The Great Commoner came to Bangor a century ago today and delivered a speech on “The Average Man.” Of course, The Great Commoner approved of The Average Man. By the end of his lecture, he had classified nearly everyone as an average man much to the delight of the average members of his audience.

The Great Commoner was only one of William Jennings Bryan’s many nicknames. He was also known as The Silver-Tongued Orator from the Platte and The Noblest Democrat of Them All. I would call him The Greatest Political Loser in American History, a man destined to be the nation’s conscience rather than its president.

Defeated in his bids for the presidency three times, in 1896, 1900 and 1908, he was a looming figure described by historians as a bridge between the rapacity of the Gilded Age and the reform spirit embodied by Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. Today he is also remembered as the man who prosecuted Darwinism in the Scopes trial just before he died.

His words on one particular issue early in his career, however, ensured his fame: “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” Bryan’s Cross of Gold speech, delivered at the Democratic convention in 1896, earned the two-time congressman from Nebraska the presidential nomination, making him the idol of farmers and debtors who saw the elimination of the gold standard as a cure for their problems.

Critics gave Bryan still other nicknames. One commentator called him “a talking machine” who could “set his mouth in action, and go away and leave it, sure that it will not stop until he returns.” That certainly describes his Bangor stopover. In the six hours he was in the Queen City, he gave at least two speeches, and possibly a third behind closed doors with party chieftains, talking for three or four hours until he had to catch an early morning train.

In April 1907, Bryan was on a whirlwind tour through New England sponsored by the New England Progressive Democratic League. Alderman J. Edward Sullivan of Bangor’s Ward Two Democratic Club had invited him to appear here on the night of April 30. Bryan had been in the Queen City once before about five or six years ago, according to the Bangor newspapers.

Of course, the papers stated, Bryan was not coming to talk politics. He hadn’t even announced he was running for the presidency. Because he was giving a lecture rather than a political oration, his talk would be delivered at the Bangor Opera House rather than the Auditorium for a small fee of 25 cents (which later became a small fee of 50 cents) to defray costs. The Great Commoner didn’t accept free railroad passes. He wasn’t beholden to corporate interests.

The day before his arrival in Bangor, Bryan delivered five addresses in Portland and Brunswick. The next morning, April 30, in Waterville, he addressed the Elks before speaking to the general public at the local opera house. Then he attended a faculty reception at Colby College. At 6:10 p.m. he arrived in Bangor on the train where he was greeted by a cheering crowd. The Bangor Band and a platoon of policemen led the procession to the Bangor House. A delegation of political dignitaries hovered about him.

“Bangor’s streets and hotels took on the appearance of convention time. Here and there groups of battle-scarred veterans of many a fierce political campaign talked over the prospects and plans for the future – always the ‘hopeful democracy,'” noted the Bangor Daily News the next morning. Of course, Maine Democrats bore the most scars, having lost nearly all the elections to Republicans.

The Opera House was packed from “pit to dome” that night. People sat on the stage and stood behind the orchestra and the balcony rails. Most were men although “there was a respectable minority of women who seemed interested,” said the Bangor Daily News. Some came from as far away as Aroostook County. A delegation reputedly numbering 100 arrived from Belfast.

After extolling The Average Man, Bryan addressed some of the political issues of the day mostly centering on The Average Man’s battle against greedy corporations and the government policies that favored them. One issue pertaining to Maine elicited his satirical reproach. State government had reached an agreement with three railroads to return their taxes if they transported troops for free during the next war. “And in order to even this up … I think all the rest of the people should have their taxes released on condition that they would promise to enlist when the war came,” said the Commoner to much laughter.

Bryan spoke from 8:15 to 9:50 p.m. Then he was escorted to the Bangor House where the politicking began again at 10:30 p.m. He managed to give yet another lengthy speech, while eating the repast set before him including tomato soup, oyster patties, lobster salad and ice cream and cake. About 200 party faithful packed the dining room of the Queen City’s finest hotel, including many who had to stand. At 1:20 a.m., The Great Commoner disappeared to catch the train to Albany where his impressive schedule would continue the next day.

On May 2, the Bangor Daily News ran an editorial on the coming election expressing its Republican preferences. Teddy Roosevelt wanted reforms just like The Great Commoner. While Teddy was laboring for these reforms the nation was prospering like never before. “Why swap horses while crossing the stream?” the editorial writer asked. Of course, TR had already said he wasn’t going to run.

Two days later, the paper ran this headline: “WILL TAFT BREAK POLITICAL SILENCE? Secretary of War William Howard Taft, Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor, was going on a lecture tour. In three years he would lecture from the balcony of the Bangor House as President of the United States.

Wayne E. Reilly can be reached at wreilly@bangordailynews.net