Bryan Has No Fears

William Jennings Bryan advocates a Democratic senator’s election in Kentucky, where he is unwelcomed, while declaring his own hopes for presidency.

Frankfort, KY. -- The climax of William J. Bryan’s visit to Frankfort was reached when he spoke to the Democratic members of the legislature behind closed doors, advocating the election of former Governor Beckham as the United States senator, Mr. Bryan said neither Governor Beckham nor anybody else had invited him to Frankfort. He declared he had no fears for himself. He said he was told in the Goebel campaign that he might hurt himself if he came to Kentucky. “I am not afraid of hurting myself when the interests of the Democratic party are at stake,” said Mr. Bryan. “I might be a candidate this year,” he said. “I do not know, Only two delegates have been elected, and they have been instructed for me, but they are not enough to elect me. If what I say here affects my chance of election, it is not a sufficient bribe to keep my mouth closed. I am in the habit of saying what I think.”
He said he had come to Kentucky not for Beckham, but for the Democratic nominee and that if McCreary were the nominee for senator he would be here speaking for McCreary. “I am here,” said he, “because I believe the Democratic ticket has a good chance to be elected this year. I do not know who the Democratic standard bearer may be, but I know that it takes a Democratic senate and house to uphold the president. I do not want to be a president simply to sit in a chair, but to do something for the people.

“Bryan Has No Fears,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed April 24, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/128.