Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-07-18
DEMOCRATIC MEETING.
cIuH ORGANIZED.

OQ6 OF Inc laTSeSG duu uOSt culAuSi-
astic public meetings ever held in this
city was that at the Opera House last
night, called to organize q Bryan and
Sewall democratic club. The new First
ward flag was suspended across the rear
of the stage and the Friendship Drum
Corps furnished the music for the occa-
sion. Previous to the meeting salute
was fred from cannon on Windmill
hill, The speeches were all admirable
and were most attentively listened to
and each speaker won deserved ap-
plause.
The meeting was called to order by
Mr.. M. B. Harlow, who stated that its
object was to form Bryan and Sewall
club and to ratify the nominations OF
the Chicago convention. He stated
that the first business was the election
of a president of the club.
Mr.. Harlow and Mr.. F. E. Anderson
were nominated but Mr.. Anderson
gracefully declined and moved that
Mr.. Harlow's election be made unani'
nous, which was done.
Mr.. Harlow then thanked the meet
ing for the compliment. He said be-
fore the Chicago convention met he
possibly was not in accord with the plat.
/ form as adopted there but he was a
1 democrat and would do everything in
his power to secure as large majority
as possible for the democratic party at
the November election.
The following additional officers were
chosen: F. L. Smith. first; Henry
Strauss, second, and J. 81. Strider, third
vice president; w. F. Carne, jr., secre-
tary; r. D. Hassler, assistant secretary,
and J. II. Lunt, treasurer.
1t was then decided to appoint COM
mittee of five to select an executive
communicative from each ward-to
be presented at the next meeting.
Before the meeting adjourned the
chair named Messrs. D. R. Stansbury,
Hubert Snowden, R. T. Cook, ]. A.
Marshall and ]. Nj. Hill as the commit
tee to select the executive committee.
The first speaker introduced was Hon.
E. E. Meredith. Mr.. M. said he had
not come so much to make speech as
to join with his friends in the good work
of organizing the club. He said he saw
| before him an audience of business
men, and leading business man placed
at the head of the club, and he wished
to give the lie to the statement that the
business men of the cities were in op-
position to the democratic ticket and
assured his hearers that nineteen Of
every twenty in the agricultural dis
tricts were with them in their support
of the ticket In speaking of the bolt
ers he said that Mr.. Whitney was not
at the Chicago convention to assist in
nominating ticket but to prevent the
nomination of any man, except he could
be denominated by Wall street. He
then predicted the reconciliation Of
silver; extolled the democratic candi-
dates, saying they were men of charac-
ter and 6rmness who, he believed,
would carry out the provisions of the
platform on which they were nomina-
ted, and said Mr.. Bryan came from old
Virginia stock and could be trusted.
Referring to President Cleveland's veto
of the bimetal bill, the speaker said the
President was an honest but misguided
man, and that he had been deceived by
the friends of gold and had not carried
out the provisions of the platform on
which he had been elected. He spoke
of Mckinley as the man who had pre-
pared the Mckinley bill by which the
taxes on every man had been raised
and that should he be elected he would
be the President of the classes and not
of the masses.
MIR. II. c. Bell, Deputy Commissioner
| of Pensions, was then introduced and
made the most forcible silver speech
ever delivered in this city. He said
the great issue in this campaign was the
money question and that the tariff
would cut but small figure. On the
tariff question four years ago the demo-
Gratis had carried the country by big
majority, but this year on the money
question the democrats would win by
larger majority than when Cleveland
was elected, and that he did not be-
lieve Mckinley would carry ten States.
He thanked God that the West and
South were united on this question and
said Illinois would join Virginia
next fall in rolling up democratic ma
jority and that nothing but death can
keep Bryan out of the White House.
He then entered into an explana-
ton of the gold and silver ques.
tons, told of the bad effects
which the demonstration of silver
had had upon the business interests of
the county. Persistence in gold
Standard" Mr.. Bell asserted, mot only
means the destruction of the democrat
ic party, but the decentralization of the
world. The gold of the world it now
controlled by the bankers of Lom-
bard street, London, and Wall street,
New York" He showed that since
1878 times had grown constantly hard
or and harder, and that wheat, cotton
and other farm products had declined in
proportion to the decline in silver. He
invited any one in the audience to ask
any question concerning the matter,
and said he did not think any one
could defend the gold standard before
an intelligent audience. He ridiculed
the idea of other countries unloading
their silver or their bonds upon this
county, and told how the Englishmen
bought our cheap silver, had it coined
into rupees and bought wheat and cot
ton in India at low price and sold it
in London in competition with Ameri- |
can wheat and cotton, the prices of
which had been lowered by cneapening |
silver. He said with free coinage OF
silver there would be a rising market |
and everything would become prosper
Gus; there would be rise in prices and