyer
in Lincoln by forming a partnership, the style of the firm being “Talbot
& Bryan.” He at once applied himself vigorously to the details of the
practice in his new field, and was soon recognized as a lawyer of
unusual strength.
In the few years of practice at the bar of Lincoln before he was elected
to Congress, Mr. Bryan became somewhat celebrated as the champion of the
anti-sugar-bounty doctrine, and as the pleader for equal rights, under
the law, for all classes of men. In the spring of 1896, the city
proposed to issue $500,000 of its refunding bonds in gold. A number of
citizens believing such a contract unjust to the tax-payers, consulted
Mr. Bryan and secured his services in their behalf. Without
compensation, he at once devoted his energies to restrain the city of
Lincoln from issuing and selling such bonds. A temporary restraining
order was issued by the court, and after a vigorous contest an
injunction against the city, preventing such contract, was granted. In
these cases was shown Mr. Bryan’s genuine interest in public matters,
and in the general welfare of the people. Aside from many of these cases
involving public interest, his work as a lawyer was the usual practice
of the profession.
Mr. Bryan is a man of great physical endurance. As a lawyer as well as a
legislator, he is a man of great deliberation. Before acting, he
believes in being fully advised as to the subject upon which he is to
act. He was never known to champion a cause, accept a case, or make a
statement to a jury or elsewhere that did not present the honest
conviction of his mind, always having a sincere belief in the
correctness of the position assumed. In explaining a proposition of law,
he seeks the reason for the law, which he is always able to present with
peculiar clearness.
In his method of argument he is never emotional, but makes strong
applications of law and fact by the statement of his case and proof,
without any effort at embellishment or oratory. His ability to crowd a
great deal in a few words and sentences is very marked. The weakness of
his opponents he easily detects, and readily points out the fallacy. Mr.
Bryan is an ardent believer in the American jury system. When in
Congress, he introduced a bill providing that a verdict agreed to by
three-fourths of the members of a jury should be a verdict of the jury
in civil cases, and he made an argument before the Congressional
Judiciary Committee in its support.
“Mr. Bryan did not distinguish himself as a lawyer.” Those who thus
complain should consider that he entered the practice at the age of
twenty-three, and left it at thirty, and in that period began twice, and
twice became more than self-supporting. He has not had the time and
opportunity in which to establish the reputation at the bar which gives
to many American jurists the illustrious positions which they occupy.
However, at the time of his election to Congress, his practice was in a
thriving condition and fully equal to that of any man of his age in the
city.
Whatever may be said of Mr. Bryan by friend or foe, it must be conceded
that his convictions control his actions on all questions, either as a
lawyer or as a public man, and when employed in a case involving great
interests, he would, without question, acquit himself with that
distinction which has characterized him as a leader in public affairs.
IN CONGRESS
Mr. Bryan’s first political speech of importance was made at Seward in
the spring of 1888. At that time Lincoln was known to be as strong as
the rock of Gibraltar in the Republican faith. On this occasion of his
first public appearance as a political orator in Nebraska, he drew men
to him by the power of the orator, and held them there in subsequent
years by the virtue of the man. His extraordinary popularity with the
masses of his followers was universally acknowledged. After his first
few speeches, it did not take long for his reputation to spread over the
state, and when he was elected as a delegate from Lancaster county to
the Democratic State convention in 1888 he was in great demand. The
sources of this popularity, though less clear, were of profound
significance, being only in part personal. In fact, it seemed to be this
man’s fortune to embody a fresh democratic impulse, which in time would
make him the leader of a new democratic movement.
The reports as to Mr. Bryan’s first speech in the convention, say in
part: “Mr. Bryan, of Lancaster county, was then called. He came forward
and delivered a spirited address, in the course of which he said that if
the platform laid down by the President in his message upon the tariff
question were carried out and vigorously fought upon in the state, it
would, in the course of a short time, give Nebraska to the Democracy. He
thought if the Democrats went out to the farmers and people who lived in
Nebraska and showed them the iniquity of the tariff system, they would
rally round the cause which their noble leader, Grover Cleveland, had
championed.” This short, but pointed speech created the greatest amount
of enthusiasm, and the young orator impressed his personality upon the
public mind of his adopted state.
