SOURCE: “William Jennings Bryan,” in Lords of Speech: Portraits of Fifteen American Orators, Willett, Clark & Company, 1937, pp. 215-29.

In the following essay, Jones discusses Bryan's career as an orator.

In July, 1925, Bryan died in his sleep at Dayton, Tennessee, but the music of his voice still haunts our memories. It was my privilege to be acquainted with the Commoner. I heard him speak thirty-two times, and all the way from Los Angeles to Edinburgh, Scotland. On three occasions he spoke for me at Central Christian Church, Detroit. No one will dispute Mr. Bryan's oratorical ability. In some respects his speaking career was unprecedented in our history. There are reasons to believe that he spoke to more people face to face than did any other man on the American platform. This is not incredible when one recalls that he was a presidential candidate three times and that during these...