The herald., 1896-10-29
volved. You can take my property, but
vou cannot take nv SOUL

volved. You can take my property, but
you cannot take my SOUL
I say to you that the Republican plat
form adopted this way is fraud. ZAP
plause.) I say that it was intended as
fraud. (Applause.) That the men
who wrote it wrote it to deceive the peo-
pie and to secure an advantage by de-
ception that they could not obtain in
an open fight, (Applause.
| Continuing Mr.. Bryan said:, That
phrase pledging the Republican party
to promote international bimetallism
was offered as a solace to the Repub-
| licans of the west without any idea that
the Republican party would ever use
any effort to change the gold standard.
| (Applause) Another thing; If a man
comes to you with business PROPOSE
| ton you expect him to be able to point
out to you the advantages Of the plan.
You ask him the details, and if he tells
| you he does not know just how 1t is 60
ing to work you do not have amy con-
f1dence in his plan. If he tells you that
his plan has great merit but that he is
not going to tell you anything about 1t
until you invest your money in the plan
you would not pay any attention to
him. And yet I want you to under
stand that In this campaign the Repub-
| lican party has not elaborated any finan-
cial policy. If the Republican party
knows what is best, why don't they tell
the American people? If the Republican
party has plan which will relieve us
from our present financial condition,
why does not the Republican party sub
NIT that plan to the American people for
their verdict. and If they have no plan
what presumption is it for them to ask
you to trust them first and let them
| find out afterwards? (Great applause
and cheering,) say we are advocating
a sounder financial system than they,
because when you go to construct any
thing, whether it be house or finan-
clal system, you have got to have foun-
dation for it to rest upon. And our op-
ponents are trying to construct COM
mercial fabric resting upon gold when
they cannot find the gold to serve as the
| foundation for the fabric. (Applause.)
You ask them how much gold there is in
| the country. Why, they tell you the
| treasury reports say there Is six hun
dred millions. You ask them where 1t
IS. They tell you so much in the Ma
| tional bank valuts, so much in the treas
ury at Washington. They estimate so
much in state banks and trust compHl-
| les and they will figure up something
more than half of the estimated amount
| in the country, and then you ask them
where is the rest? They tell you that
| it is the invisible supply in the country.
| (Applause.) My friends, you cannot
| build house upon an invisible foun-
| dation; neither can you rear a sound
| financial system upon a foundati tion
which you cannot find. (Aplpause.)
(; You go to your bankers and ask them
where the gold is. Why, they tell you
| that the silver agitation has scared it
out; Gaughter) that gold has gone into
/ hiding because somebody has raised
question as to whether there is enough
gold to furnish foundation. The very
moment you question the quantity of
| gold, gold becomes scarce and proves
Dhat you are right by getting out of
sight. (Applauseand laughter.)
! I propose a different plan. You have
said to foreign creditors that If they
would object to bimetallism that we will
join them in making their mortgages
more valuable and their notes more VAL
liable and their dollars buy more. pro-
pose that the United States shall say that
the mints Of this country shall be open
| to the free and unlimited coinage of sill
yer on equal terms with gold at the
present ratio, and the money coined
] shall be alike legal tender for all debts,
public and private. (Great applause)
And then I propose that we shall say
to our foreign creditors that we intend
! to pay our coin obligation either in
gold or silver. (Applause.) And pro-
pose that we shall say to them: Gen
| tlemen, II you conspire to make the sill
yer dollar worth less than the gold dol
lar we shall pay you in that silver dol
lar (Great applause and cheers.)
| You say that that is reputation. I
deny it. They bought our bonds only
short time ago and they make d differ
ence between coin and gold bonds, charg-
ing for the risk they took, and now let
them have the risk they were paid for.
| 1T requires heroism for man to
stand In the presence of a financial
tyrant and bid him do his worst. (Con-
tinued cheers)
my friends, believe the mercantile
classes have suffered as much by gov
|
Of people, and when preach a deliver
ance Of the common people from the
money changers, I preach deliverance
10 business from the tyranny of the
banks. applause and cheers.) say the
man who loans you money has no right
to influence your vote. ("That is good"
and cheers) I say the man who, be-
| cause he loans you money, attempts
to rob you Of your citizenship, should
be made to feel the penalty by an in
jured people. (Applause.) / know it is
not polite to say anything about finan-
ciers who think so well of themselves.
| Gaughter) But. my friends, if they
do not want to have hard things said OF
them, let them be just and cease to be
| despotic. I want you business men, be-
tween now and election day, to think
! over this proposition:
''If the gold standard is good. why Is
! 1t that those who advocate 1t resort to
deception? Do you have to resort to de-
,ception when you are selling something
|