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The Gommoner;
VOL. 15, NO. 10
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Mr. Bryan in the South
IN TEXAS
tFrom Dallas News, Oct. 3, 1915.
In talks devoid of any personal po
litical referenco whatever, or any al
lusion to his withdrawal from Pres
ident Wilson's cabinet, William Jen
nings Bryan spoke yesterday after
noon at Hillsboro, last night at Dall
as, and informally at intermediate
towns during interurban stops, elo
quently advancing his peaco ideals
to enthusiastic audiences.
This was Mr. Bryan's first visit to
Dallas and Texas since liis retirement
from tho cabinet. His appearance had
been awaited with much interest and
there had been some expectation of
political developments. Both in pub
lic and private talks tho visitor es
chewed this subject, declining to dis
cuss with interviewers tho possibility
of his ever becoming a candidate for
ofilco again.
Mr. Bryan discussed the European
war, tho false philosophy that made
It possible, and voiced a fervent plea
that America bo not stirred to that
"preparedness"' which, he declared,
"provokes and does not prevent war."1
In personal conversation tho
former secretary of state said he
made no reference to his resignation
either in his speech or interviews be
cause ho thought he has already made
that matter sufficiently clear by form
al statements issued shortly after
the incident. He took occasion, how
ever, in each speech, to pay specific
and unstinted tribute to President
Woodrow Wilson's handling of the
peculiarly trying conditions of the
last year and to congratulate the
country upon having had such a man
in tho presidential chair during this
time. These utterances provoked long
applause.
Warm Welcome Everywhere
The warmth of welcome shown at
Dallas yesterday morning and again
last night, tho rousing receptions all
along tho interurban route between
Dallas and Hillsboro, and the gather
ing of more than 5,000 people at the
Hill county fair cheering his peace
arguments to tho echo brought un
disguised satisfaction to tho distln
' guished visitor. Ho expressed his de
' light at being in Texas again and his
regret at being unable to remain
longer and meet more of his friends.
Those who saw and heard him yes
terday found "the Commoner" as elo
quent, as powerful on the platform,
as of yore, as fresh and vigorous in
appearance as in former days with
smile as broad, changing, upon occa
sion, into the same tight-lined expres
sion' of determination.
"He's the same old Bill Bryan!"
as if man yelled when the interurban
was pulling out of Waxahachie.
Mr. Bryan arrived in Galveston un
announced. Only Colonel W. L.
Moody had been appraised of his
coming, and that moro were not
turned away for lack of seating room
was probably due to the fact that, so
few knew of his presence in the city.
The former secretary of state arrived
at 9:40 o'clock yesterday morning
and was met by Colonel Moody. Ho
went immediately to the Moody resi
dence, where he was a guest at lunch,
and received several friends before
going to the church to speak at 3
o'clock. Mr. Bryan left on the 6
o'clock interurban for Houston,
where he spoke last night.
In an interview before the address,
Mr. Bryan, in speaking of tho pros
pective loan by American financiers
of $500,000,000 to the allies, said
such a course is unwise.
PEACE VIEWS APPLAUDED
Staff Special to the Dallas News.
Hillsboro, Texas, Oct. 2: As William
Jennings Bryan stepped to the red,
white and bluo. covered 'platform, fac
ing the crowd that filled the Hill
county fair grandstand, and crowded
in all tho space about it, standing in
the sun to hear his speech, a booming
salute sounded in tho field behind.
Half a dozen or moro rockets soared
high aloft, exploding with a shell
like roar. With each detonation, in
stead of war's ruin and waste, there
came from the fragments of casing
up above, a parachute made of Amer
ican flags, fluttering the national em
blem, in the downward flight; to earth.
This extraordinary apt and ingenious
compliment affected Mr. Bryan vis
ibly. He leaned far over the plat
form, watching eagerly the course of
each Star and Stripe parachute,
emerging from the cloud of powder
smoke and swaying bravely in the
gentle afternoon breeze. When the
last one had fluttered to the ground
he turned to those upon the platform.
"That is one of the finest things I
have ever seen," he said simply.
