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The Commoner.
MR. BRYAN ON THE ISSUES OF THE DAY
Tho following address was delivered by Mr.
Bryan at Joplin, Missouri, and reported in full by
tho Joplin Daily Globe:
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I
e first came to Joplin something like eleven years
lago and it has been a pleasure to return from
time to time and note the progress that your
city has made.
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(.extension of trade. You have passed from the
jage of frame houses to the brick and stone and
I this time when I came I found the steel beams
j rising for one of the modern structures such as
fe ornament tho greater cities of the country.
Your people have faith in the destiny of tho
Efuture of Joplin, for when men build substantially
and invest great sums in permanent structure
Nit shows that they have faith in the city's futuro
-and after all wo must have faith if we would ac
complish anything.
I have sometimes thought of preparing a
'speech on faith as a subject, for the older I grow
the more I appreciate the Influence of faith on
pone's conduct Not only in tho church is faith
essential, but faith is necessary everywhere.
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and I sleep as well upon the train as I sleep in
ii,my Nebraska home. Why? Because I have faith
fin the integrity and in 'the watchfulness of the
men who are on the engine and who guide the
train.
In business faith is necessary; it is necessary
' to the farmer. He would not put in his crop in
: the spring if he had no faith in the autumn har-
G vests. And so in politics, faith is necessary. A
man wouldn't labor if he had no faith in the
triumph of his cause.
I have had faith in Democratic ideas from
the time I was a young man. My father left
me a lesson before he was taken from us. He
left me a lesson, although he died before I had
reached manhood's estate, and that lesson has
been worth Infinitely more to me than the smalL
fortune that he left to each child. Yes, worth
far more than about $3,000 that I received, and
the lesson was this:
That I could afford to be in the minority, but
that I could not afford to be in tho wrong, for
lie said if I was In the minority and right I was
apt some day to be in the majority, while if I
was in the majority and wrong I would some
day find myself In the minority.
It has been worth a great deal to me. I
have had faith in the omnipotence of truth
and today I believe more firmly than ever in
the final triumph of every righteous cause.
It doesn't discourage me if defeat comes, for
I know it takes time to bring success to anything
that is good. The mushroom grows in the night
and dies in the day, but the oak grows for years
and decades and even centuries and its decay Is
as slow as its growth.
When I left this country twelve months ago
in order to visit foreign lands I went with faith
in Democracy. I knew that I belonged to a
party that was one hundred years old and I
come back to tell you that I belong to a party
not only one hundred years old, but twenty-five
thousand miles wide; for the democratic party
girdles the globe.
There is not a nation through which we
passed, and we went through every important
nation on earth, where I didn't find a Democratic
party.
Jefferson said a century ago that there were
naturally two parties In every country, and that
wherever speech was free these parties would
manifest themselves. He said the two parties
naturally necessary to be found in every country
were a Democratic party and an Aristocratic
party.
I took it on faith then, because I have faith
Is Jefferson, but now I can testify for my eyes
kave seen it and it is true. In every country
you find two parties. One Democratic In its ten
dencies, the other aristocratic, and everywhere
the Democratic party is trying to bring the gov
ernment nearer to the peoplo, and everywhere
the Aristocratic party is trying to obstruct every
tep toward popular, government And every
where tho same arguments aro used. Tho Demo
crats say "lot tho peoplo havo what thoy want,"
and the Aristocrat says "don't lot tho peoplo hurt
themselves; we will look after tho peoplo and do
better for them than thoy can do for them
selves." I see before mo a groat many young men.
Some ofc them will cast their rotes for tho first
time this year. Some of them havo been reared
in Democratic families and lean toward tho Demo
cratic party. Others have been reared In Repub
lican families and lean toward tho Ropubllcan
party. We aro largely creatures of environment
and it is natural that wo should loan toward
the party with which our parents were brought
up, and toward tho party with which thoy were
connected, and yet, my friends, wo should re
spect tho opinions of those near to us upon
whose wisdom wo have relied.
It is also necessary that each person shall
bo prepared to give a reason for his own faith
and defend his own position, and parties some
times change. Aye, tho Republican party has
changed immensely In tho last forty years.
When the Republican party camo Into exist
ence its speakers took tho name of Jefferson and
appealed to thoso who belioved In his principles,
and today you don't hear the name of Jefferson
invoked In behalf of Republican ideas.
It Is necessary that each young man should
have a reason for his position, and I havo never
asked a young man to vote tho Democratic ticket
unless he was convinced that In doing so he could
better serve his country than in voting any other
ticket And so when I speak to a young Repub
lican I ask him to vote our ticket only when he
is convinced that our party offers him tho best
means there aro to protect his rights and his in
terest, and advance tho welfare of the country,
and I want to remind these young men that there
is an irresistible tendency in this world toward
Democracy, and after I have shown him this
tendency in other countries I want to call his at
tention to the same tendency In this country.
Go into Japan, that nation which has aston
ished the world with its progress, and what do
you find? A half-century ago they had an un
limited monarchy and today they havo a consti
tution and a parliament, and this advance toward
Democratic ideas has been followed by universal
education until today 90 per cent of their people
can read and write.
