Part 1

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WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN

A Concise But Complete Story of His Life and Services

by

HARVEY E. NEWBRANCH

Lincoln, Nebraska The University Publishing Co. 1900

Copyrighted, 1900, by Harvey E. Newbranch. All rights reserved.

Jacob North & Co., Printers Lincoln, Neb.

DEDICATED

TO

THE BRAVE AND PATRIOTIC LEADER

OF

AN HONEST AND INTELLIGENT ELECTORATE

William Jennings Bryan

OF

NEBRASKA

PREFACE

The author of this little volume, in giving it to the reading public, feels called on for a few words by way of explanation and apology.

The book is written because there seems to be a field for it. Within the last few months hundreds of thousands of American citizens have come to see William Jennings Bryan in a new light. As a result, while they no longer believe him a demagogue, some still hesitate to accept him as a statesman. While they have ceased to denounce him as an anarchist, some are slow to realize that he stands with Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln as one of the great conservators of American institutions.

Especially for the benefit of this class of his fellow citizens this little “life” of Mr. Bryan is published. For it is claimed no literary merit other than a conscientious attempt at clearness, and no historical excellence save a strict adherence to the truth in the statement of facts. The work has had to be hurriedly done and at irregular intervals, and the one object aimed at has been to acquaint the reader with Mr. Bryan’s character through a narration of his life work.

It is candidly admitted that the book is written in a friendly and sympathetic vein. To the author’s thinking Mr. Bryan’s personality is one of the most beautiful and well-rounded in American history, and his noble characteristics are dwelt on only because they exist and deserve to be understood.

To many of Mr. Bryan’s old-time friends in Lincoln the author is under obligations for valuable assistance. Among these may be especially mentioned Mr. Harry T. Dobbins, Judge J. H. Broady, Mr. T. S. Allen, and Mr. W. F. Schwind. Others have contributed to a greater or less degree, and to all due thanks and acknowledgements are hereby rendered.

HARVEY E. NEWBRANCH.

Lincoln, Neb., August 29, 1900.

CONTENTS

Introductory 5 Early Life 9 In Congress 19 The Tariff 30 The Rise of the Silver Issue 40 The Presidential Candidate 53 New Issues 68 Renomination 94 The Indianapolis Speech 114 Bryan: the Man 148 Home Life 164

INTRODUCTORY

About the life and services of William Jennings Bryan will be centered the labors of those who, in future time, shall contribute to the pages of history the story of American states-craft and political tendencies of the dying days of the nineteenth century and the opening decade of the twentieth. The historian who has to do with Bryan and his times will deal not only with one of the most momentous and important periods of American history, but with one of the most remarkable and interesting characters whose name adorns its pages.

It is not generally while the battle of ideas and ideals is on, it is but rarely during the developing period of great political and social movements, that their relative and ultimate importance may be judged; and it is as seldom, during the lifetime of a public man, whose name is identified and whose services are associated with the great issues which constitute the line of demarcation in the field of political thought, that his true character, his strength, and his weaknesses, may be appreciated or understood.

In the study of man and of history a proper sense of perspective is as all-essential as in the limner’s art. The warrior who, with heart aflame, strives on a great battlefield, can know but little of the terrible grandeur of the whole, and still less of the import of the movements of battalions, regiments, and corps. It remains for him who, from an eminence of distance or of time, surveys impartially the entire field, to comprehend its sublimities and horrors, and to appreciate the full significance of its waging and its outcome. And even so, of necessity, it is most difficult for us who live in the American republic, at this century’s sunset, to be able or even willing rightly to appreciate the full import of movements in the advancement or retarding of which each bears howsoever humble a part. Too frequently in politics, as in battle, men do fiercely strive with blinded eyes and deafened ears, and they sometimes wildly strike at him who is their friend.

And yet there are many things in the life of a public man which his neighbors and associates can not fail of knowing, and which, when interpreted, permit his contemporaries to estimate the quality of his character, even though they may not know the full value of his public services. In every man, of whatever station, there are elements and traits which prominently stand forth. These, with such things as he has done and the words which he has spoken, constitute the material from which we may form our concepts of his worth.

In William Jennings Bryan are certain traits so prominent and unmistakable that he who runs may read. They have been well revealed, in few words, by Judge Edgar Howard, of Papillion, Neb. In a speech delivered before the Jacksonian Club of Omaha, on July 15, 1900, Judge Howard said:

“Reverently I say it, that while I do not worship the man, I do worship those traits in him that, as I read the book, stand unparalleled in politics. There is not a man of you here or anywhere to be found who has the nerve to speak a profane or vulgar word in the presence of our candidate for President. Nor does a man dare suggest a move on the political chess-board that honor will not approve. He brightens and betters all those who come in contact with him, no matter who they be. Then why should we not go before the world and preach this man—the personification of purity, clean in all things—as well as his principles?”

