"I will advocate the Democratic principle of tariff reform on every stump in the district," he said, and he carried out his words. It was a herculean labor, for the district was made up of nine counties, and polled a total vote of inore than 72,000.

The old-time politicians took no interest in the battle, as they looked upon it as lost at the outset, and they were more than niggardly in furnishing the sinews of But the younger Democrats were more than zealous, and by their vigorous efforts fully made up for the lack of campaign funds.

war.

Mr. Bryan was then, as now, a comparatively poor man, and his campaign expenses were limited to less than $400. But the greatest interest was aroused, and Mr. Bryan's tour became one long ovation. The Republicans had submitted a prohibition amendment to the State constitution, and the Democrats, in their platform, had declared against prohibition. Lincoln and Omaha, the largest cities in the State, were in the district, and, in them, the Republicans lost heavily on the temperance issue.

A striking feature of the campaign was the challenge issued by the Democratic Committee to Cornell to discuss the issues of the day in joint debate with Mr. Bryan. They did not really expect that Connell would be rashi enough to accept, but hoped to make political capital out of his refusal. Connell, however, flattered by former successes in haranguing helpless juries, accepted the challenge.

Mr. Bryan then showed that he was not only his adversary's superior in oratory, but also his master in matters of fact. Thoroughly familiar with the subjects to be

discussed, he was equipped with statistical and historical information, and was ever ready to meet the points of his opponent on economic as well as political grounds.

From the outset, his advantage was so marked that Connell's friends recommended him to find some excuse to draw out of the contest, but with more persistence than discretion, he refused to hearken to their advice, and when the votes were counted, it was found that he had been snowed under by a majority of nearly 7,000.

A winning so large as this, and accomplished so distinctly upon the issue of tariff-reform, made Mr. Bryan, when the House was organized, an eminently worthy man for recognition in the making up of the Ways and Means Committee, as a representative of the West. Although a new-comer in Congress, he was appointed without protest on the part of any one. The wisdom of Speaker Crisp's judgment was shown when Mr. Bryan made his first speech. It was a brilliant plea for tariffreform, and made the biggest hit of the debate.

The House was in confusion when he began speaking, but, in five minutes, every Democratic leader sat about him, listening intently. The Republicans soon paid the young orator the same compliment, the galleries began to fill up, and the crowd remained until he had finished.

Some of the Republicans sought to take advantage of his inexperience by interrupting him with questions that might have puzzled much older heads. But Mr. Bryan brightened under this friction, and forced one Republican after another into his seat, all of them finding the young Nebraskan more than their match. He argued

his case with a dramatic directness that aroused not only the enthusiasm of the Democrats, but won the applause of the galleries.

LIFE OF ARTHUR SEWALL.

ARTHUR SEWALL, nominee of the Democratic Party for Vice-President, sprang from an old and distinguished family on both sides of the Atlantic. His ancestors came to this country in 1654, and his grandfather, James Sewall, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was settled at York, Maine, and moved thence to Bath, Maine, in 1762, where he purchased the tract of land on which to this day is located the Sewall mansions and shipyards.

William D. Sewall, the father of Arthur, entered upon the business of ship-building at Bath, in 1825, and his shipyards soon became famous the world over for the staunch, fleet and beautifully modeled vessels it turned out. From its first product, the pretty little sail-ship, Diana, launched in 1825, to the exquisitely lined monster, the steel steamer, Dirigo, launched in 1894, the Sewall shiphards have easily led the country in designs for merchantmen, and, at this writing, the Sewall ship-building firm can boast that it owns the largest sailor merchantman afloat.

Arthur Sewall was born in Bath, Me., Nov. 25, 1825. He was liberally educated, and at once entered the shipbuilding business with his father, in the early fifties. This step meant that his future destiny was to be inseparable from the creation and sailing of American ships, for the Sewalls made ships not only for others