Go, if you will, into Korea, and I found a
JY. M. C. A. in the capital of Korea and they tell
'me that of tho five thousand members of that
Y. M. C. A., only one hundred Koreans "were
members of the church and four hundred
had joined the Y. M. C. A. that thoy might learn
more of American institutions.
I went Into China and I found reformers
there and within a year tho dowager empress
has sent commissioners to the various nations
of the world that they might bring back informa
tion in regard to constitution, for she contem
plates giving her people a constitution before
she dies.
Go into India and you will find there a na
tive congress that has for years demanded a
voice in the government of the people. Go into
Egypt and you will find that even those Arabs
and Egyptians are now talking of a constitution.
Going Into Turkey you find the reformer
there speaking of the benefits of a government
deriving its just powers from the consent of the
governed. Go into Russia and there you find a
despotism that is being rapidlv converted into a
constitutional monarchy. Within a year they
have established a duma and If you want to
know how Democracy is growing in Russia
where, until recently, a man could be sent into
exile without complaint or warrant, or trial. If
you want to know how Democracy is growing
there let me remind you when the election took
place in the city of St Petersburg, notwithstand
ing the influences of the capital of the country,
only 2,000 votes were cast for the czar's ticket
and 58,000 votes for the Democratic ticket
When the czar sent 300 men from the palace
to the polls in court carriages eighty of thera
Toted for the czar and 220 voted the Democratic
ticket Do you see how Democracy Is growing
there?
Let me remind you in every country in Eu
rope Democracy is Also growing: It Is growing
in Italy, in tho south and growing up in tho
north, and it Is growing la the center and Eng
land. Groat Britain gave us the latest Demo
cratic victory when a government camo Into pow
er by a majority of something like 200 aad to
show you the difference between domocracy and
aristocracy in England now, the democrats have
200 majority In tho popular branch while tho
aristocrats have 12 to 1 in tho house of lords.
Do you see tho growth of domocracy? Well,
after seeing its growth and rejoicing in it a3 we,
follow the sun in its course around tho globo
you may imagine my delight when on my return
to America I heard of the rapid growth of tho
democratic idea in tho United States.
But, my friends, I got an initiation of It even
boforo I crossod tho Atlantic, for when I reached
Europo I met from America some democrats,
some republicans, but all of thera, without ex
ception, told me of tho growth of democratic
ideas. Is thoro not reason to be encouraged? If
I had faith beforo I havo confldenco now In Vio
triumph of these ideas for which wo havo con
tended. Now a word to tho young men who may not
havo had a chanco to inform thomselvcs on the
early history of our country. It has pained me
when I have gone from city to city and spoken
before high schools to find how many young men
have dropped out of school, even before thoy
finished tho high school courso, and it has led
mo to believe that wo ought to bring Into these
schools at an earlior period tho study of a sci
ence of government and of history as It relates
to our own governmental development, but for
fear somo of these young men left school before
they acquainted themselves with tho early his
tory of this country, I want to show them that
thero aro two parties In this country and that
ono of thom Is nearer to the people than the
other party.
What Jefferson said was true in all coun
tries, and also true in this. Wo have a demo
cratic party and I am a member of It because
it is nearer to tho people than any other party
in this country. Because It bolioves mord flrinly
in tho peoplo than any other party, and of all
tho parties the republican party Is the closest to
tho aristocratic idea In this country. Now, some
of you doubt it but I will not leave you in doubt
long, for I started out to convince you and they
are going to give mo timo enough to make a
thorough Job of it Now, If you ask a man
whether ho sympathizes with the people or his
sympathies are against the people he will always
tell you that ho sympathizes with the people.
I have met a great many men and I havo
yet to meet tho first man in this country, or
In any other country, who ever acknowledged
that he didn't sympathize with the people, and
if you ask the men now In this country whether
thoy have faith in the people they will nearly all
tell you that they have.
Now, how are you going to find out who has
faith and who has not? Well, I will give you
two tests. If you go to a republican banquet you
will find that there Is one name mentioned above
other names. It is the name of Alexander Ham
ilton. Go to a democratic banquet and you find
one name mentioned above all other names, and
it Is Thomas Jefferson.
. Now, If you want to find out what a man
really thinks, find out who he admires and then
find out what the man admired thinks and you
can get some Idea of what his admirer thinks.
So, new, I am prepared to convict the republican
with testimony that is sufficient 'I take your re
publican leaders who admired Hamilton and I
take your democratic leaders who admired Jef
ferson, and then I can tell you what kind of
men these are and what they think by showing
you tho difference between Hamilton and Jef
ferson. What did Jefferson believe? He believed
that the people not only had a right to self-government,
but were capable of self-government
He said, "Let the people have their way."
What did Hamilton think? Well, he didn't
havo faith In the people. He did not trust the
people, but thought that people were divided into
two classes, the well born and the not so well
born, and that the well born were born to rule
and the not so well born were born to be ruled.
Now I would like to ask you republicans
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