I said, ”If you do, you will tear the Democratic Party to pieces,“ and a number of them replied, ”To hell with the party if it will not denounce the Klan." So I tell you Senators again that they put Roman Catholic government above everything, above the Democratic Party, and above their country. That is plain talk, but it is the plain truth.

What happened? They proceeded with their fight. In the committee room [former Democratic presidential candidate] William Jennings Bryan—peace to his ashes, God rest his soul—struggled to keep that issue out of the convention. He and his friends defeated [it] in the committee on platform and resolutions, and then they came out on the convention floor with it, and Roman Catholics who are prominent in their partydemanded that the convention put their denunciation in the Democratic platform. Five thousand lawless hoodlums, Roman Catholics from Tammany [the New York City Democratic political organization] stood in the rear of the hall, and when one Roman Catholic official, a Senator, was speaking in favor of denouncing the Klan they cheered him to the echo.

Then, when Mr. Bryan came out to try to prevent this threatened split in the party, to try to calm the element that sought to kill the hope of party success, what did they do? This bunch of Tammanyites hissed him and heckled him, and it was nearly 30 minutes before he could say a word. I, with others, putting our hands up to our mouths in this fashion (illustrating), hollered to them to