he had not said before—the text is similar to that of a speech he had given the previous week at Crete, Nebraska—but he would give the convention its voice. Bryan began softly, Bryan's opening claimed no personal prestige for himself—but nevertheless placed him as the spokesman for silver. According to Bensel, the self-deprecation helped disarm the delegates. As Bryan was not deemed a major contender for the nomination, even delegates committed to a candidate could cheer him without seeming to betray their allegiance. Bryan then recounted the history of the silver movement; the audience, which had loudly demonstrated its approval of his opening statements, quieted. Throughout the speech, Bryan had the delegates in the palm of his hand; they cheered on cue. The Nebraskan later described the audience as like a trained choir. As he concluded his historical recitation, he reminded the silver delegates that they had come to crown their victory, "not to discuss, not to debate, but to enter up the judgment already rendered by the plain people of this country". Bryan continued with language evoking the Civil War, telling his audience that "in this contest brother has been arrayed against brother, father against son." By then, as he spoke in a sincere tone, his voice sounded clearly and loudly through the hall. He denied, however that the contest was personal; he bore no ill-will towards those who supported the gold standard. However, he stated, facing towards the gold delegates, "when you come before us and tell us that we are about to disturb your business interests, we reply that you have disturbed our business interests by your course." The gold men, during the address, paid close attention and showed their appreciation for Bryan's oratory. Bryan then defended the right of silver supporters to make their argument against opposition from gold men, who were associated with financial interests, especially in the East. Although his statements nominally responded to a point made by Russell, Bryan had thought of the argument the previous evening, and had not used it in earlier speeches. He always regarded it as the best point he made during the speech, and only the ending caused more reaction from his listeners: Through this passage, Bryan maintained the contrast between the common man and the city-dwelling elite. It was clear to listeners as he worked his way through the comparisons that he would refer to the farmer,