In this little volume it will be attempted to tell briefly the story of this American’s life and the movements with which he has been associated. The tale must be hurriedly moulded into form, and we fear its rough lines and its crudities will be all too apparent. And yet, withal, it will be the result of sincere endeavor to aid his fellow-citizens to know William Jennings Bryan even as he is. It is, we believe, a laudable design, however poorly executed. For here, on the farther side of the brown and swift Missouri, there dwells a man of virile and rugged qualities, typically American and truly Western, the story of whose life is a wondrous inspiration to every citizen of the Republic and a monument to the uplifting force of right living and high ideals. For it tells that even in the politics of to-day, honeycombed with cant, hypocrisy, and insincerity, absolute honesty of motive and candor of statement is still no bar to the truest leadership and the highest advancement. It tells further of the marvelous opportunities of humble American citizenship, demonstrating once more, as in Abraham Lincoln’s time, that to the man of conscience, brains, and courage, the highest walks of life are open; to which neither poverty nor obscurity is a bar. And finally it tells of the great potential power of the idea, unaided and even bitterly opposed, when forcefully and sincerely stated, to win its way to the hearts of humankind.

And so it is that to such as will honestly study William Jennings Bryan’s career, and learn the lesson that it teaches, must come hope and inspiration and promise of the dawn. For whether he ever hold high political office or not; whether or not, in the crucible of time, his political faith prove true or prove fallacious; his life still teaches that courage and plain honesty may win for a public man such following and support, such exalted place in the hearts of his countrymen, as has never yet rewarded the tricks and wiles of even the most brilliant of opportunists.

EARLY LIFE

William Bryan, the great-grandfather of the presidential nominee, the first of the Bryans known to the present generation, lived in Culpepper county, Va. In his family there were three children. One of these, John Bryan, was the grandfather of William Jennings Bryan. In 1807 John married Nancy Lillard. To this couple ten children were born. One of these was Silas L. Bryan, the father of William Jennings Bryan.

He was born in Sperryville, Culpepper county, Va., in 1822. In 1834 he came west, working his way through the public schools, finally entering McKendree College, at Lebanon, Ill., and graduating with honors in 1849. After graduating, he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began his practice in Salem, Marion county, Ill. In 1852 he was married to Mariah Elizabeth Jennings. In 1860, he was elected to the circuit bench, where he served twelve years. In 1872 he was nominated for Congress on the Democratic ticket, receiving the endorsement of the Greenback party. He died March 30, 1880, and was buried in the cemetery of his much beloved town, Salem.

The union of Silas Bryan and Mariah Jennings was blessed on March 19, 1860, by the birth of William Jennings Bryan, twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

When William Jennings Bryan was six years old, his parents moved to their farm in the vicinity of Salem. Until he was ten years of age his parents taught him at home, hoping thus to mould his young mind to better advantage. At ten years of age William entered the public schools of Salem. There he attended until he was fifteen, when he entered Whipple Academy, Jacksonville, Ill., in the fall of 1875. Two years later he entered Illinois College, and with this step a new life began.

His parents wished him to take a classical course with its Latin, Greek, mathematics, and geometry. This he did. He was, too, an earnest student of political economy. During his first year at the Academy, he delivered Patrick Henry’s masterpiece, and was ranked well down toward the “foot.” Again in the second year, nothing daunted by his failure to be at the “head,” he selected “The Palmetto and the Pine” as his subject. This time he was third, with a large number following. Later in his second year he delivered “Bernado del Carpio” and gained second prize. In his sophomore and junior years, his essays upon “Labor” and “Individual Powers” were each awarded first prize. The winning of the junior prize entitled him to represent Illinois College in the intercollegiate oratorical contest, which was held at Galesburg, Ill., in the fall of 1880. His oration was upon “Justice,” which received the second prize of fifty dollars. At the time of graduation, he was elected class orator, and delivered the valedictory.

