SHE'S AN ORATOR AND A SCHOOL BOARD REPORT

Mary Elizabeth Baird Jennings.

Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, July 22, 1896.

SHE'S AN ORATOR, TOO.

INTERESTING WIFE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.

Mr. Bryan's Helpmeet Is a Lawyer and is His Trusted Political Co-worker—They Were College Classmates and Graduated Together.

   Mrs. William J. Bryan, the wife of the Democratic candidate for president, is of rather a different type from the wives of most presidential candidates. She is a quiet, reserved, modest but determined little woman, slight of figure, but erect and graceful.

   She is a woman of ideas. They are advanced ideas too. Some people might call her a new woman, but the term does not exactly fit her in its present and accepted significance.

   Mrs. Bryan is a lawyer.

   She rides a bicycle.

   She is a student of political questions.

   She is something of an orator and possesses not a little of the eloquence of her husband.

   She cares nothing for society.

   She pays little attention to fashions and her dresses are seldom of stylish make.

   She is a devoted wife and the mother of three children.

   These are the striking features of Mrs. Bryan's personality. She was born in Illinois, which is also her husband's native state. Her father, John Baird, was a prosperous merchant of the lively town of Perry. It was there she spent her girlhood. As a mere girl she was studious, and every opportunity was given her to cultivate the unusually fine mind which she gave evidences of possessing.

   And Mary Baird missed none of these opportunities. She attended the common schools in Perry until she was 16 and then she went to Monticello seminary, near Alton. Later she went to Jacksonville, Ills., where she entered the annex of the Illinois college.

   At the very time when she began her studies at Jacksonville, William Jennings Bryan was a freshman in the same college. They became acquainted after a time, and before the end of the course they had become something more than fast friends—there was an understanding between them, but no open engagement until later. Both graduated with high honors, and they were the valedictorians of their respective classes.

   A year later, Mary Baird returned to the college and took a postgraduate course. During this time Mr. Bryan was studying law in the office of the late Lyman Trumbull, who died the other day in Chicago just as his young protégé was being honored by the convention.

   In 1884 they were married and shortly after that removed to Lincoln, Neb., where Mr. Bryan hung out his shingle and his wife began to study law in order to be his helpmeet in the full sense of the term. About a year after their first child was born she was admitted to the bar. She did this because her husband had drifted into politics and she wanted to be competent to handle his law business when necessary. She says that the society women of Lincoln looked upon her as something of a curiosity, but she paid no attention to them.

   When her husband was elected to congress, she went with him to Washington, and there they took rooms in a modest little boarding house near the capitol. She worked as hard as he did to make his congressional career a success. The great tariff speech which made a sensation in the house and boosted the "boy orator of the Platte" into instant fame was almost as much her work as his. Together they labored on its production, and when it was delivered the man who was holding the house spellbound by his eloquence would occasionally look up to a little woman in the gallery, not for encouragement, but for instruction as to whether his delivery should be increased or not. They had arranged a code of signals and coolly planned to take the house by storm. That is the kind of a helpmeet William J. Bryan has.

   Mrs. Bryan's eldest child, Ruth, is a young miss of 11 years. William J., Jr., is 6 years old, and the baby of the family is Grace, who is 5. Mrs. Bryan is very domestic in her tastes, but finds time to be her husband's political confidential adviser and coworker as well as to do some literary work on topics of special interest to herself. She is an enthusiastic organizer of women's clubs and is a member and ex-president of the Lincoln Sorosis. During the coming campaign Mr. and Mrs. Bryan will be in the thick of the fight.

   ANNETTE CRAWFORD.

William Jennings Bryan.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

Bryan the Populist—Bolt Him.

