Hot Time in the Old Town - Edward Kohn [66]
Even so, the paper trumpeted its inflated figures as proof of a wave of support for Bryan—and, consequently, for free silver. “Unless all the evidence is misleading,” the paper stated, “the silver sentiment throughout Pennsylvania, in New Jersey, and even in New York, is as intense as in the Western States. It may be that the people of the East have not, until quite recently, caught the enthusiasm upon the silver question. But undoubtedly it is strong in the East.” His New Jersey arrival was depicted as a “Riot of Enthusiasm,” in one headline, a “Maelstrom of Cheering Men and Women” that almost engulfed the candidate. The Journal also said that the police drew their clubs in order to regain control but were restrained by Bryan himself. Whether true or not, it was certainly a wonderful example of the Great Commoner’s common touch.
While the Journal tried to turn the near-riot to Bryan’s advantage, most New York papers used it to criticize the arrangements for Bryan’s visit. The large police presence itself was cause for comment, as well as the lack of organization and of a coherent plan to escort the candidate and his party. Before the train arrived, police officers had lined up behind a rope that stretched across the waiting space of the station. A sergeant for the Jersey police told a Times reporter that they had been ordered to keep the crowd away from the candidate. “All men seemed heartily ashamed of their work,” the Times reported. One policeman supposedly said of Bryan, “I thought he was a man of the people, and here he has called out nearly half the Jersey City force to keep the people from seeing him.” Another likened the protection that might be given to the Prince of Wales or the czar of Russia. After the police had stood along the rope-line for half an hour, they were split into three groups: one to keep a path clear for the train, one to keep a passage clear for the Bryan party once they had alighted, and one to act as bodyguards. Several detectives also mingled with the crowd and arrested two pickpockets, causing some commotion before the crowd returned its focus to Bryan’s imminent arrival.
Unlike the cheering Journal, the other city papers depicted a more subdued greeting for the candidate, although they did acknowledge the enthusiasm of the small crowds. Estimates of the crowd from papers hostile to Bryan ranged from 1,500 down to only a few hundred, while the “regiment” of Jersey City police was estimated to be between seventy and a hundred men. About thirty reporters awaited Bryan’s arrival. Also on hand were vice presidential nominee Arthur Sewall, national chairman James K. Jones, and national treasurer William St. John, at whose house the Bryans would stay. Arriving at about 8:30 PM, Bryan stepped down from the train and turned to help Mrs. Bryan down the steps. She then took Jones’s arm as he escorted her through the crowd. The Times called the crowd’s cheers “feeble” and gave an unflattering description of a travel-weary Bryan: “His face was travel-stained, and he seemed very much fatigued. He looked almost like a sick man and not like an Alexander seeking new worlds to conquer.”
In order to avoid the crowd, the Bryans were conducted to the elevator used for lowering baggage to the ferryboat landing. Yet people simply made a dash down the stairs to the landing and were already awaiting the candidate when he emerged from the elevator. Bryan acknowledged the repeated