Other unique features character
ized the Hillsboro reception. When
tne special interurban car arrived
from Dallas, Mr. Bryan was placed
in an automobile beautifully decor
ated with roses and white doves, typ
ifying peace, of course, mounted upon
tho windshield and radiator. Miss
Mary Catherine Walter drove this
"peace car" at the head of the pro
cession that escorted Mr. Bryan to
the Wear hotel.
ADDRESSES
BIG DALLAS
DIENCE
AU-
prolonged storm of applause wlken he
camo out on tho platform at 8r45
o'clock.
General M. M. Crane introduced
the speaker of the evening and con
gratulated Dallas people in the peace
that this country enjoys. Ho paid
tribute to Mr. Bryan, calling him
"tho greatest living orator in Amer
ica," and referring to his continuous
efforts on behalf oC peace.
AT HOUSTON
From tho Houston Post, Oct. 4.
One of tho largest crowds that ever
entered the city auditorium was on
hand Sunday night to greet William
Jennings Bryan, former secretary of
state, and to listen to his address on
"The Lessons of the War." Before
the distinguished guest arrived the
seats were all occupied and many peo
ple crowded into tho aisles, on the
stage and the vacant places in the
building, while many others were
turned away from the doors.
Despite the intense warmth and at
tendant discomfort the crowd listened
with close attention to the remarks
of tho gifted orator and applauded
his logic or laughed when Mr. Bryan
relied on some witticism to bring out
a strong point.
Especially was there much ap
plause when towards the end of his
speech ho vigorously denied the right
of a handful of citizens to involve this
nation in war by taking ships into the
danger zone during the war. He did
not say that the passengers had no
right to go on such ships, but that
they should not.
Mr. Bryan spoke of tho propagan
da that Is now on foot spreading tho
doctrine of preparedness as a means'
of preventing war. "I believe that
if this country had been as, well pre
pared when the war started as they
now want us to be, our country would
have been in this war long ago. The
men who are preaching this doctrine
are trying to confuse the issue.
Paid Compliment to tho President
"Think what trouble we would be
in today if we had a 'jingo' in the
White House, looking for an oppor
tunity to get into trouble. At this
time we have reason to be grateful
that we have in the White House a
man who loves peace and who is try
ing to find a peaceful solution of ev
ery problem."
-a
k i
FAliSE PHILOSOPHY CAUSE OP
i: WAR
From tho Dallas News, Oct, 3.
. j"The whole cause of the war in
"which the nations of Europe have
been struggling for moro than a year
i based on the falso philosophy that
might makes right."
This statement was made by form
er v Secretary of State William Jen
nings Bryan in a stirring plea for
p&a.ce at the First Presbyterian
church yesterday afternoon. His sub
ject was "The Causeless War." The
church was packed from platform to
ntrance and many were unable to
obtain seats. For nearly two hours
Mr'. Bryan spoke, and tho tense,
quiet atmosphere of the place bore
witness to the interest with which
the audience followed every word of
'th address. Tuo speaker was intro
" duced by Rev. Edward Stubblefield,
pastor of tho First Baptist church.
From the Dallas News, Oct. 3.
Speaking under the auspices of the
Dallas Press club, President M. W.
Florer presiding, William Jennings
Bryan addressed an attentive
and frequently demonstrative audi
ence at the Fair Park Coliseum last
night. At first it was planned to have
him talk at the city hall, but the ad
vance reservation indicated a demand
in advance of its capacity, and it be
came necessary to secure the audi
torium. Seated on the platform were Ant
ing Mayor Otto H. Lang, Dr. and Mrs
C. M. Rosser, J. W. Mahan, Dr.
George Gilmour, M. H. Wolfe, Dr. E.
H. Cary, John Davis, Judge E. B. Per
kins, J. J. Collins, J. J. Simmons, Gil
bert H. Irish, Colonel S. E. Moss,
George A. Harmon, Congressman TTntI
ton w. sumners, George McBlair, Dr
S. P. Brooks o" Waco, John Jester!
Wilford B. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Ed
ward T. Moore, George W. Owens Jr
M. W. Florer, president Dallas Press
club.
Audience Welcomes Bryan
The audience of 3,000 at the Col
iseum wolcomfi'l Mr "no -,i.
.. ojijrttu witn a
PLEASED AT CITY'S CONDITION
From the. Galveston News.