In the fall of 1888, Mr. Bryan made a canvass of the First Congressional
District, in behalf of Hon. J. Sterling Morton, and also visited some
thirty counties throughout the state. Mr. Morton was defeated by three
thousand four hundred, the district being normally Republican.
When the campaign of 1890 opened, a few Democrats who came to appreciate
Mr. Bryan’s real ability believed that with him as the nominee the
Republicans could be defeated. So when the Democratic convention met at
Lincoln, July 31, 1890, Mr. Bryan was selected without opposition, and
at once began a vigorous campaign. He began a thorough canvass, speaking
about eighty times, and visiting every city and village in the district.
At the close of the last debate, he presented to Mr. Connell (his
opponent) a copy of Gray’s Elegy, with the following remarks: “Mr.
Connell: We now bring to a close the series of debates which was
arranged by our committees. I am glad we have been able to conduct these
discussions in a courteous and friendly manner. If I have in any way
offended you in word or deed, I offer apology and regret; and as freely
forgive. I desire to present to you, in remembrance of these pleasant
meetings, this little volume, because it contains ‘Gray’s Elegy,’ in
perusing which I trust you will find as much pleasure and profit as I
have found. It is one of the most beautiful and touching tributes to
human life that literature contains. Grand in its sentiments and sublime
in its simplicity, we may both find in it a solace in victory or defeat.
If success crowns your efforts in this campaign, and it should be your
lot
‘The applause of listening senates to command’
and I am left
‘A youth to fortune and to fame unknown,’
forget not us who in the common walks of life perform our part, but in
the hour of your triumph recall the verse:
‘Let not ambition mock their useful toil,
Their homely joys and destiny obscure;
Nor grandeur hear, with a disdainful smile,
The short and simple annals of the poor.’
“If on the other hand, by the verdict of my countrymen, I should be made
your successor, let it not be said of you
‘And melancholy marked him for her own’,
but find sweet consolation in the thought:
‘Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.’
“But when the palm of victory is given to you or to me, let us remember
those of whom the poet says:
‘Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife
Their sober wishes never learned to stray,
Along the cool, sequestered vale of life.
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.’
“These are the ones most likely to be forgotten by the Government. When
the poor and weak cry out for relief, they too often hear no answer but
‘the echo of their cry,’ while the rich, the strong, the powerful are
given an attentive ear. For this reason is class legislation dangerous
and deadly; it takes from those least able to lose, and gives to those
who are least in need. The safety of our farmers and our laborers is not
in special legislation, but in equal and just laws that bear alike on
every man. The great masses of our people are interested, not in getting
their hands into other people’s pockets, but in keeping the hands of
other people out of their pockets. Let me, in parting, express the hope
that you and I may be instrumental in bringing our Government back to
better laws which will give equal treatment without regard to creed or
condition. I bid you a friendly farewell.”
Mr. Bryan closed his campaign at the city of Lincoln, and was elected by
a plurality of six thousand seven hundred in the same district which two
years before had defeated Mr. Morton by a plurality of three thousand
four hundred. He was elected in one of the fairest and most brilliant
campaigns ever fought; and became one of the most prominent members of
the lower House from the West.
The explanation of Mr. Bryan’s popularity must be sought in a cause
which lies deeper than a political issue.
When he entered Congress he gave his support in caucus to Mr. Springer,
for Speaker of the House, in whose district he had lived when at
Jacksonville. In the House, he voted for Mr. Crisp, the caucus nominee.
Mr. Springer was made chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and
although it was unprecedented to give to a first term member a position
on the all-important Ways and Means Committee, Speaker Crisp conferred
that unprecedented honor upon Bryan of Nebraska. One of the first bills
introduced by Mr. Bryan was that providing for the election of senators
by the people, at the option of each state.
