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The Commoner.
Mr. Bryan Before the Union League of Chicago
At tho annual mooting of tho Union Leaguo
rb of Chicago, Judgo William II. McSurloy, tho
ncoming president, introducing Mr. Bryan,
j .... . - ....
j "I am about to Introduce to you tno oest
Introduced man in America. Of course I am
lot roforrlng to this particular occasion (laugh-
ijtr); but ho is tho hest introduced man in
t America bocauso ho introduced himsoii to every
J" it.tn .. n-rwl Imifniililn t r HOnl4V linttllflt
villago and plain, mountainside, valloy, river,
tl sross-roads "
'I I Colonol Bryan: "Swamp."
, Presidont McSurely: "And swamp. (Laugh
ter.) And, sometimes ho has taken to tho
joods, also. (Renewed laughter.) I beliovo
. within the last twolvo months our distinguished
fjuest took it upon himself to introduce to tho
. peoplo of America a now president; (applause)
find whon ho undertook to do that ho succeeded
)' ftbis timo. (Laughter and applause.) And
, zentlomen, I spoak only what you all know, that
, In Introducing tho man that now sits in tho
twimo iiouso no mirouuccu ono 01 mo mosc
winning, attractive and scholarly personalities
that has evor sat in that IiIkIi and honored nosi-
"tion. (Applnuso.)
i "uur nonorou guest lias not only Introduced
mon, but porhaps of moro lmporanco, ho has
Introduced ideas. Some of thorn wo did not. llkn
(or at loast thoy disturhed our complacency, and
we commoncod to oxamino tho reasons for tho
faith that was in us. and I nm not. so sum lint.
.ftvliftt whon wo commoncod to oxamino thoso
iwuouhd ru vyuiu Btlll IUUIU U I H I. U IUUU . 1 KnOW
that it is a truo and plain historical fact that
this "Wonderful rovollltlonarv chancrn In fhn Iflnns
:nd thought of American citizens has been
orougnt nnout iargoly by our distinguished
uest or tno ovonmg. (Applauso.)
"That man will speak to us tonight on 'Tho
MKPtens of thn Times.' Gontlomon, I have tho
jnonor to present to you tho distinguished secre
tary or stato ana tno groat Amorican citizen,
JWilliam Jonnlngs Bryan."
I Tho members and guests roso and cheered
Colonel Bryan.
J Hon. William .Tnnnlncra Prvnn "Tvr.. n-.,i
idont, and Gontlomon of tho Club: I appreciate
jboth tho invitation and porsistonco of thoso who
.ihoauuiiuuu mo mvuauon. i am not sure that I
WtnVA tmrt lln.l n -nnn ,. i i . ...
. !;,, vfvn nu u. inuiu ijursjaiont crowd inviting
mo than thoso who form your invitation coin-
.limittOQ. I COtllfl not enmn nt Mio Hi ...l, t
Bflwaa first invited, but I am crind timt ni,.nm
itancc8 were such that I could bo horo tonight.
it "t1V"lw uiuotouu yours ago. i inquired
at tho tablo if nnv worn nronnnf Innlirtif i,
Jwere present then and T fmimi im ni ,
fflmy right wero horo, and ono of thorn suggested
lii: H,uueul UU11 Lo persons nere tonight
bad boon horo then. I thought that that showed
that thoy wore willing to tako great risks after
iiRviug uearu me once, and that it showed also
a very ataoio membership in this club.
. "I certainlv atmrnnlntn nm lmnnt. p ki..
nere at thlB timo. I am not surprised to find
that your election wont along so smoothly here.
I attended a convention in this city last Juno
(laughter), and I found how an orderly body
ould proooed (laughter). I don't know
"Whether tho opposition to theso mombors, theso
en elected, was absent or Bimply put out of tho
hall, but certainly it was a very unanimous
affair here tonight. I was interested, too, in
witnessing this transfer of authority. Why, you
pass from ono administration to another as
calmly an thoy did at Washington tho other day.
I was very much Impressed by tho manner in
which ninety millions of people changed their
xecutive offlcor, and I think it must have been
a lesson to all who had tho privilege of witness
ing it. I annreclato too thn lHnri wnia n,nf
have been spoken in presenting mo to you. I
am not willing to admit as much credit as has
been given to mo. When I am introduced as
ono who introduced a nreslclmit tn thio i,,,,.,.
