The silver lining was there, however, as it always is.  This time it took the rotund form of a preacher from Alabama.  Inzer was his name and his folks and Colonel Roosevelt’s away back five or six generations ago in Georgia had been the same people, so let’s introduce him as Colonel Roosevelt’s cousin.  Chaplain Inzer had been ready to embark at Newport News with his regiment when the Bolsheviki menace grew quite serious in the Pacific northwest and he was ordered to proceed to Seattle and was there during all the stirring times which culminated in making Ole Hanson famous.

It might truthfully be said that the “silver lining” quite properly had a silver tongue.  When he had spoken just about a hundred words even the grouches were holding onto their chairs if they weren’t using their hands for purposes of applause.  And many a man, who thought he’d talked his voice silent dug deep down in his vocal chords and brought forth something that could easily be labeled a cheer!  This preacher told everybody who might have the slightest idea of making trouble just where to get off.  But I am not going to try to remember his speech and perhaps improperly quote the chaplain.  The speech was so good that they made him do it again at the very opening of the caucus the next morning, so I’m going to lead off with it in my story of the proceedings of the last day, just as the stenographers recorded it.

CHAPTER VIII

THE SILVER LINING

Soon after the caucus opened on Saturday morning, May 10, the minutes read as follows: 

THE CHAIRMAN:  “Gentlemen, before we have the report of the Resolutions Committee, I want to say to those who were not of the Executive Committee and in its meeting last night, that there seemed to me to be there a more splendid crystallization of the real purpose of this caucus and a foresight into what it is going to mean, not only to these four millions of men but to the people of the United States for the next half century, than I have ever heard, and at the request of a number of those who were there at that meeting, I am going to ask one of them to interpret to you in just a few minutes, as well as he can, and he did it wonderfully well last night, the spirit that we believed in that meeting is your spirit here to-day and the spirit that is going out from this caucus as a slogan to all American citizens and through them to the world, indicating the purposes for which we fought, and more than that, the purposes for which American manhood stands and for which it will fight again, if necessary, the heritage we will hand down to our children, and I will ask this gentleman to present that thought to you.”

CHAPLAIN W. INZER (of Alabama):  “Gentlemen, I appreciate this opportunity more than I have words to say, and if you will only be as sympathetic with me for these minutes as that Executive Committee was last night, I will do my best to interpret the spirit and the mind of this convention as I see it and as I saw it last night.  I never had a more sympathetic audience, it seemed to me, or a more psychological moment in which to speak than that was last night and I appreciate the spirit of the brethren who asked me to come out and make this talk this morning and I am going to try my best to interpret it as I saw it last night.