In supporting this bill Mr. Bryan said: “Mr. Speaker—I desire to call
the attention of the House to what I consider a very important question
involved in this joint resolution. I shall not consume time in
discussing the general principle of electing senators by the people. If
the people of a state have enough intelligence to choose their
representatives in the state legislature, their executive officers,
judges, and their officials in all the departments of the state and
country, they have enough intelligence to choose the men who shall
represent them in the United States Senate.
“And now, sirs, if we want to secure the election of senators by the
people, we must submit a proposition free from the Republican idea of
Federal interference, and free from the Democratic idea of
non-interference. We may just as well cease the attempt to secure this
reform if we are going to tie it to Federal election laws. I appeal to
members of both sides of the House, members who in their hearts desire
this reform, members who in their own judgment believe that the time has
come to give the people a chance to vote for the senators, Democrats,
Republicans, and Populists alike, to join in a proposition which will
eliminate the political question and leave us simply the question of
election by the people or not.”
The bill attracted much attention through the country, although it
failed of final passage.
On March 16, 1892, Mr. Bryan made his great tariff speech in the House,
which is considered in another chapter of this work. In the spring of
1892, the silver sentiment began to show itself among the leaders of the
Nebraska Democracy. The state convention to elect delegates to the
National Democratic convention was called for April 15, 1892, and found
Mr. Bryan back in Lincoln, by the consent of the House, making a
determined effort for the adoption of a plank favoring the free coinage
of silver. The fight was a hard and bitter one. In supporting this part
of the platform Mr. Bryan said in part:
“GENTLEMEN—I do not believe it is noble to dodge any issue. If, as has
been indicated, this may have an effect on my campaign, then no
bridegroom went with gladder heart to greet his bride that I shall
welcome defeat. Vote this down if you will, but do not dodge it; for
that is not democratic.” The convention went wild in a body, a vote was
called, which brought defeat to the Bryan silver plank. By this act Mr.
Bryan incurred the hatred of the Cleveland administration.
Upon the return of Mr. Bryan to Nebraska at the close of the 52d
Congress, a series of debates had been arranged with the Republican
party nominee, Allen W. Field, then judge of the district court. This
was even a more bitter contest than the first. Mr. McKinley, Mr.
Foraker, and others were called to Nebraska to aid the Republican cause.
They made desperate efforts to “down” Bryan, but in spite of all he was
reelected by a majority of one hundred fifty-two.
As a congressman William Jennings Bryan was a success. From the moment
he entered Congress, he was a leader. To those who knew him intimately,
it was no surprise that during the first term he sprang suddenly into
prominence. His speech on the tariff question stamped him not only as an
orator, but a man who had made a deep political study of economic
questions.
It was not until his second term that he really focussed public
attention upon himself. When Congress was convened in extraordinary
session, he went to Washington prepared to resist the repeal of the
purchasing clause of the Sherman act. He knew the feeling of his
constituents, and being thoroughly familiar with every phase of the
question, he entered upon the fight like a gladiator. His conspicuous
record as an orator in the previous session was sufficient to get him a
place in the great debate, and, when the opportunity came, Bryan was
prepared for it. For several days it was known that he was to speak, and
the galleries of the House were crowded at each session. Finally he was
recognized by the Speaker, and he began the most effective speech that
had been heard in Congress in years. Everybody was quiet and listened.
The oldest member could not remember when a man had received such marked
attention and such spontaneous applause as Bryan got that day. As he
stood there, the picture of health, a physical giant, his voice falling
in easy cadence, he impressed upon his hearers the thought that he meant
every word he was saying. He had every one in his grasp. As he
continued, the audience became worked up to a high pitch, and when he
concluded with a magnificent peroration, quiet reigned for a moment,
then suddenly every one joined in tumultuous applause. Bryan had
finished; he had made a speech that for thought, logic, and sentiment,
to say nothing of its matchless delivery, had few equals in the records
of Congress. For two hours and fifty minutes the young Nebraska orator
held the close attention of a full house and crowded galleries. Instead
of members leaving the hall as usual, they crowded in, and every man was
in his seat. This speech made him famous. Occasionally a single standard
man would interrupt, but none did it without subsequent regret. He knew
his case too well.