I I think I owo it to history to say that tho
TopuDiicanrfparty, by dividing, exerted moro in
fluence than I did. fLa-ueht.nr.1 T n,i rx,,n r
J could to secure a change of the administration,
I uui uoiuess inyHou ot very little importance
1 compared with tho other forces which were
i operating at tno time. 1 have tried in politics
to kivo creuit to my political opponents, and
where I have had personal opponents or whore
I have been norsonallv nnnnnnH na n nim,ii.i..-
t'to republicans, I have been very glad to ho
soiu to ujsuiy to tue nigu character of tho mou
who defeated mo. Possibly I am not unselfish
In that. It is bad enough to bo defeated by a
good man (laugnter.j auu i navu, unpuuianjr
in tho last few months, been anxious to improve
evory opportunity to testify to my appreciation
of the deep convictions of tho republican candi
dates in tho last election. I admire thorn for
tho depth of their conviction, and I hope I may
live to seo many occasions yet where republi
cans with convictions as deep will have the
courage to make them known. (Laughter.)
"Insofar as I have had any part in the election
of a democratic president I am very proud of
that part, and I am very well pleased with the
manner in which that president has commenced
his administration. (Applause.) I can say that
with ono exception his cabinet is made up of
splendid men (laughter). In making that ono
exception I do it without any feeling that I am
reflecting upon the cabinet, because even the
sacred gold dollar has ten per cent of alloy
why then should they expect a cabinet to bo
pure gold? (Laughter.)
"I have been given credit, too, for having had
n larger part than I would attempt to claim in
procuring tho conditions that wo now all recog
nize. I admit that I did what I could to sup
port reforms that are now moro popular than
they were, and If I am pressed to it I will
admit that nobody is having a better time just
now than I am. (Laughter.)
"Sometimes I have had over-sanguine friends
express regret that I did not reach the presi
dency. I havo had them say that they were
sorry that after being connected with these re
forms I should not havo been given the highest
place in tho nation. But I have had an answer
ready for them. I have told them that they need
not weep for me; that I am not an object of
sympathy; that two or three hundred years ago
they hung mon like me; now, they just defeat
them for ofilce. (Laughter.) And, looking back
over the past I am not prepared to say that
ray defeats were not good for the country. Not
that I want to take back anything I have said,
or any position that I have taken, but the people
were not ready then for the reforms that are
now accomplished, and had I been elected at
any of tho numerous times that I gave the
people an opportunity to elect me (laughter)
bad I been elected I would have had a very
difficult task. I would havo had people who
were honestly and sincerely afraid of the things
I stood for. Especially would that have been
true in 189 G. Had I been elected in 1896 I
could not havo hoped to have had both the
sonate and tho house with me, and if I had
been elected in 1900 I could hardly have hoped
to have had tho senate and house with me and
even if I had beai elected In 1908, many people
who today are heartily in favor of the reforms
that tho peoplo are securing, were then timid
and timorous about thoso questions.
"Today we havo the people ripe for reform
allid l am not sure that our president may
not be able to do what I might not have been
able to do had I been elected instead of him.
But It is not a question that we need discuss,
and one that does not concern mo, for I havo
, ?, s mucn moro interested in the securing
of the things for which we have been fightinS
than I have been in the name of tho man who
hold tho office, that I am happy, in the thought
that this government, through these reforms
will be madoso good that a citizen will not
miss a little thing like tho presidency. (Ap
plause.) ' K y
In "iZ Sf1 TaTm SUre that wo could not hve
in the White House a man more consecrated to
tho people's cause than the one who is now
SICn neXSUt!V0 (Applause.) And I ha
been at his sldo long enough to feel sure that if
I had been allowed to select I could not have
selected a man with whom I could work with
more real enjoyment, with moro sympathy or
moro hearty co-operation. -yimtuy or
'n mJdne as my BUbJect tonight tho 'Siena
of tho Times I thought that I might bring ?o
your attention tho general progress of the
world and not only point out the things that
ShbJB accomplished, but the direction ?n
which the people are going. And I feel that if
I do attempt to speak of the futures will have
moro willing hearers now than I had some two
decades ago for the things accomplished have
enabled us to measure the tendencies of the
times And this subject has been selected and
the line of thought has been adopted for a
double purpose. It is to encourage those who
have been laboring in behalf of reforms, and
VOLUME 13, NUMBER 14
to excite to activity those who have not been
active.