   The belief that has been strong in many Democratic minds ever since the Chicago convention, that William J. Bryan is a Populist instead of a Democrat, is being confirmed by every day's revelations as to the man's character, career, words and antecedents generally. On March 17, 1896, he declared in a speech at Mount Vernon, Ill., "I am not a Democrat," and he told the truth. He had been spouting five silver and coquetting with Populism for two years or more. He had induced the Nebraska Democrats to endorse the Nebraska Populist state ticket in 1894. He was not at that time a Democrat, and he was frank enough to say so. As one of the leading Democratic newspapers puts it:

   "This young Populist, nominated upon a Populist platform, is no more a Democrat now than he was by his own admission last March. Why should any Democrat feel himself bound to vote for a man who was ostentatiously proclaiming four months ago that he was not a Democrat?"

   Nor is this all. Yesterday's dispatches from St. Louis, where the Populists begin holding their war dance to-day, announce that Bryan has sent word that he will  stand on any platform upon which this grand aggregation of cranks may see fit to place him, and that although he has the Democratic nomination "he has trusted the Populists in the past and they must trust him now." The Populist Senator Peffer of Kansas is loud in his praise of Bryan and declares that "the Chicago platform was stolen from the Populists," as well as the Chicago candidate for president. At the Minnesota Populistic "Silver Mass Convention" held a few days since, an admirer of Bryan declared "that W. J. Bryan was the supremest character since Jesus Christ." All this must commend the Boy Orator to Democrats who regard their party as something besides a tail to the Populistic kite.

DODGING DEMOCRATS.

TRYING TO EVADE DISCUSSION OF FREE TRADE THEORIES.

Currency an Offshoot of Tariff Revenue Only—Pressure For Prosperity and Protection—Democracy and Disaster Must Be Destroyed.

   One of the most noticeable things in connection with the present political situation is the unmistakable desire on the part of the members of the Democratic party to get away from the tariff issue in the coming political contest and to fight out the battle on the financial question. That some importance must be attached to the financial and money question generally no one will doubt.

   But Republicans everywhere will do well to note that the importance of that question has been very largely augmented by the action of the members of the free trade party in their frantic desire to get away from the consequences which have naturally resulted from their violent assault upon the industries of the United States.

   It will be remembered that the present free trade and prosperity ruining administration [ref: Grover Cleveland's second term] was scarcely inaugurated before its friends and apologizers began to complain that the disaster and devastation which promptly spread over the country were not the result of the threat of free trade, but were due to the unstable condition of the national finances and the uncertainty respecting the money of the land. Every effort has been made by the friends of the administration to foster that idea among the people, and the penalty has been paid for that folly by the unrest which has prevailed among many of our people concerning the financial question. The disease went beyond the control of the quack doctors of the administration, and they are now being repudiated in the house of their friends.

   But those who have held strictly to the fact that the principal trouble with our country at the present time, and the trouble that has upset industrial prosperity in the country, is the throwing down of the tariff barriers which have stood during Republican administrations between the goods made by foreign labor and those made by the labor of this country find no difficulty in explaining the causes of the present conditions. The hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of foreign manufactured and unmanufactured goods which have entered our markets during the past two years have contributed much to reduce the productive ability of the American workingmen and also, by reducing their wages, lessened their power to consume either domestic or foreign products.

   The tremendous pressure that is being felt all over the country at this time in favor of a return to protection—adequate protection that shall preserve our own markets for our own people—affords abundant evidence that a vast majority of these people of our own country understand what the real difficulty with American industrial conditions is, and also that they are preparing to vote to change those conditions. While it is important that our currency shall be of a sound and stable character, it is of the greatest importance that those who toil shall have opportunities to do so and earn good wages in our currency. The only way to obtain these opportunities and to restore the wage conditions which the workingmen of the country enjoyed before the blight of free trade settled upon the industries of the land is to turn out the whole free trade crowd and restore the policy of protection.

BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Important Meeting of the Commissioners. Complete Transcript of Finances.

   At the regular monthly meeting of the [Cortland] board of education held Monday evening last, much routine business was transacted. President Dickinson presided and Prof. Ferdinand F. Smith, the new superintendent, acted as secretary. It being the last meeting of importance before the opening of the schools, all accounts and bills, as far as possible, were settled and everything put in order for the incoming superintendent.

