The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-05
Bryan's Proposal to the Lnborer To
Improve His Condition by Cutting
His own Wages.
A YARD-STICK ILLUSTRATION
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE NEW
YORK ORATOR AND BRYAN.
Mr.. Cochran Denies Report He In
Fighting Bryan Account of
Personal Enmity.

On account of the lateness of the hour
Saturday night only a few columns of
Bourke Cockrans great speech at Tomin-
son Hall were published I'm the Journal It
being Impossible to transcribe all the stem
ographic notes in time for the regular edi-
tions of the paper This speech was so well
received and was such magnificent effort
that the remainder of ii is published this
morning After showing how weak are the
arguments of Mr.. Bryan Mr.. Cochran
turned his attention to wages and said:
You will see my friends. upon the spot.
how intimately connected wages are with
the general prosperity of the country. For
instance, l am engaged in the Manufacture
of tables, and a workman produces four
of these tables day; we say they are
worth twenty dollors and his wages are
five dollars day. What he gets IL one
table; he gets one-fourth of his product
Tor his wages. Now, of course, he won't
take the table home with him because IL
would be of no use to him and he could
not give the table to the butcher the baker
the grocer or the landlord. because the
moment he divided II, IL would be robbed
of it's value. So instead of taking the table
he takes its equivalent IN money-five dol
fixed by the number of tables he produces.
If he could produce eight tables instead OF
four. l would be very glad to pay him ten
dollars day; would be glad TO give him
two tables and have eight for myself i'm
stead of giving him one table and having
only three for myself MY profit comes in
paying him the higher wages. and / pay
him high wages because ii is profitable TO
40 It, and hence increased product makes
twice as much demand for the materials
out of which that table is made. Zap
plause) More men must go into the woods
and cut down the trees, more men will be
engaged in transporting the blocks more
men will be engaged in furnishing glue and
nails and tools Thus find that the
number of tables Increases there is ccr-'
responding benefit everywhere the en-
ployer has "A larger return on his capital
M ba 1h ha "A higher
And when every department of labor shows
an increase similar to that shown In the
case of the tables. you have what is called
good times and have abundant production
and that comes from gold. tApplause and
'Amen.)
"A large number of persons, Mr.. Bryan
says, have no, dollars at ALL and would
therefore be glad to get hold of hfty-three
cents | do not know of any man in this
community who is without dollar outside
of the almshouse. / do not believe in the
city Of % da hhere II n totngns b an
unless he be receiving aid from the county
or municipal authorities: and thank God
for ii. Everybody knows we have few
paupers but we have an immense moneyed
class Every man with dollar in his
chasing power of that dollar. Applause.)
Every man who is engaged in every indus
trial enterprise Wnetner H., IN iurnlsfhg sathg INC ne
works upon 1t or manages the enterprise
at the counting house, is deeply interested
in the soundness of the money upon whicn
(Applause.)
BRYAN WILL NOT ANSWER.
And it is against this money against
the integrity of this circulation that Mr.
Bryan avows himself and his whole cam
paign is directed What does he promise
to do for us? You will perceive he never
will answer the question how he intends to
benefit the condition of the workingman.
because he can't He must give one OF
three answers He must either say if he
cheapens the dollar he will raise the price
of commodities and oppress the lab>rer in
the same proportion. If he does -tnat We
are in exactly the same position We are IN
to-day, and this whole agitation would
have been a useless disturbance or the at
mosphere for no other purpose than to
affect the nerves of the large audiences In
df1erent parts of the country. II, on the
modities he must settle with the working
man. IL he will raise wages higher than
the price of commodities he must settle
with the farmer, whose special friend he is
We will leave him to answer that question.
He can take either one OF the horns, and if
he impales himself upon one there Will be
room on the other two for all of his fol-
lowers who will be left after election. tAp-
''But he says he is going to benefit the
farmer. Let us see how he is going TO do
that / have said you cannot raise the
rates Of labor without benefiting the whole
community | Will add to that you cannot
have agricultural prosperity without hav-
ing general prosperity. No spot OF this Re-
pubic can prosper at the expense of an
other. The prosperity of the agricultural
community is of just as much interest to
the citizens of New York as 1t lis to the
farmers themselves; therefore. | would bo
the last 10 countenance any policy that
would opress them or TO oppose any policy
that would benefit them. But when the
gentleman from Nebraska undertakes to
suspend the laws of nature--and they tell
me he is going to change the general con-
ditions which are part of the community
1 must inquire into the method by which
the specific will work and just what its
consequences are likely to be. What does
Populist to confuse expression and to mys-
tify person who attempts to find his way
through. the maze Of his rhetoric. They
speak of value and price as II they meant
the same thing. They do not Point out
to him when he uses them that he is talk
ing nonsense and you will have put 4
period to great deal of his nonsense
HONESTY IN MEASURES.
IF the State of Indiana should change
the yard measure and decree that here
after it should consist of eighteen inches
any man who wanted to buy a suit OF
clothes would buy just twice as many
yards of cloth. but would get tae same
quantity of cloth and pay the same price
for it. Ii you double the yard measure
you would buy half as much and pay the
same price for it. II you reduce the value
of the dollar you must change the price
of articles. but you cannot add one iota to
cording to the gold standard. is 80 and we
have 50-cent dollars. the table will be worth
Sc. but the value won't be any greater;
It's price will be increased. The farmer ex-
pects. under Mr.. Bryan's programme. that
he will have a silver currency 10 pay his
iaborer and that ne viii have a gold cur
rency when he sells his product. This Is
the progra mme which Is placed before you.
Is there any difference between that and
advising the farmer TO go TO market with
n measure that has a false bottom, TO be
cd " ha al An1 a hta "a <an
when he buys? Cbaughter) That. even. IL
not original with Mr. Bryan. .rherr is
nothing original I'm this Populistic l,ro-
gramme. There Is not huckster in Indiana
who has failed in business who. II you
asked him why, would not tell you that
the times were bad. that the conditions
were too difficult and the measures were
all wrong. although II was either incfi-
cheney or dishonesty, Any huckstsr who
fails may give you the advice to use false
measures but no prosperous business man
who has succeeded would give you that
advice. lApplause.) The foundation OF
business prosperity Is honesty tApplsusep
MY friends. ] have passed through
streets here IN Indianapolis tonight which