The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1893-08-18
"s,LveR DICK"
Remarks of Mr.. Bland In Opening the Sill
yer Debate in Congress.

Yesterday after Mr.. Raynor, of Mary
land, had spoken in favor of the uncon-
ditional repeal of the Sherman law and
against free coinage, ne was replied to
| by Mr.. Bland lMo.) substantially as
! follows:
Mr.. Bland, rising to open for the
free coinage side of the question. eN-
pressed his regret that d number of
gentlemen, of whom the speaker who
had just sat down was one of the most
capab bic, had seen fit to cha nge their
position upon this question, to a bandon
large portion of the voters who had
aided in giving them the seats they
occupied to turn their faces to the
| east and backs to the west. AS
to the declarations in the democratic
platform, it was the understand
ing that the free coinage silver neces-
sarily meant the repeal of the Sher-
man law, the two being so antagon-
istic that they could not exist at the
same time. But, he went on, 1--WE are
met now with the suggestion that we
legisiate by piecemeal-repeal the Sher-
man law and take our chances of secur-
ing anything in its place, which shall
meet the pledge of the platform to coin
both silver and gold-and this is be-
cause panic is upon us. The voting
masses of the country may become
panic stricken on election day; and If
they do, I'm afraid that those, like the
gentleman from Indiana, will feel the
force of that panic"
Mr. Bland sketched briefly the his
tory of financial legislation in recent
PEARS and asserted that the same cry OF
''Going to a silver basis" had been
raised against the bill of 1878, with
which his name had been connected.
Upon the question of ratio Mr.. Bland
argued in favor of 16 to 1. He said that
if the United States would maintain
the parity of gold and silver on that
ratio the world would buy American
products. This country had the prop
erty to sell and should induce purchas-
ers to come. France maintained gold
and silver at a parity on the ratio of
1514 to for seventy years because she
had property to sell.
The money requirements of the
United States with the vast wealth, in
dustry and energy OF its people were
equal to those of England. France and
Germany combined, and that the
whole civilized world would have to
look to this country for its future
monetary supply.
s'And yet" he said. with vehemence,
1--WE are asked here to-day to lay the
bloody hand of confscation on millions
~ ;ef,,
greed of England. VIII congress do it?
Will you trample down the interests of
your own people and destroy the value
of one of the precious metals, simply to
crafty the greed of Wall street, mere
agent of Lombard street? 1t can not,
it shall not, be done. Applause.
Speaking for the mass of the peo-
pie of the Mississippi valley, and of the
people west OF it, l say you shall not
do it. Renewed applause.
And anybody or any party that
undertakes to do it will, in Gods name,
be trampled-as it ought to be-in the
dust of condemnation now and in the
future. Continued applause on the
floor and in the galleries.
II speak as democrat, but yet as
an American above democracy.
Cheers.
I've do not intend that any party
shall survive, if we can help it, that will
lay its confsca ting hand on America
in the interest of England or of Eu-
rope. That may be strong language,
but in speaking to you of the eastern
democracy, we will bid you farewell
when you do it. [Applausel. Now
you can take your choice of
sustaining America against En-
gland, of sustaining American
industries and American laborers
against English industries and English
laborers, or of our going apart. We
have come to the parting way. l do
not pretend to speak of anybody but
myself and my constituents, but l be-
lieve that l can speak for the masses of
the great Mississippi valley when say
that we will not submit to the domina-
ton of any however much we love
democracy if it lays its sacriicial
hands upon silver and wounds it in this
country.
For myself, l will not support such
a party here or elsewhere: but will de-
nounce it as un-democratic and un-
American, and the democrats engaged
in it will ask the people of the coun-
try to condemn as the agents and tools
no. will withdraw that epithet-as
the representatives of the moneyed
power and moneyed interests instead
as of representatives of the American
people.
You cannot hold the democratic
party together on that line" APP
plause.
In closing his argument (which, he
said. was entirely without preparation
before) Mr.. Bland declared that the
time had come to decide whether or not
the country was to go to bimetallism.
He thought it the duty of the house
Especially of his democratic associates)
to settle the money question and to set
tie it at once on democratic lines
1t would not do to demonetize silver
and then to undertake to restore it