I have never been one to suffer fools gladly (which is not a comment on WJB), but I’ve always considered that a character flaw, not a sign of my superiority.William Jennings Bryan died on this day in 1925. This is how H.L. Mencken described him: pic.twitter.com/wwtkJUioKo
— Windsor Mann (@WindsorMann) July 26, 2024
Especially in these days of Trump and Vance I see in Mencken a desperation to rise above his social status and be accepted among his “betters” by stepping on the faces of the hoi polloi. I suppose that’s still tacitly admired among the dregs of the British aristocracy (or not; what do I know?), but it’s as thoroughly un-American as any snobbery can be.
common worker certainly covers a multitude of sins. And certainly no "charlatan" or "montebank" or "zany" could have written the Cross of Gold speech. Our Democratic Party could learn much from him todayThank you. That’s exactly what I was thinking of.
Bryan had many faults, but his advocacy for the common worker certainly covers a multitude of sins. And certainly no "charlatan" or "montebank" or "zany" could have written the Cross of Gold speech. Our Democratic Party could learn much from him today:
ReplyDelete"Mr. Carlisle said in 1878 that this was a struggle between the idle holders of idle capital and the struggling masses who produce the wealth and pay the taxes of the country; and my friends, it is simply a question that we shall decide upon which side shall the Democratic Party fight. Upon the side of the idle holders of idle capital, or upon the side of the struggling masses? That is the question that the party must answer first; and then it must be answered by each individual hereafter. The sympathies of the Democratic Party, as described by the platform, are on the side of the struggling masses, who have ever been the foundation of the Democratic Party.
"There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that if you just legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, that their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous their prosperity will find its way up and through every class that rests upon it.
"You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard. I tell you that the great cities rest upon these broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic. But destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country."
**************************************************************
"If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we shall fight them to the uttermost, having behind us the producing masses of the nation and the world. Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."
"Bi-metalism" seems an obscure issue. I think at bottom it was an issue of debt relief for the working poor. And it was arguably failure to resolve that issue that ultimately brought down the Roman Republic.
Bryan of course was defeated in his presidential run. I still remember from high school American History learning that, up and down the Atlantic coast, factory workers received notes with their last paycheck before the election that, if Bryan defeated McKinley, they need not show up at work the next day.