From that day to this, Bryan has been in the public eye everywhere. Many
who heard his tariff speech predicted that it was a flash light, and
would soon grow dim, and its author be forgotten; but after he made his
silver speech those who thought his first an accident were compelled to
admit that he possessed all the qualifications of a statesman and that
he was bound to be a leader in his party.
Besides his silver and tariff speeches, Mr. Bryan spoke briefly upon
several other questions, namely, in favor of foreclosure of Government
liens on all Pacific railways, and in favor of the anti-option bill. He
favored the application of the principle of arbitration as far as
Federal authority extends. On January 30, 1894, Mr. Bryan, in a speech
in favor of the income tax, brilliantly and successfully replied to the
speech of Bourke Cockran delivered in opposition to that measure.
His record in Congress did not consist entirely of speech-making. He was
a tireless worker for his constituents, and he secured more pensions for
old soldiers living in his district than all the Republican congressmen
who had preceded him. He personally attended to the wants of every
constituent, and no man ever wrote a letter asking his assistance that
he did not at once enlist Bryan’s active support. He was vigilant and
watchful, and never missed an opportunity to do a favor.
He was exceedingly active in Congress, dodging nothing, and often
speaking on the current questions. Yet nothing that he did or said in
Congress comes back to plague him. It was then thought, and it has since
been hoped, that in the fulness of his record something would come back
to trip him. But what he said then only makes him stronger now.
It may not be amiss at this point to quote from Mrs. Bryan, who said:
“Quoting from a eulogy which Mr. Bryan delivered upon a colleague in the
53d Congress, this extract will serve a double purpose, in that it gives
his views upon immortality, and, at the same time, presents a passage
which I think may, without impropriety, be called a finished bit of
English. Mr. Bryan said ‘I shall not believe that even now his light is
extinguished. If the Father deigns to touch with divine power the cold
and pulseless heart of the buried acorn, and make it burst forth from
its buried walls, will He leave neglected in the earth, the soul of man,
who was made in the image of his Creator? If he stoops to give to the
rosebush, whose withered blossoms float upon the breeze, the sweet
assurance of another springtime, will he withhold the words of hope from
the sons of man when the frosts of winter come? If matter, mute and
inanimate, though changed by the forces of Nature into a multitude of
forms, can never die, will the imperial spirit of man suffer
annihilation after it has paid a brief visit, like a royal guest, to
this tenement of clay? Rather let us believe that He, who, in His
apparent prodigality, makes the blade of grass or the evening’s sighing
zephyr, but makes them to carry out His eternal plan, has given
immortality to the mortal, and gathered to Himself the generous spirit
of our friend. Instead of mourning, let us look up and address him in
the words of the poet:
“’The day has come, not gone;
The sun has risen, not set;
Thy life is now beyond
The reach of death or change,
Not ended—but begun
O, noble soul! O, gentle heart! Hail, and farewell.’”
Mr. Bryan was singularly free from egotism, affectation, or envy of the
fame of others. That he was brilliant goes without saying, but his
brilliancy was as natural and easy as to be like Shakespeare’s
description of mercy:
“The quality of mercy is not strained,
It dropped as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the places beneath. It is twice blessed;
It blesses him that gives and him that takes.”
THE TARIFF
For twenty years prior to 1896 the chief tangible point of difference
between the Democratic and Republican parties was the tariff question.
It was, in truth, a question on which the two great parties had always
differed since the days when they were known as Federalists and
Anti-Federalists.
The Democratic party, in true accord with the principles of Thomas
Jefferson, has always held that government to be best which interferes
least with the liberty of the individual. The purpose of government, it
has held, is to protect man in his personal rights against the unjust
encroachments of his neighbors. But, according to the Democratic idea,
government should not interfere to arbitrarily promote the interests of
any class of its citizens at the expense of any other class. All should
be left, protected against illegal encroachment, but otherwise
unmolested, to work out their own salvation. In other words, Democracy
believes that government to be best which governs least.