It was here, in his junior year that he first met his wife, Miss Mary Baird, of Perry, Ill., and she, speaking of her first impression, says, “I saw him first in the parlors of the young ladies’ school which I attended in Jacksonville. He entered the room with several other students, was taller than the rest, and attracted my attention at once. His face was pale and thin; a pair of keen, dark eyes looked out from beneath heavy eyebrows; his nose was prominent—too large to look well, I thought; a broad, thin-lipped mouth and a square chin completed the contour of his face. I noted particularly his hair and smile. The former, black in color, fine in quality, and parted distressingly straight. In later years his smile has been the subject of considerable comment. Upon one occasion a heartless observer was heard to remark, ‘That man can whisper in his own ear,’ but this was cruel exaggeration.”

The graduating exercises of Illinois College were in June, 1881. The valedictory is given below, not because it possesses great merit, but in order to show his style and the turn of his mind at the time.

“Beloved instructors, it is character not less than intellect that you have striven to develop. As we stand at the end of our college course, and turn our eyes toward the scenes forever past, as our memories linger on the words of wisdom which have fallen from your lips, we are more and more deeply impressed with the true conception of duty which you have ever shown. You have sought not to trim the lamp of genius until the light of morality is paled by its dazzling brilliance, but to encourage and strengthen both. These days are over. No longer shall we listen to your warning voices, no more meet you in these familiar classrooms, yet on our hearts ‘deeply has sunk the lesson’ you have given, and it shall not soon depart.

“We thank you for your kind and watchful care, and shall ever cherish your teachings with that devotion which sincere gratitude inspires.

“It is fitting that we express to you also, honored trustees, our gratitude for the privileges which you have permitted us to enjoy.

“The name of the institution whose interest you guard will ever be dear to us as the schoolroom, to whose influence we shall trace whatever success coming years may bring.

“Dear classmates, my lips refuse to bid you a last good-bye; we have so long been joined together in a community of aims and interests; so often met and mingled our thoughts in confidential friendship; so often planned and worked together, that it seems like rending asunder the very tissues of a heart to separate us now.

“But this long and happy association is at an end, and now as we go forth in sorrow, as each one must, to begin alone the work which lies before us, let us encourage each other with strengthening words.

“Success is brought by continued labor and continued watchfulness. We must struggle on, not for one moment hesitate, nor take one backward step; for in the language of the poet:

‘The gates of hell are open night and day, Smooth the descent and easy is the way; But to return and view the cheerful skies, In this, the past and mighty labor lies.’

We launch our vessels upon the uncertain sea of life alone, yet not alone, for around us are friends who anxiously and prayerfully watch our course. They will rejoice if we arrive safely at our respective havens, or weep with bitter tears if, one by one, our weather-beaten barks are lost forever in the surges of the deep.

“We have esteemed each other, loved each other, and now must with each other part. God grant that we may all so live as to meet in the better world, where parting is unknown.

“Halls of learning, fond Alma Mater, farewell. We turn to take our ‘last, long, lingering look’ at the receding walls. We leave thee now to be ushered out into the varied duties of an active life.

“However high our names may be inscribed upon the gilded scroll of fame, to thee we all the honor give, to thee all the praises bring. And when, in after years, we’re wearied by the bustle of the busy world, our hearts will often long to turn and seek repose beneath thy sheltering shade.”

In September, 1881, William Jennings Bryan entered the Union College of Law at Chicago. Out of school hours his time was spent in the office of ex-Senator Lyman Trumbull, who had been a great friend of young Bryan’s father. His vacation and summer months were spent on the farm, and it was these years of rugged, outdoor life which gave to his manhood that vigor, stability, and splendid physique so helpful to him in his life as a student and in his work since he has left college.

Mr. Bryan stood well in the law school, taking an especial interest in constitutional law. He was also connected with the debating society of the college and took an active part in its meetings.

At the age of twenty-three Mr. Bryan finished a collegiate course and started in life for himself, leaving the farm, robust and ambitious, to grow in the knowledge of his profession. His parents were devout Christians and members of the Baptist Church. So Mr. Bryan was early taught those principles of right and wrong, justice, equality, and the advantages of a pure life. His father’s example convinced him that the old saying that “no honest man can become a lawyer” was a myth and a mistake. And on July 4, 1883, William Jennings Bryan began the practice of his profession in Jacksonville, Ill.

Stocked with a liberal education, a conscience void of offense, a character unsullied, and an ambition to know the law, and to apply this knowledge for the benefit of the people, he began at the very bottom of the ladder. The drudgery and disappointments, the hardships and jokes common to a beginner without means and alone, in competition with men of gray hairs and wisdom that come from years of toil and practice, was the portion of Mr. Bryan. But he was a courageous man; Napoleon-like he knew no such word as fail, and with that force and enthusiasm so characteristic of the man, he labored on, believing that each disappointment contained its lesson, and that every hardship endured had its counterpart in a triumph. His early practice was not unlike that of other beginners, taking such cases as usually come to the young lawyer.

