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12
The Commoner
VOLUME 12, NUMBER Sg
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IV
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,
in -which not only all good democrats,
bttt all good men, must horeaftor
hold tho sardonic flguro at Baltlmoro
In his rago and spleen, throwing off
disguise of prudonco and showing
himself in his true color of ingrato,
traitor and pharisoo; the baffled
domagoguo spitting upon hands that
had befriended him; tho beaten
mountebank, balked of his prey, the
rattlosnako rovbalod, exuding poison
that disease and death may follow in
tho wako of his tortuous course?"
This rumbling diatribe will not
hurt Mr. Bryan any more than tho
schoolmastor label marred the
chances of Woodrow Wilson. To
thoso who looked on at the remark
able convention, Mr. Bryan soemed
tho most smiling and cheerful person
on tho floor. His rage and spleen
wero manifested only against meas
ures. His charity and toleration to
ward his opponents as followmon
was manifest evory moment. His
disagreement with their opinions, he
declared, did not offset his esteem for
them as persons. His opponents and
oven some of thoso who agreed with
him, characterized his sway ovor the
convention in tho language of Gen.
Pierro Bosquot concerning the chargo
of tho light brigade at Balaklava,
"It is magnificent, but it is not war."
Tho final result might have pro
voked from tho reactionaries tho his
toric exclamation of Gen. Cham
bronno when tho imperial guard
broko in disorderly panic at Water
loo. Mr. Bryan in spite of the
anathemas of tho reactionaries may
bo characterized as on'o who "can
smilo at Satan's rago and face a
frowning world."
..I,,. i
Thomas B. Mills of Superior, Wis.,
has been elected exaulted ruler of the
Elka.
An Ideal Gift Book
Thoro is no gift moro appreciated by tho receiver, nor one
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Tho mfluenco of good
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set of
I Mr. Bryan's
Speeches
and Lectures
In two handy volumes.
A now, completo edition,
containing- all of his
most Important public
uttorances, from his
first entry into public
1, ul?U,to tho Prcsont
time. Tho only authori
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speeches over issued.
You can follow Mr
Bryan through practU
cally his entiro career,
from his valedictory
oration at Illinois Col
lege in 1881, through his
early public life, ill!
presidential campaigns
his world tours, hft
platform experiences
and his participation in
nclnes of Sreanlza
Uons devoted to na
tional progress, as well
as international con.
eresaos. "
from tho fSnrtJnnfr .of t!ies? Pee covers a wide range of topics,
to the hfKheSt?deaVHtanfrt vItaI Problems of national and world life
to the student of ioHS1 endoavvr- A hand means of reference
This eoiiiTnHn J!S5lal. Problems of tho present and future.
7Kn ? JL0"001.01 comprises two handsome 12 mo. volumes eonfninino.
II on goodVn;fa?lllcal Introduction by Mary Baird Bryan. Printed
i n boou paper In lareo, clear typo and handsomely bound.
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mmmmmSSSSSSmR
Fighting the Belmont -Ryan Control
Tho New York Times, in its issue
of Juno 30, printed the following
Baltimore dispatch, referring to Mr.
Bryan's announcement that the
country would not suhmit to such
control:
Bryan's intention to make this an
nouncement had been iioised about
for hours before the convention met,
and certain delegates had determined
to stop him from getting a hearing.
They failed, solely because Bryan
1b not the sort of man who can be
stopped. "When he found out what
tho game was, he left his place in
the Nebraska delegation, went up on
tho platform and stood there, and it
was so evident that nothing could
prevent him from being heard that
Murphy sent orders to Congressman
William Sulzer, who was temporarily
presiding, to give in and let Bryan
speak.
He did speak, and he never spoke
bettor in his life, though there were
none of the old cross of gold ora
torical tricks in what lie said. It was
a business-like warning that he
would not take part in the nomina
tion of any candidate whose nomi
nation was obtained through the
vote of the state of New York.
That change in his manner of
speaking which has been noticeable
ever since he came under the in
strongly exemplified as in his attacks
strongly exemplified as in his attacks
by name on Ryan, Belmont, Parker,
and Murphy. The opposition made
the mistake of trying to interrupt
him with questions about whether
he would bolt or not, and Bryan
dominated them and hurled them
aside with ease. He did not at any
time answer the questions categori
cally, but he did answer them so defi
nitely that his position was not In
doubt, and yet he still preserved his
standing as a member of the conven
tion. Bryan could not say "Yes, I will
bolt," for if he had the question of
his right to participate further iu the
proceedings would have been raised
immediately. At the same time he
wanted his position made clear.