The Republican theory, on the other hand, has inclined toward the
exactly opposite point of view; that that government is best which
governs most. It has acted consistently on the principle that it is not
only permissible but advisable for government to be made an instrument
for advancing the pecuniary or business interests of such of its
citizens as seem most deserving or are most fortunate in winning its
ear. It was this radical difference between the two parties, involving,
as it did, a basic and fundamental principle, that lay at the root of
the controversy regarding tariff duties.
The Democratic party, adhering to the strict letter of the Constitution,
held that the tariff should be levied for one simple purpose, and that
the purpose contemplated by the Constitution—to raise revenue. With this
end in view, the party contended, tariff duties should be levied mostly
on such articles as are not produced in this country, and, in order to
equalize the burden of taxation, be imposed rather on luxuries than the
strict necessities of life.
The Republican party took a more radical position. It advocated the
levying of tariff duties, not primarily for the purpose of raising
revenue,—that was made a secondary consideration,—but to protect from
foreign competition the manufacturing and industrial enterprises of the
United States. Then, it argued, these establishments, protected by the
fostering arm of government, would grow great and strong, furnishing at
once employment for labor at high wages, and a “home market” for the
products of the American farm and mine.
Controverting this alluring argument, the Democratic party held that
government had no right to compel citizens of one class or section to
contribute involuntarily to the support of citizens of some other class
or section of the country. The only manner in which a protective tariff
could protect, it pointed out, was by enabling the home manufacturer to
charge a higher price because of the duty on foreign goods. This added
price, it showed, must be paid into the pocket of the American
manufacturer by the American consumer. Moreover, it declared, the farmer
could only share the burden without receiving any of the benefits of a
high protective tariff, the price of his products being fixed in the
world’s markets at Liverpool and London. And the same thing, it held,
was true of the laboring man, as the rate of his remuneration was fixed
mainly by “the iron law of wages.”
When Mr. Bryan was elected to Congress for his first term this question
of tariff was the all-absorbing one before the people. The Republican
party, in the zenith of its power, had enacted the McKinley tariff law,
the embodiment of its views on this question, levying tariff duties so
high as almost to exclude foreign competition. It was in this law,
undoubtedly, that most of the great trusts and monopolies since formed
read their birthright.
Mr. Bryan, naturally, as a Democrat and a firm believer in the
principles of government laid down by Thomas Jefferson, was vigorously
opposed to the theory of a high protective tariff. The Congress in which
he served his first term was Democratic, the result of the enactment of
the trust-breeding McKinley tariff law. The Ways and Means Committee, of
which Mr. Springer of Illinois was chairman, decided that relief might
best be effected by the introduction of a series of bills, transferring
certain commodities to the free list.
It was in support of one of these—a bill placing wool on the free list
and reducing the duties on woolen goods—that Mr. Bryan delivered his
maiden speech in the House. This was on Wednesday, March 16, 1892. Like
Byron, he awoke the next morning and found himself famous. The speech
had attracted the admiring attention of the whole country. The young
orator’s logic, acute reasoning, powers of broad generalization, and apt
and homely illustration, not less than his genuine eloquence, incisive
wit, and brilliant repartee, had, in one speech, won him a place at the
head of the list of American parliamentary orators.
In his speech Mr. Bryan thus effectually punctured with his ridicule the
Republican argument generally advanced that a high tariff makes low
prices:
“Now, there are two arguments which I have never heard advanced in favor
of protection; but they are the best arguments. They admit a fact and
justify it, and I think that is the best way to argue, if you have a
fact to meet. Why not say to the farmer, ‘Yes, of course you lose; but
does not the Bible say, “It is more blessed to give than to
receive”—[laughter]—and if you suffer some inconvenience, just look back
over your life and you will find that your happiest moments were enjoyed
when you were giving something to somebody, and the most unpleasant
moments were when you were receiving.’ These manufacturers are
self-sacrificing. They are willing to take the lesser part, and the more
unpleasant business of receiving, and leave to you the greater joy of
giving. [Loud laughter and applause on the Democratic side.]
