One copy of the honor roll is kept by the National leaders in a safe-deposit in St. Louis, and a duplicate copy by the great leader of Democracy at his home.
By this system, each worker knows that everything he does is recorded at headquarters, and is kept there for all future time for reference by our national leaders, when they wish, either in asking for services or bestowing favors, to find the real, deserving, fighting material in our party. Each worker knows, also, that it is the end of the unjust custom, whereby one or two loud-mouthed adventurers, who have done nothing but who claim all, in the hour of victory cast aside the unselfish workers, whose years of patient labor gained the victory. With an account kept of the sacrifices made, the clubs organized, the members secured by each party worker in our country, there can be no more climbing into favor on the shoulders of others, but, instead, each man stands on his own bottom, reaping the fruit and recognition of his own work, and is assigned to leadership as the result of the exercise of his own genius and talents. At present, every Congressman, Governor or President elected to office, is punished sufficiently to offset all the pleasures and satisfactions of having been successful by the impossible task of trying to disentangle the various claims of the men who helped elect him. But no such discordant scramble need ever recur, for the Volunteers will, in the future, keep an exact history of the service rendered by every party worker, and, in Congressional parlance, each fellow will know exactly "where he is at." The system is as carefully thought out and perfected as that of any standing army.
The roll of honor appeals to the strongest instincts in man, which have been utilized in every successful social or religious movement since the dawn of history. If he is vain, it appeals to his vanity. If heroic, it stimulates his heroism. If ambitious, he sees the way to get place and position is to merit them by faithful work and that they cannot be had by cheating the rightful owners out of the fruits of their victories, to which he has not contributed.
In the Catholic Church and in many other institutions through all the centuries, as among the followers of Napolean and Caesar, men have often given up their lives for a medal or a bit of ribbon. For such rewards England to-day gets almost as much service as from her vast pay-roll.
By proper organization, vanity can be made to offset cupidity. It is as strong an instinct, and we have the means of satisfying it. To-day the name of England's Queen cannot inspire as great enthusiasm in the majority of the English speaking race, as does the name of William Jennings Bryan. The enthusiasm now aroused has sufficient force to accomplish all our ends. What we need is simply to harness this Niagara, organize this power, and apply it systematically and continuously. It can be done. It is being done. Never in the history of our country has the year following a great political campaign been the scene of such a rejuvenation of the defeated party as has taken place since our late repulse.
As every plant must shoot down two roots for sustenance, before putting forth a new twig, so we have decided to plant the roots of our organization prolifically throughout the Southern and Western states, where our cause is strong, thereby securing the support for a continuous and aggressive campaign before sending our Volunteers into the doubtful states and those still given over to the idolatrous worship of the golden calf.
Each congressional district in the Southern and Western states can be made by contributions of one cent, five cents, ten cents at a time, collected by the Volunteer Speakers, to support permanently one organizer in Republican territory.
There are many different ways to work. One is by educating and agitating and by advancing our principles indoors and outdoors upon every possible occasion by public speeches. Another is to go to work quietly, and, by personal man-to-man solicitation, to organize regular ward or precinct clubs in one's own town or county. This is the first thing to be done, where no regular Democratic club exists independent of boodling bosses. But, anyhow, get five true and tried workers enlisted and forward their names to headquarters. They will then receive monthly instructions for carrying on and enlarging the work. When a club is already formed, the Volunteer is to build it up by increasing its membership and educating its members, and defeating, as club officers, any man who is known to apologize for the existence of any monopoly whatever. After this try to establish a league of the clubs in the county, city or state, known to be formed on right principles.
In the centuries to come, there will be no prouder title to boast of, no higher family honor, no more distinctive mark of aristocracy, than this record in black and white that one's forefather belonged to the band of patriots who, through four years of persecution and struggle, succeeded in driving from American soil, that last representative of historic tyranny, organized plutocracy.