At the close of the first year, and during the fall of 1884, his income was such that he could support a wife; a modest home was planned and built, and in October, 1884, he was married. During the next three years he lived comfortably, though economically, and laid by a small amount. Politics lost none of its charms, and each campaign found Mr. Bryan speaking, usually in his own county.

Three years after graduation he attended the commencement at Illinois College, delivered the Master’s oration, and received the degree, his subject being “American Citizenship.” From that time until he entered Congress in 1891, his only support for himself and his wife was from his profession. Mr. Bryan continued in a growing practice of law in Jacksonville until October, 1887. In July of that year, while on a western trip, he passed through Lincoln, Neb., to visit friends, and in two days was so impressed with the city and its possibilities that he disposed of his business in Jacksonville, and located in Lincoln. Political ambitions did not enter into this change, as the city, county, and state were strongly Republican. Mr. Bryan began his lot as a lawyer in Lincoln by forming a partnership, the style of the firm being “Talbot & Bryan.” He at once applied himself vigorously to the details of the practice in his new field, and was soon recognized as a lawyer of unusual strength.

In the few years of practice at the bar of Lincoln before he was elected to Congress, Mr. Bryan became somewhat celebrated as the champion of the anti-sugar-bounty doctrine, and as the pleader for equal rights, under the law, for all classes of men. In the spring of 1896, the city proposed to issue $500,000 of its refunding bonds in gold. A number of citizens believing such a contract unjust to the tax-payers, consulted Mr. Bryan and secured his services in their behalf. Without compensation, he at once devoted his energies to restrain the city of Lincoln from issuing and selling such bonds. A temporary restraining order was issued by the court, and after a vigorous contest an injunction against the city, preventing such contract, was granted. In these cases was shown Mr. Bryan’s genuine interest in public matters, and in the general welfare of the people. Aside from many of these cases involving public interest, his work as a lawyer was the usual practice of the profession.

Mr. Bryan is a man of great physical endurance. As a lawyer as well as a legislator, he is a man of great deliberation. Before acting, he believes in being fully advised as to the subject upon which he is to act. He was never known to champion a cause, accept a case, or make a statement to a jury or elsewhere that did not present the honest conviction of his mind, always having a sincere belief in the correctness of the position assumed. In explaining a proposition of law, he seeks the reason for the law, which he is always able to present with peculiar clearness.

In his method of argument he is never emotional, but makes strong applications of law and fact by the statement of his case and proof, without any effort at embellishment or oratory. His ability to crowd a great deal in a few words and sentences is very marked. The weakness of his opponents he easily detects, and readily points out the fallacy. Mr. Bryan is an ardent believer in the American jury system. When in Congress, he introduced a bill providing that a verdict agreed to by three-fourths of the members of a jury should be a verdict of the jury in civil cases, and he made an argument before the Congressional Judiciary Committee in its support.

“Mr. Bryan did not distinguish himself as a lawyer.” Those who thus complain should consider that he entered the practice at the age of twenty-three, and left it at thirty, and in that period began twice, and twice became more than self-supporting. He has not had the time and opportunity in which to establish the reputation at the bar which gives to many American jurists the illustrious positions which they occupy. However, at the time of his election to Congress, his practice was in a thriving condition and fully equal to that of any man of his age in the city.

Whatever may be said of Mr. Bryan by friend or foe, it must be conceded that his convictions control his actions on all questions, either as a lawyer or as a public man, and when employed in a case involving great interests, he would, without question, acquit himself with that distinction which has characterized him as a leader in public affairs.

IN CONGRESS

Mr. Bryan’s first political speech of importance was made at Seward in the spring of 1888. At that time Lincoln was known to be as strong as the rock of Gibraltar in the Republican faith. On this occasion of his first public appearance as a political orator in Nebraska, he drew men to him by the power of the orator, and held them there in subsequent years by the virtue of the man. His extraordinary popularity with the masses of his followers was universally acknowledged. After his first few speeches, it did not take long for his reputation to spread over the state, and when he was elected as a delegate from Lancaster county to the Democratic State convention in 1888 he was in great demand. The sources of this popularity, though less clear, were of profound significance, being only in part personal. In fact, it seemed to be this man’s fortune to embody a fresh democratic impulse, which in time would make him the leader of a new democratic movement.