Therefore, when the delegates who
were against him arose in their
places, shouting the Question at him.
Bryan replied that he would answer
no hypothetical questions, and that
he did not expect a Ryan-Belmont
candidate to be named. Some of
his hearers described this as an at
tompt to dodge the issue, but it was
nothing of the kind. It was the
clearest and most definite and de
cisive intimation that he would not
support a Ryan-Belmont nominee,
and it was made in that form solely
for the reason that to make it in
any other form would be to deprive
himself of his right to sit in tho con
vention and vote.
Bryan-Roosevelt Deal
. It was expected then that the con
vention would vote the resolution
down, and that this would give
Bryan his excuse for bolting. But
Murphy, advised by ex-Judge Alton
B. Parker and JustfoA HniminTi unA
the wisdom to order the Ryan-Bel-mont-Hoarst
delegates to vote for
and not against the resolution. This
done, and the resolution carried by
a vote of nine-tenths of the con
vention, Bryan's attempt to create a
situation calling for a bolt had failed '
To bring about such a thing again
it wuh necessary to una a new
scheme, and he did. He found one
which presented a situation never
paralleled in any convention of
either party, state or national.
He had not taken any trouble to
prevent his intentions from becom
ing public, and Murphy was aware of
them, and very much disturbed. He
realized that this cnnvAn Hnn v.,i
solved itself into a fighj; between
Bryan and Murphy, and lie felt him
self outclassed.- He had coped fairly
well with the situation presented
when Bryan moved Ms Ryan-Belmont
resolution, but he could not
figure out a way to meet the one
which he know Bryan would pre
sent today. Roger Sullivan, Tom
Taggart, Thomas F. Ryan, August
Belmont and all his other advisers
were unable to suggest any better
scheme than to put up to Bryan the
question of whether he would bolt
or not, with tho idea of getting him
to answer affirmatively, and then
moving to put him out of tho conven
tion. But Bryan foiled them.
Bryan's announcement was made
when he switched his vote from
Clark to Wilson, as he had a perfect
right to do under the decision
reached by the convention on the
unit rule question. He had voted
for Clark under his instructions for
thirteen ballots. He had done this
in spite of the fact that Clark and
Hearst, Clark's manager, had made
a deal with Murphy and Belmont
whereby the Clark votes were swung
against Bryan on every proposal
brought before the convention. He
had played fair and had even leaned
over backward. Nobody could
blame him for switching now to the
man who had stood by him on all
those votes whereon Clark had
deserted him.
He made his sensational announce
ment on the pretext of explaining his
change of vote. Nothing more absurd
had ever been seen than the attempt
of Murphy's men to deny Bryan a
hearing, for even thjeir friendB
wanted to know what Bryan was go
ing to say.
The fuss began on the fourteenth'
ballot, when Nebraska asked to be
passed. Everybody knew" what was
going to, happen, and when the roll
was reached and the clerk called that
state again there was a wild uproar.
Congressman Sulzer was temporarily
in the chair. Chairman James, ex
pecting trouble when the announce
ment was made, had asked Sulzer
to assist him in presiding, and had
intended that they should do it
jointly, but he had not expected the
trouble to come so soon, and so he
was out of the hall. Messengers
were sent for him, and when he got
there he and Sulzer presided to
gether, but his absence gave Sulzer
tho opportunity at the beginning of
presiding over the start of the most
astonishing scene ever witnessed in
a convention.
James was perfectly right in get
ting an assistant It is the first con
vention that ever had two chairmen
presiding at the same time, but in
view of what was likely to start the
moment Bryan made his threat of a
bolt James's mpderation in having
only one fellow-chairman was re
markable. James and Sulzer together
could hardly control the situation,
and it was nothing to their discredit.
If they could have impressed Jack
Johnson and Jim Jeffries into ser
vice as co-chairmen, they would have
been justified in doing it.
"I want to explain my vote;"
Bryan said, as he arose in his place
in the Nebraska delegation, which is
just before the platform. Then the
uproar broke. It started with a tem
pestuous roar of "no," and passed
Into yells of derision and angry
shrieks of protest. Not a cheer broke
the monotony of this organized
snarl. The Bryan and Wilson men.
let the other crowd have the floor.
After a while Sulzer could be
heard, and in accordance with the
orders Murphy had sent him through.
Charlie White, he refused permis
sion to Bryan to apeak. The scream
or rage that thn Brvon mn if
I. as soon as Sulzer made tnia deciglo.
-
py