“Why do they not take the other theory, which is borne out by
history—that all nations which have grown strong, powerful, and
influential, just as individuals, have done it through hardship, toil,
and sacrifice, and that after they have become wealthy they have been
enervated, they have gone to decay through the enjoyment of luxury, and
that the great advantage of the protective system is that it goes around
among the people and gathers up their surplus earnings so that they will
not be enervated or weakened, so that no legacy of evil will be left to
their children. Their surplus earnings are collected up, and the great
mass of our people are left strong, robust, and hearty. These earnings
are garnered and put into the hands of just as few people as possible,
so that the injury will be limited in extent. [Great laughter and
applause on the Democratic side.] And they say, ‘Yes, of course, of
course; it makes dudes of our sons, and it does, perhaps, compel us to
buy foreign titles for our daughters [laughter], but of course if the
great body of the people are benefited, as good, patriotic citizens we
ought not to refuse to bear the burden.’ [Laughter.]
“Why do they not do that? They simply come to you and tell you that they
want a high tariff to make low prices, so that the manufacturer will be
able to pay large wages to his employees. [Laughter.] And then, they
want a high tariff on agricultural products so that they will have to
buy what they buy at the highest possible price. They tell you that a
tariff on wool is for the benefit of the farmer, and goes into his
pocket, but that the tariff on manufactured products goes into the
farmer’s pocket, too, ‘and really hurts us, but we will stand it if we
must.’ They are much like a certain maiden lady of uncertain age, who
said, ‘This being the third time that my beau has called, he might make
some affectionate demonstration’; and, summing up all her courage, she
added, ‘I have made up my mind that if he does I will bear it with
fortitude.’” [Great laughter and applause.]
He thus pleaded for the protection of the greatest of “home
industries,”—the home-building of the common people:
“I desire to say, Mr. Chairman, that this Republican party, which is
responsible for the present system, has stolen from the vocabulary one
of its dearest words and debased its use. Its orators have prated about
home industries while they have neglected the most important of home
industries—the home of the citizen. The Democratic party, so far from
being hostile to the home industries, is the only champion, unless our
friends here, the Independents, will join with us, of the real home
industry of this country.
“When some young man selects a young woman who is willing to trust her
future to his strong right arm, and they start to build a little home,
that home which is the unit of society and upon which our Government and
our prosperity must rest—when they start to build this little home, and
the man who sells the lumber reaches out his hand to collect a tariff
upon that; the man who sells paints and oils wants a tariff upon them;
the man who furnishes the carpets, tablecloths, knives, forks, dishes,
furniture, spoons, everything that enters into the construction and
operation of that home—when all these hands, I say, are stretched out
from every direction to lay their blighting weight upon that cottage,
and the Democratic party says, ‘Hands off, and let that home industry
live,’ it is protecting the grandest home industry that this or any
other nation ever had. [Loud applause on the Democratic side.]
“And I am willing that you, our friends on the other side, shall have
what consolation you may gain from the protection of those ‘home
industries’ which have crowned with palatial residences the hills of New
England, if you will simply give us the credit of being the champions of
the homes of this land. [Applause on the Democratic side.] It would seem
that if any appeal could find a listening ear in this legislative hall
it ought to be the appeal that comes up from those co-tenants of earth’s
only paradise; but your party has neglected them; more, it has spurned
and spit upon them. When they asked for bread you gave them a stone, and
when they asked for a fish you gave them a serpent. You have laid upon
them burdens grievous to be borne. You have filled their days with toil
and their nights with anxious care, and when they cried aloud for relief
you were deaf to their entreaties.”
The conclusion of Mr. Bryan’s speech is here reproduced. It is of
greater length than would ordinarily justify its incorporation in a
volume of this size, but the objection is outweighed by the fact, that,
in most beautiful English, it outlines the idea of government which has
since been the beacon light that has guided Mr. Bryan’s career: