The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-29
Mr.. BLAND DIDN'T LECTURE.
FREE sILVER's CHAMPION TREAT
ED WITH COLD INDIFFER-
ENCE.


Nobody bought Any Tickets and the
Lecture Did Not Come OG-The eN-
COnEressman Came All the Way
From Missouri just 10 spend
Thanksgiving At the De soto, But
His Thanksgiving Turkey Was All
CrOw-savannah Proves Bad
Starting Point for His Free silver
Lecture Tour.
Hon r. P. Bland of Missouri, did not lee
ture at the theater last night on free sill
yer. The eX-congressman arrived here
yesterday morning. having made the jump
all the way from Springfield, No, 10 Sa-
vannah. He was accompanied by his bus
mess manager, Mr.. f. Y. Mitchell, and
the two gentlemen registered at the De
Soto.
When Mr. Mitchell called at the theater
ticket Office, and looked at the seat dia-
gram, he concluded that Savannahians
were not interested in Mr.. BANDS discus
sion of the financial question. At y o'clock
not single ticket having been sold, Man
ager Coburn advised Mr.. Mitchell that it
would be best to call the lecture off as the
indications were that the audience, if any
at ALL would be so small that it would
hardly pay expenses.
Mr.. Coburn let Mr.. Mitchell down easy
by telling him that so many people had
gone to the exposition or We're out of town
on account of Thanksgiving that ii would
be difficult to get an audience for any sort
of an attraction. Mr.. Mitchell concluded
that Mr.. Coburn was right and the lecture
was called off.
The amount of interest that Savannah
people take in free silver can be judged
from the facts that although Mr.. Bland
is nationally known as the champion of
free silver and his appearance here has
been well advertised not single person
called on him at the hotel and nobody
manifested the least interest in his pres
ence.
This statement may seem unkind TO MIR.
Bland, but the fact is, the people of Sa-
vannah, being all of one mind ON. the
money question and having heard it dis
cussed until they are tired of it, il would
hardly pay even to hear a speaker rep
resenting their own views discuss the
subject, much less one representing the
opposite view, as does Mr.. Bland,
The eX-congresSman was seen at the
De Soto by a Morning News reporter. He
is a pleasant-looking gentleman, appar-
emily 60 years or more of age. lie talked
pleasantly, but did not care to discuss
the subject of his failure to secure an
audience in savannah 10 any extent
When asked as to the character Of his
lecture, he said that he opened by de-
scribing the unsatisfactory financial con-
dition of the country, as he sees it, and
leading up to the free coinage of silver,
which he considers the only remedy for
a bad state of affairs.
You do favor any compromise on the
silver question:" he was asked.
NO" he replied, 81 believe in the free
and unlimited coinage of silver 81 tine
ratio of l6 to l.
Mr.. Bland said the democratic party i'm
all the western states is badly split up on
the question of silver and there is very
little prospect of the two wings getting
1.-THE republicans will get everything at
the next election" he said
Mr.. Bland represented the Eighth Mis-
souri, district in congress for twenty-five
years consecutiVely, and was defeated al
the last election by a republican. He
explained his defeat by saying that it was
due to the financial depression then eX-
listing and the general dissatisfaction
with the conduct of the democratic party
in national affairs.
ell, left last night for Chattanooga, where
eX-COngressman Bland is billed to
lecture tonight. He said he will continue
to lecture until Christmas, which he in
tends to spend at home, and viii then re-
sumo his lectures throughout the south.
Mr. Mitchell said the schedule, which he
had mapped out, includes sixty cities and
towns in the south. Mr.. BANDS coming
so far south as Savannah TO begin his
tour seems to have been a mistake on his
part.