In truth the bold and manly position taken by Mr. Bryan had won him the admiration and respect of the whole country. It demonstrated anew those noble qualities which he possesses in such an unusual degree. The strength of his position was well outlined in an interview given to the New York Herald by Mr. Metcalfe, who led the fight for a specific declaration. Mr. Metcalfe said:
“When the American people know Mr. Bryan better, they will learn that he is not a politician in the popular acceptation of that term, but that he is honestly devoted to his views of fundamental principles, and that, while not an obstinate man, on this question of principle he is as firm as a rock. Men who know him best know him to be a man of iron. He stands to-day determined that the platform on which he is to be a candidate shall contain a plank explicitly pledging independent bimetallism at the ratio of sixteen to one. Those men of the East who do not know the man, and who may be inclined to regard his position on this question as an obstinate one, should know that the same firmness of purpose, the same indifference to appeal even by men known to be friendly to him that characterizes his adherence to the principle in which some of the men of the East believe him to be wrong, will sustain him in the White House on the many great questions on which they believe him to be right.
“The situation is an unusual one as political situations have gone in this country, but the man who is to be the nominee of this convention is an exceptional man. As the prospective nominee of this convention he will not surrender his convictions. As the nominee of the Democratic party in the coming campaign he will not be a dodger. In the White House he will not be a wabbler. When he shall be elected, men who may be saddened by the thought that they have a President who believes in bimetallism at the ratio of sixteen to one may find consolation in the demonstration of the fact that they also have an American president who adheres to the policies and traditions of a republic in preference to the habits of an empire; who draws his inspiration from the great mass of the people, rather than from a coterie of trust agents; whose purpose it is to discharge his duties so that the result shall be the greatest good to the greatest number, rather than to surrender to a handful of men the privilege of administering the government to the end that the many shall bear all the burdens and the few shall enjoy all the benefits.”
The fight in the resolutions committee was a hard and long one. So closely was the committee divided that it was evident that neither side had more than two or three majority. It seemed almost inevitable that a minority and majority report, differing only as to the wording in which the party’s allegiance to silver should be expressed, would go before the convention. And in this event hard feeling would in all probability be engendered, harsh words be spoken, and factionalism and disunion might result. In this crisis, one of the members of the resolutions committee was seized with an inspiration. In a half hour the whole difficulty was solved. The committee unanimously agreed to a specific demand for free silver coupled with the declaration that imperialism was the paramount issue of the campaign.
On July 5 the platform was read and adopted by the convention, and Bryan nominated for president of the United States.
Again the writer incorporates a portion of a dispatch sent by him to the World-Herald descriptive of this memorable session of the convention:
“Never in the history of popular government has there been held a national convention of a great political party that can be likened to that which at Kansas City to-day promulgated its declaration of principles and nominated its candidate for the chief magistracy of the great commonwealth of sovereign American states.
ADLAI STEVENSON
“To-day’s session witnessed scenes of turbulent enthusiasm, of intense patriotic ardor such as have never before been witnessed and such as promise a victory at once glorious and complete for William J. Bryan at the polls next November. It has been a day marked by loftiest patriotism and noblest purposes, a day that for centuries to come will stand clear and distinct as marking an epoch in the cause of human liberty.