   Messrs. A. S. Brown and G. J. Mager, a committee appointed to examine the books of the late secretary, presented their report, the publication of which will no doubt be of considerable interest to the taxpayers and to the readers of The STANDARD generally.

REPORT.

   We, the undersigned committee of examination, duly appointed June 1, 1886, do hereby certify that we have examined the book, accounts and vouchers of the retiring secretary, Prof. Charles V. Coon, and find the same correct as per condensed statement following:

RECEIPTS.

   Bal. in bank July 31, 1895, $589.81

   Raised by tax, 11,000.00

   State apportionment, 4,278.77

   Tuition fund, 55.92

   Regents' library fund, 100.00

   Regents' literary fund, 341.89

   Total receipts, $16,306.39

DISBURSEMENTS.

   Paid order No. 600 of last year, $144.06

   Paid library fund, 186.48

   Paid superintendent's salary, 1,300.00

   Paid teachers' salaries, 9,052.00

   Paid janitors' salaries, 1,145.00

   Paid for fuel, 1,060.77

   Paid for repairs, 273.19

   Supplies and incidentals, 1,980.76

   Amount on hand, 1,224.13

   Total disbursements, $16,366.39

   Respectfully submitted for the year ending July 31, 1896.

   A. S. BROWN,

   G. J. MAGER, Com.

   This is a very gratifying report considering what has been accomplished by the board.

   Among the important and necessary repairs and improvements now under way and in contemplation, we may mention the filling in and levelling the grounds of the Schermerhorn-st. school, painting two school buildings, re-seating part of some of the schoolrooms, repairing floors, changing and laying plank walks, etc. The old corps of teachers has been re-engaged and also all the present janitors. We congratulate the new superintendent and the board of commissioners upon the encouraging and bright prospects of our public schools.

Kingman Park.

   Dr. E. O. Kingman's park and bathing houses, corner of Grant and Rickard-sts., are more attractive this year than ever. Dr. Kingman has added to the equipment of the place a high dive, twenty-four feet above the water, and a toboggan slide eighteen feet high and forty-five feet long terminating in the water.

   Bathing suits and bath houses are provided for ladies and gentlemen, and soft drinks, cigars and candy are kept on sale. As soon as the bathing season is over, a number of new boats will be placed on the river. The park is being liberally patronized and furnishes the best facilities for a plunge and a swim on a hot day to be found in this vicinity.

GOOD GAME TO-MORROW.

Cortlands Much Strengthened by New Men and Hard Practice.

   A STANDARD reporter was at the fair grounds to-day to see the practice of the Cortland team. The indications are that, strengthened as it has undoubtedly been since the last game, they can play faster ball than has ever before been put up by a Cortland aggregation. With McGraw at second we have a very snappy infield. Captain Lovelock is confident that he will make all visiting base-runners stick very close to the bags. Welch is playing the right field remarkably well, and all our fielders are showing the effect of recent practice in making a quick return of hard hit balls.

   Lovelock says the new pitcher, Gallaher, has plenty of speed and excellent control of the ball. He has a phenomenal record this year, and the ten innings game he pitched against Cortland allowing only four hits shows that he is a laster [sic].

   Moriarty, who pitched good ball for Cortland in the game against Deposit, will probably represent the Marcellus club. Consequently the same pitchers will be pitted against each other who were in the Deposit game, only they will be on different sides.

   Cortland has not in late years done as much for the national game as her population and reputation warrant, and now that our prospects for doing something in that direction are so fair, the people ought to give the home team a hearty support and good audiences.

Held for the Grand Jury.

   The case of The People against Sarah E. Way, charged with bigamy, was called in Justice Dickinson's court this morning and held open until 2 o'clock this afternoon, when she waived examination and gave bail in the sum of $300 for appearance before the next grand jury.

A New Sluiceway.

