Prior to the 1904 Democratic National Convention , Alton Parker , a New York judge and conservative ally of David Hill , was seen as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination . Conservatives feared that Bryan would join with publisher William Randolph Hearst to block Parker 's nomination . Seeking to appease Bryan and other progressives , Hill agreed to a party platform that omitted mention of the gold standard and criticized trusts . Parker won the Democratic nomination , but Roosevelt won the election by the largest popular vote margin since the Civil War . Parker 's crushing defeat vindicated Bryan , who published a post-election edition of '' The Commoner '' that advised its readers : " Do not Compromise with Plutocracy . " Bryan traveled to Europe in 1903 , meeting with figures such as Leo Tolstoy , who shared some of Bryan 's religious and political views . In 1905 , Bryan and his family embarked on a trip around the globe , visiting eighteen countries in Asia and Europe . Bryan funded the trip with public speaking fees and a travelogue that was published on a weekly basis . Bryan was greeted by a large crowd upon his return to the United States in 1906 and was widely seen as the likely 1908 Democratic presidential nominee . Partly due to the efforts of muckraking journalists , voters had become increasingly open to progressive ideas since 1904 . President Roosevelt himself had moved to the left , favoring federal regulation of railroad rates and meatpacking plants . Yet Bryan continued to favor more far-reaching reforms , including federal regulation of banks and securities , protections for union organizers and federal spending on highway construction and education . Bryan also briefly expressed support for the state and federal ownership of railroads in a manner similar to Germany , but backed down from this policy in the face of an intra-party backlash
1904 Democratic National Convention
1904 Democratic National Convention
William Jennings Bryan