Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-06-14


, Is never likely to suffer criticism upon
the same score. Applause There,
gentlemen, is the issue. | have begun
a canvass of this state of ours as the
1 opponent of the theories of the gold
advocates, as the earnest, however
humble, advocate of the restoration Of
/ the silver metal to the place that it
held for nearly a hundred years, on
even terms and without discrimina-
ton, with the gold metal Of this land
Attacks Secretary Carlisle's Record.
want here, before going any
farther, to declare that anything / may
say to-day with reference either to the
record of the secretary of the treasury
or to the recent utterances of that
| gentleman, mean to be fair, mean
| to be more than fair, l mean to be gen.
erous, mean to be candid. There was
time when this man stood the friend
of the people. For his honored record
in the past we owe him a debt of graft
tude. have no motive, and could not
be urged or influenced by any motive
| to do that gentleman an injustice. /
have known him long and intimately;
have served in the halls of congress
| with him for sixteen years. My inti-
mate acquaintance and association
with him have resulted only in increas-
ing my admiration for his intellectual
gifts and powers, in strengthening and
deepening the sentiment of personal
attachment that / cherish for him.
| Whatever fame he has achieved, l
stand a willing witness by whom to
prove that he fairly earned it.
| He has stood for years recognized
among the ablest thinkers of our
country; among the best lawyers that
! this continent has grown, among the
soundest statesmen that this genera
ton has given to the service of the
country. l am prepared to testify that
to all this he was honestly and fairly
entitled. l have served there, either
in the house or senate, with this secre-
tary for sixteen consecutive, continu-
Gus years, never dividing upon ques-
tions of political character-always
together, thinking together, acting to-
| gether. voting together and fighting
| together, even upon this silver ques-
| ton, for during all those long years it
was my won't to look to him as one of
the aclknowle iged leaders upon our
side of the same issue over which we
are battling to-day. 1t was he who by
his utterances, leadership, capacity
and recognized power lowered up
among the advocates of the double
standard, among the peoples cham
pions, a pillar of cloud by day and
pillar of fire by night, guiding, shield
| in md Loo 1;Yr h.a 81
trymen from the darkness of condi-
ton of bondage into the open sunlight
of promise. A
If there was a man throughout that
period of sixteen years in either house
of the federal congress that stood pre-
eminent among the friends of the sill
yer metal as its ablest and boldest
champion, it was the one who to-day
appears upon the hustings ia Ken,
tucky's canvass as the avowed enemy
of that metal and the advocate of the
single gold standard. Take his record.
| will not dwell upon that speech in
February, 1873, when he and / were
members of the house together. How
ever he may explain it, whatever por-
ton of it he may contend has been
misconstrued, no matter what course
he takes, that speech of John G. Car
Isle delivered on the 2lst of February,
| 1878, in the house, will go sounding
down the ages as the ablest, the bold
est, the most unanswerable argument
that was ever submitted by mortal
man upon the floors of congress in sup
port of the silver metal If his utter
ances of to-day require answer it is not |
necessary for you or me to make the |
reply; he has himself answered him
self. There is not proposition in the |
speeches delivered by him at Coving-
ton, Memphis or Bowling Green the
error and falsity of which are not
completely shown by his own utter
ance in 1878. If the people of this |
state or country want more COM
plete and crushing answer to his pres
ent arguments than any of us can |
furnish, they can have it in his own |
utterances of seventeen years ago.
But to-day he tells us that that |
speech was nderstood. He says |
it was not intended in advocacy of free |
silver. Let US stop. by way of paren-
thesis here, and inquire what that |
term means-what is free silver? 1t |
does not mean that the silver metal is
to be coined into dollars and scattered |
broadcast through the highways and |
hedges of this country. 1t does not
mean that the silver coin is to be made
free to the American people to help
themselves from the vaults of the fed
eral treasury. That is not free silver.
The free and unlimited coinage of
silver means this: That it is coined |
and minted free, the government max
ing no charge for minting it-that any |
citizen can come with his silver bullion |
| to the minis of this country and hare |
it coined into money and the stamp of
the American eagle put on it without
cost or charge by the government for |
coinage That is free silver and that |
is all II lnns I'LL N, itad |