Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-10-02

ANOs ccs
discussion of this matter, but, after all,
poor Ireland is only asking for self-gov-
ernment, for home rule, to make the
laws that govern her family relations
and regulate her domestic affairs.
(Applause. 1t is for manhood, for
self-assertion, for independence; that
is all there is of it. Not independence
of British power, but independence in
their individuality, to regulate their
own domestic concerns. And, my
fellow-citizens, it is one of the anomal-
Gus things in modern politics that any
son of Erin, who looks with an eye of
pity and an eye of sympathy upon the
of that grand Old man elo-
quent, Gladstone, who gave at his last
public utterance prayer of sympathy
and sigh of pity for Irish liberty,
how any of her sons, who look with
and pity upon the struggles of
her people in poverty and hunger,
whose taxes have filled year after year,
the Golfers of the English treasury, can
stand to-day, hand in hand and arm in
arm with the party in this country that
represents the policy toward part of
our people that England does toward
Ireland. lGreat Applause.l And this
is one of the anomalies of our political
how any man who be-
lieves in the wrong of government to
interfere in the local domestic affairs of
the people and their right to regulate
their own local affairs, to stand by
their own manhood and individuality
who believes it is not the province of
the government to interfere with the
habits and tastes OF the citizens, how
such man can be in anywise in league
with the party that believes it all. L
can't understand it.
Now, my fellOw-citizens, find that
my time is passing. desire to say i'm
brief, that the political history of this
country for the last thirty years dem
onstrates the fact that in every contest
and struggle between concentrated
power, monopoly and money on the
one hand and the rights of the people
on the other, the democratic party has
been found marshaled on the side of
the people. [Applause.] Take as an
illustration one instance. Ever since
the foundation Of the government, sill
yer money had been regarded and
esteemed by the American people as
government money. From 1884 to
1873 silver had stood on par with
gold, and no man had ever discredited
dollar of it. Did the people at any
time, my fellow citizens, ever COM
plain to the congress of the United
States that they were tired of silver
and wanted it demonetized? Never.
But in 1872 the bondholders of this
acy to strike down silver in the inter-
est of gold, and man by the name of
Hooper, from Massachusetts, by All
act of surreptitiOn, fraud and deceit
got it incorporated into bill, and that
bill surreptitiously passed through con-
gress, which virtually
STRUCK DOWN SILVER.
The people never asked that this be
done. 1t was the peoples money. Ii
was a matter of vital importance to the
people of the west. The god of nature
had planted it in the bowels OF the
earth and it only needed the hand O
the husbandman to bring it forth fol
use. 1t was a source of wealth to oul
people and it gave employment to thu
laborer and the artisan. 1t was one o
the first acts of the democratic party
when it got control of the lower brancl
of the federal congress, through a bill in
troduced by our fellow citizen ant
representative, Dick Bland, to restore
the old dollar of 4l2 grains. And from
that day to this the gold mongers ant
bondholders of the east have neve
ceased to make war upon the silver dol
lar. And if it were not for the demo
cratic party in congress, which pre-
sents a solid phalanx against it, i
would be stricken down to-day, Ap
plause.
| Furthermore, as you all know; il
the last twenty years, and under re
publican administration OF this govern
ment, the public lands of this country
amounting to S0,000,000 acres in all
more than all the farms put togethe
from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacifi
slope, have been granted to corpora
tions. And although for years it ha
been a public and notorious fact the,
have not complied with the easy term
and conditions on which the grant
were made, they have held on to then
with all the tenacity characteristic o
them. They have held Oh to them ant
against the claims of the honest set
tiers Of this country, and even agains
the claims of the MANNED and wOunde,
soldiers who fought for the countr.
and who cannot make location o.
any of these lands to day. [Great ap
piause. Who was it that raised voic
in congress to inaugurate q measur
for forfeiture of these lands and thei
return to the people? 1t was demo
eractic congress, and they have Tough
for it and stood by it, until to- day thos
ferOciOus beasts have given up thel
prey and millions of public lands ar
being restored to the public domain
for the use of the people. Renewe
applause.
Don't you all get scared. now. ar
not going to discuss the tariff tonight
1t is too hot. AT least it is gettin
right warm up here; don't know no,
you find it there. 1 am like the publ
orator who made a speech once an,
got SO warm that he took off every
thing but his breeches, and in explana
ton said: "When l speak, l sweats.
want, however, to make one oh
servation. During the war, when yo
and l were standing upon the perllou
edge of battle, where life ia lost G
freedom won, there was sharp set {
, politicians who had cold and con
stant eye to business III the congress {
the United States. They passed an
placed upon the statute books tari
founded upon the then existing state c
affairs, which the great publicIsts an
, leaders have year after year since al
mitted to be full of incongruities, di.
ordinations and inequalities agains
public right. They appointed com
mission to inquire into the matter, VIII
made their report that this tariff shoul
be reduced 20 per cent. and yet the
only reduced it per cent. In the na
tional platform of the republican part
at Chicago in 1884, they promised til
, people to enter upon revision of tn
tariff, and yet when the Democrat
party, through Mr.. Morrison, forme
a bill, be it just or unjust, and it wa
offered-and he simply asked that it b
taken up for consideration and debate
and subject to amendment, in the inter
/, ests of revision and TO carry out tn
promises that both parties had made t
the people-when he asked that thi
step be taken in 1884,
NOT REPUBLICAN AIDED 1T
by his vote, and the distinguished gen
tleman representing this district heipe
to vote it down. 1t could not be take
up even for debate. Now, want t
call your attention to the fact that th
| great argument uCa1 NV fhnCa ,,.,t =,