"And when I oay reforms, let no one think
that I havo any thought of confining my re
marks to political reforms. Some people are
prejudiced against the word 'reform,' and
against the term 'reform.' I would define re
form as change for the better; and I would de
fine a reformer as one who is trying to improve
conditions. And when I thus define the terms
reform and reformer I think I can assume that
you are all reformers.
"But for fear there may be some who yet
are disinclined to be classed with the reformers,
let me tell you who are not reformers, that
events will yet drive you into the ranks of the
reformers by tho process of elimination.
"I only know of three kinds of people who are
not reformers. In the first class you will find
those who lack'intelligence. Those who do not
know that things can be better than they are.
If you have any in this community who do not
know that there are wrongs to be righted and
abuses to be remedied, they belong to this first
class and are not reformers; because one can not
be a reformer until he has come to understand
that there is a possibility of improvement. But
you can not have many of these in a club like
this, and if you have any they would not bo
here tonight.
"In the second class you will find -those who
know reform is possible but who are so hard
hearted and indifferent to the welfare of their
fellows that they do not care to have those re
forms secured. You can not have any of this
class in a club like this; and if. you had any
they would not be here tonight.
"There is only one other class, and in that
you find those who profit by abuses that ought
to be reformed and who, therefore, have a
pecuniary interest not only in not supporting
reforms, but in preventing reforms. Those who
have their hands in other people's pockets and
do not want to be disturbed. But you can not
have very many of this class even in this city,
and if you have aiiy it is only polite to assume
that they are not here tonight.
"I shall begin, therefore, with the assumption
that all of you are interested in some reforms,
if not in many, and feel a certain degree of
enthusiasm in regard to their accomplishment.
"But the reformer has many difficulties to
encounter. I shall not attempt to enumerate
them. I shall only mention two. The first is
the difference in the degree of enthusiasm
among reformers. Reformers vary all the way
from just above freezing up to boiling point.
(Laughter.) If a reformer is just above freez
ing you have to handle him very tenderly for
a, little creep in the temperature and he is' out
of the-class. But when he is at boiling point
he is at work, and one of the chief objects in
discussing reform is to raise the temperature. It
is much easier to increase the zeal of one who
favors a reform than it is to convert to a re
form one who is really against it.
f?Utie SCOnd difliculty is even greater. It
is the difficulty in getting reformers to act to
gether. Because a reformer is honest he is apt
hi ,af,S infate; and because he is conscious that
i.i nterester he is not prone to compro
mise. No one who has ever tried to get re
formers together and keep them together will
S nw PCiat1 a 8t0ry tnaC J nave heard in
Li Vltration given by a Kansas congressman
SS2.I n?n y?fpf ueo' Ho 8aid at upon the
that ran wmf211 QV? WeFe some "ttle bnpros
that ran wild, and when they were attacked by
SSttoaSlW ithT WUld PUt tir heads
thf enomv their heels out in a circle and kick
r Swin i he sald unfortunately reform
daughter ? Thff aCt TIith that diligence,
augnter.) That sometimes in the nrpspncft
of danger they would put their 1 eads to Se
enemy and kick each other. ( Renewed laugh
ter.) It is a very apt illustration. S
ho1 we're oTteedin tV mGIt00'
rTOTPS? bnrinnbou0tnenoreofthremr
men too who k?,Wn 8ome' and hnest
tliey calfed0 mUr S Eft? whai
desire that conditions mieM J WUld eveIJ
worse and worse; even hSln thpm WOI?e and
in tho hono tw m, ? tnem to Set worse
desPe?a ion b? LV? ?eopl would at Jast, in
thTnow Veotod W t0 aCCGPt somethiS that
I alTotnwilHnLinfot0 i,nd0rse this PMlosoph
wop?e.nomSterhnhelp make any edition
of that woSS Sn Jul SUre J may feel that out
I am re2?22eS 2 V-?n S00d may flnallv come.
am restrained by the fear that if I helped to
rmwt
tm?m
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