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The phrase "Swollen Fortunes" accurately describes one of the evils that must be met by legislation, because swollen fortunes are largely due to legislation. The term "swollen" when applied to "fortunes" means that the fortunes are abnormally large; that they are unnatural, diseased, and a swollen fortune implies that some possess less than they ought to because a few have collected more than they have earned. When we condemn swollen fortunes we are not attacking honestly acquired fortunes. On the contrary, we are defending legitimate accumulation when we insist that they shall be distinguished from wealth dishonestly acquired and that dishonest accumulations shall be prevented. Swollen fortunes are, in almost every case, traceable to privileges given by the government, or to favoritism shown to a few at the expense of the rest of the population. The cure for swollen fortunes, therefore, is in the restoration of the government to its old foundations, and in the application to all branches of the government of the doctrine of equal rights to all and special privileges to none. There is a divine law reward, and where this law is operated, people enjoy compensation in proportion to their intelligence, their industry and their integrity. It should be the aim of the government to conform to this divine law, and as far as possible, insure to each citizen a return from society proportionate to his contribution to the welfare of society. This is the economic principal which should govern all legislation and then when each has received what he has justly earned, he is prepared to apply the moral principal that those who are strong should voluntarily assist those who are weak; that those who are fortunate should voluntarily share with the unfortunate.

Biography:

A former U.S. representative of Nebraska, Bryan was first nominated for the presidency in 1896, but he lost a bitterly fought contest to Republican William McKinley. In November of 1900, this election match-up was repeated, and again Bryan was defeated in a narrow vote. However, he continued to dominate the Democratic party, and in 1908 he made a third unsuccessful bid for the presidency, this time against Republican William Howard Taft. In 1912, Bryan's support of Woodrow Wilson helped the latter win the presidency, and Bryan was appointed secretary of state. However, because of his antiwar beliefs, Bryan resigned in 1915 rather than support Wilson's official condemnation of the German sinking of the Lusitania. In his later years, Bryan, a Presbyterian, devoted himself to the defense of Christian fundamentalism. He urged measures against teaching evolution, and in 1925 aided the prosecution in the so-called "Scopes Monkey Trial." In the famous case, biology teacher John T. Scopes was accused of teaching Darwinism in violation of Tennessee state law. Although Scopes was convicted, Bryan's literal interpretation of the Bible was subjected to severe ridicule in a searching examination by defense lawyer Clarence Darrow. Five days after the trial ended, William Jennings Bryan died in his sleep.