   For years the question at the corner of Main and Tompkins-sts. has been what to do with the great amount of water that comes down Tompkins-st. There have been various ways tried of taking it off and none have proved satisfactory. To-day Street Commissioner Stearns is building a new sluiceway under Tompkins and Main-sts. It is built of pine plank and forms a box. It starts at the second door of the postoffice and extends diagonally across Tompkins-st. to the corner of the Squires building. The space for water in this portion of the sluice is three feet wide by six inches high. From the corner near the Squires building a sluice way three feet wide and ten inches high will carry the water across Main-st. The outlet will be on Port Watson-st., where the water can runoff by surface drainage.

   Engineer Landreth laid the grades for this sluice. It is to be hoped that this plan has successfully solved the vexed question.

Notice for Veterans.

   All old soldiers are cordially invited and urged to join Post Grover and J. H. Kellogg Camp, Sons of Veterans, at the Post headquarters on Thursday (to-morrow) morning at 9:30 o'clock sharp and march to the regular trains on the D., L. & W. and Lehigh Valley roads and to the special train which is expected to arrive from Auburn on the L. V. at about 10:30 o'clock to receive and welcome the visiting comrades who come to Cortland to attend the twenty-fifth reunion of the Nineteenth New York Volunteer Infantry and Third New York Light Artillery regiments. In addition to the excursionists from Auburn it is expected that Snyder Post, G. A. R., and Burdick Camp, S. O. V. of Ithaca will send large delegations on the 9:48 train. Members of the Post and Camp who have uniforms are requested to wear them.

   Grover Corps W. R. C. will serve an excellent dinner in the Garrison block.

Dinner tickets 25 cts. All old soldiers should get dinner there on Thursday.

   M. E. Corwin, Commander Grover Post.

BREVITIES.

   —New advertisements to-day are—National bank of Cortland, report, page 5.

   —Mrs. S. P. Bulkley entertains her boarders at the park at tea this evening.

   —The funeral of Mrs. Mary Winter, who died yesterday morning, will be held to-morrow afternoon at 2 o'clock from the home of her daughter, Mrs. J. D. Doran, 134 Clinton-ave.

   —Tickets for the Ancient Order of Hibernian's excursion to the Thousand

Islands are on sale at G. F. Beaudry's, McKinney & Doubleday's, Fred I. Graham's and from any member of the order. Entire cost for round trip $2.75.

   —The funeral of Miss Lizzie Warden, who died of consumption in Syracuse Tuesday morning, will be held in Cortland Thursday morning at 8:30 o'clock at the home of her aunt, Mrs. James Ryan, 161 Railroad-st. Burial will be at Solon.

   —The grounds of the Cayuga County Agricultural and Horticultural society were on Tuesday sold at public auction in foreclosure proceedings. They were bid in for $4,000 subject to a mortgage of $6,500. The Advertiser says the life of the society is nearly ended.

   —Engine No. 5 on the limited vestibule passing through Cortland over the D., L. & W. at 10:22 A. M. has been thoroughly rebuilt with new boiler and circular cab and having all the latest improvements and conveniences. Mr. Henry Tibbetts who is at the throttle is justly proud of it.

   —Band concert and dance at the park to-night. Special round trip tickets will be sold to the park from McGrawville and Homer. These special tickets will be sold until further notice every Wednesday and Saturday evenings. For sale at Atwater & Foster's, Homer and Maricle & Johnson's, McGrawville.

   —To-morrow is the day for the annual reunion of the Nineteenth N. Y. Volunteer Infantry and Third N. Y. Light Artillery. Excursionists will arrive from Auburn on a special train at about 10:30 o'clock. The program of the day has already been published. It is requested that business places in town decorate.

   —The members of Grace Episcopal church will to-morrow entertain their choir with a basket picnic upon Raymond's grounds at Little York. Teams to carry the members of the choir will be in readiness at 9 o'clock A. M. in front of the church. Should the weather be unfavorable the entertainment will occur on the following day, same hour and place.

    —Mr. Samuel Parsons this morning began delivering to subscribers the new directory of Cortland, Homer, Marathon and McGrawville, and will continue to put them in the hands of his patrons just as rapidly as the binder can furnish them to him. The books will all be delivered within a few days and then extra copies will be on sale at the stores of McKinney & Doubleday, and Ament & Brazie.