The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-25
LETTERS FROM SILVER MEN.
MIR. DEPEw mas BEEN OVER
WHELMED WITH THEM.
Great COmmOtiOn I'm the West, as
lie Has Cause 20 know.

4
Great COmmOtiOn I'm the West, as
lie Has Cause 10 know.
From tho New York Tribune.
When Chauncey NJ. Depew made an adj
dress in Detroit on May ?. at the dedioa-
ton exercises of the Detroit Chamber Of
Commerce. he did a great service for the
cause Of honest money. Just at that
time the silver sentiment, like a great
wave, was running all over the west Mt.
Depew's speech was startling In its open
defiance of the creed of the siIverites.
Politicians and statesmen in the west. as
well as over the country generally, were
in the main saying nothing. When MT.
Depew reached Detroit, to use his own
words. he found that EVERY man was
blowing his nose on the silver handker-
chief, and wiping his eyes on the silver
lining to the dark cloud OF financial de-
preston" He thought that it was time
to say something, and those who have
read that speech are aware of its blunt
recital of facts and open denunciation OF
the free-silver faUacy.
1t took the west some days to realize
what had really happened. Then 1t he
gan to retaliate. The silver newspapers
were the first TO come back with a reply.
For days Mr.. Depew received by each
mail scores Of newspapers with markell
paragraphs in which his speech was al
| luded to. These newspaper articles, TO
| quote Mr.. Depew again, were remark
ably fertile in ephithet, but barren in ar
/ gument" Mr.. Depew kept track Of them
| as closely as possible. He compiled the
| following list of comments upon his speech,
| which he wrote down:
| 1T is weak, puerile, transparent, fall
lacious, insipid misleading. foolish, igno-
rant, deceptive. l am a talker but no
| thinker, shallow. a reader who does not
digest. i am goldbug, a goldite gold
| nsh, millionaire doctrinaire, the repre-
sentative of a bigoted and bullying section.
| Detroit is not the west, but the center
| OF the gold area and the gold barons.
am lobbyist, a corruptionist and some
| twenty other things. l could stand all
| this with calm fortitude had not a San
| Francisco paper called me a saucer. That
| practically disposed of the newspaper
criticism, but another system of retalia-
| ton has been adopted"
In the last month Mr. Depew has re-
ceived perhaps a thousand letters from
| all parts of the country, in which the
| writer takes him 10 task for the views
| that he has expressed. Mr. Depew reads
! each of these letters carefully, and in
many instances makes a personal reply
He was sorting over a pile Of these let
| tiers recently when seen by a Tribune re-
porter. He said:
| If you think that a man has freedom
| of speech in this country, you are wrong
| These letters disprove that. Look them
| over and see for yourself how much trou-
BILE have got myself into"
The letters were indeed a remarkable
collection, and the following extracts
demonstrate the earnestness OF the writ
ers. One correspondent writing from In
| diana says:
Il have just been reading part OF your
| Detroit speech of the I'D inst In which
| you suggest the establishment of a ma,
| tional chamber of commerce at Wash
| ington, as a kind of kindergarten to in
struct our congressman In their duties
regarding the business of the nation The
| Lord deliver us from all such kindergar-
| tens, If your miserable harangue, and Con-
troller Eckels' vile vaporings at Detroit,
are a sample of the kind of instruction
| likely to prevail in said proposed instruc-
| ton. Fools! Don't you know anything?
| Can't you learn anything? Can't you read
the signs of the times? They are fun Of
| wisdom for those who have a mind 10
| read-and they are marching on. Get
out of the way You blind, self-consti-
| tuted leaders have too long blocked the
| wheels of progress. and turned aside the
nations will! Our congressman are all
/ ready over-instructed by a paid and clam
| orous lobby and host of self-appointed
| advisers, who bore. or bully the life out
| of them, until they forget their constitu-
ents at home and the real needs OF The
| nation. No, sir! You will oblige the peo-
| pie by staying away, unless you have
| something to offer Infinitely better than
what you produced at your dedication at
| Detroit. No doubt you will cast this aside
as unworthy moments consideration
'Straws show which way the wind blows
| This is a straw"
When Mr.. Depew had finished reading
that letter, he said, quizzically: HE urges
me to stay away lest teach wrong doc
trine. The letter does not give me any di-
| rect point on which to reply" Another let
| ter that was strong in phraseology was
written by a Michigan man. He SAYS:
ITO quote Huxley. Il am child on the
! shore of the sea of knowledge, picking up
Shells After reading your Detroit speech
1 feel obliged to write you. AS an American
| citizen, 1 believe that tell the truth when
l say that we all love you, and If you had
! declared, or will declare for silver you will
/ be the next President of the United
| States"
Mr.. Depew said in reply to this: 81 might
say that, taking his assertion for hypo-
thesis, that If 1 were elected President on
a silver platform, should be in a very un-
comfortable position. could not deliver
the goods. do not think any one could
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