After seeing Galveston by automo
bile, former Secretary of State Wil
liam Jennings Bryan, who came here
to speak on "The Causeless War,"
declared that he was much surprised
to find the damage from the Texas
coast storm of August 16-17 so slight.
"I am very much gratified," said
Mr. Bryan "to find the damage done
Galveston was really a great deal less
than I had been led to believe from
reading press reports. The seawall
stood the test admirably, and the
lact tnat so rew frame houses were
damaged shows that the injury was
much less than Information contained
in the papers."
Mr. Bryan was a guest of Colonel
W. L. Moody Tvhile in the city. Ho
said he has been coming to Galveston
every two or three years for nearly
twenty years, and each time wishes
he might stay longer.
MR. BRYAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Under the auspices of tho Younc
Men's Christian Association, William
Jennings Bryan will deliver an ad
dress in the Columbia opera house
this evening.
To speak of Mr. Bryan as an or
ator is not necessary in Columbia
critic, who, hearing him, has not en
joyed the experience and wo think
there are few who, listening to him
& Pe mI?d' nave come awav
without a broader and more genernX
viewof whatever subject h0 7
cussed One may sharply disagree
with him in one or another point of
public policy, but there is no intoiu
gent and informed lover of his C01
try not ready to say that without his
influence during the last quarter of l
century that country would have been
the worse. u
Mr. Bryan has been the steadff
fr'end of South Carolina and of the
south and he is among old friends?
when he is in this capital city for a
few hours.
There will be and there should be
a great throng present this evenine
to welcome and to hear this great
citizen of the republic. Columbia
(S. C.) State, Sept. 22.
THE APOSTLE OF PEACE
William J. Bryan's lecture at the
auditorium last night did not. ah
him as a peace-at-any-price man. it
aid snow mm as a man who is thor
oughly convinced that war comes too
high and who is not willing to buy
war at what it costs unless it becomes
absolutely necessary to have it. It
did not show him as the idealist wim
believes that war, at this time, can
oe entirely eliminated from thfc
world. It did show him as the prac
tical man who would use care aiul
diligence to avoid war. Above all
things, it did not show him as a man
wh'b is laboring in opposition to the
president in the matter of averting
war or of sustaining war if it became
inevitable. It did show him as a man
who has labored and is still lahnHnr
ith the president in the interest of
peace. "Woodrow Wilson's name and
my name!" said Mr. Bryan in con
nection with the peace treaties.
Woodrow Wilson's wprk and W. J.
Bryan's work. That is what it means.
Mr. Bryan's utter condemnation of
the jingoes must have the hearty
commendation pf all thinking people.
It is almost unbelievable that Amer
ican men should desire war, and yet
that is exactly what the severest
critics of Mr. Bryan profess.
There are two particulars in which
Mr. Bryan is doing an inestimable
service by his labors. The first is in
allaying whatever tendency there may
be toward a war fever in the body of
tho people. If, by any chance, the
public mind should become infested
with jingoism, bringing about a gen
eral demand for war, the results
would bo disastrous. In such a cir
cumstance, it would be practically
Impossible to keep the country out
of war, but, even if war should bo
even then averted, the effects of such
a state of mind would be almost as
bad as war. Mr. Bryan's work Is of
the greatest efficiency forestalling
the development of that sort of dis
ease. The second particular in which his
work is of particularly great import
ance is in tempering the prepared
ness movement. There is no purpose
hero to say whether Mr. Bryan is
right or wrong in all of his ideas as
to national preparedness. .But ouu
thing very certain is that there is
danger just now of the country's go
ing to the extreme on the idea of
preparedness. . Possibly we needed
arousing, but it is entirely probable
that we might be aroused too much.
Mr. Bryan is exerting a sobering in
fluence. He is not uprooting the idea
that a measure of preparation for
possible war is necessary, but he is
cooling the perfervid enthusiasm or
those who would otherwise bo led
on to dangerous lengths by the
jingoes.
Just as Mr. Bryan says, when tno
time arrived that a friend may inter
pose to settle the quarrel of the bel
ligerents in Europe, tho United States
will be the friend upon whom tnaj
duty will fall. And when the Unitea
States undertakes tho performance oi
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