William Jennings Bryan: A Concise But Complete Story of His Life and ServicesNewbranch, Harvey Ellsworth
History
William Jennings Bryan: A Concise But Complete Story of His Life and Services
Newbranch, Harvey Ellsworth
Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925
“On the other side stands that unnumbered throng which gave a name to
the Democratic party, and for which it has assumed to speak. Work-worn
and dust-begrimed they make their sad appeal. They hear of average
wealth increased on every side and feel the inequality of its
distribution. They see an overproduction of everything desired because
of an underproduction of the ability to buy. They can not pay for
loyalty except with their suffrages, and can only punish betrayal with
their condemnation. Although the ones who most deserve the fostering
care of Government, their cries for help too often beat in vain against
the outer wall, while others less deserving find ready access to
legislative halls.
“This army, vast and daily growing, begs the party to be its champion in
the present conflict. It can not press its claims mid sounds of revelry.
Its phalanxes do not form in grand parade, nor has it gaudy banners
floating on the breeze. Its battle hymn is ‘Home, Sweet Home,’ its war
cry ‘equality before the law.’ To the Democratic party, standing between
these two irreconcilable forces, uncertain to which side to turn, and
conscious that upon its choice its fate depends, come the words of
Israel’s second law-giver: ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve.’
What will the answer be? Let me invoke the memory of him whose dust made
sacred the soil of Monticello when he joined
‘The dead but sceptered sovereigns who still rule
Our spirits from their urns.’
“He was called a demagogue and his followers a mob, but the immortal
Jefferson dared to follow the best promptings of his heart. He placed
man above matter, humanity above property, and, spurning the bribes of
wealth and power, pleaded the cause of the common people. It was this
devotion to their interests which made his party invincible while he
lived, and will make his name revered while history endures.
“And what message comes to us from the Hermitage? When a crisis like the
present arose and the national bank of the day sought to control the
politics of the nation, God raised up an Andrew Jackson, who had the
courage to grapple with that great enemy, and by overthrowing it he made
himself the idol of the people and reinstated the Democratic party in
public confidence. What will the decision be to-day?
“The Democratic party has won the greatest success in its history.
Standing upon this victory-crowned summit, will it turn its face to the
rising or the setting sun? Will it choose blessings or cursings—life or
death—Which? Which?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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