The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-20
cocKRANls REPLY TO BRYAN.

iiAeOS All AIduiSOn SQUARE 0druen, the
same place where Mr.. Bryan's was de-
livered- The place itself was decorated
to the utmost that the occasion might
be made as impressive as possible in
order to counteract as much as could
be the effect of the speech of acceptance.
The dispatches state that every man.
woman and child who entered the vast
building was given a small American
flag and leafet containing the words
of the Star Spangled Banner and
America " To this should have been
added gingerbread for the children and
ice cream and soda water for the older
people. 1t would have supplied the sad
lack of mental food they expected from
Mr.. Cochran.
Upon the stage, and surrounding the
speaker of the evening, was distin-
guished company. There was Charles
A. Dana, distinguished for bitterness
and vinegar, noted everywhere as a
kicker from "away back" there was
Roswell P. Flower, famous for once hav-
ing risen above politics and said: Votes
be damned" there was E. L. Godkin.
who delights to praise all things Eng
lish and to condemn all things Ameri-
can; there was Elbridge T. Gerry, ia
nous for his name and millions and his
presidency of the Society for the Pre-
venqion of Cruelty to Children. which
society is a terror to loving mothers
and laughing children; there was John
CaI 4Joa ~
York Life Insurance company, the man
who gives out interviews telling how
free silver would reduce the value of
insurance policies, thereby attempting to
influence voters; there was Wheeler H.
Peckham. nominated by Grover Cleve-
land as an associate justice of the SUI
preme court and rejected by the Senate
of the United States; there was William
c. Whitney, who gave up a pleasure trip
to Europe that he might go to Chicago
and stem the silver tide, in which az
tempt he so signally failed. There were
also there others famed for their wealth
and not for their sympathy with the
people The chairman of the meeting
was worthy of the occasion. III was
simple. He declared it was a time for
plain speaking. Here are some speci-
mems of his plain speaking: The Dem
ocratic standard was supplanted at Chi
cago by the rag of the Populists. which
we firmly refuse to follow to the dis
grace of the nation" THE opening of
the minis to the independent, unlimited
coinage of fiat silver dollars is but an
intermediate stage; the employment of
the government printing presses for the
issue of fiar money is the ultimate aim
of the fusion party" But even if
every state convention in the Union, in
Guiding our own, should declare for the
Chicago candidate, they would lose their
Democratic character
He got no applause, though he was
once greeted with a number of Kisses.
So soon as Mr.. Belmont had goe through
with splitting his venom and whining
his rattle, he introduced Mr.. Cochran.
who forthwith began his reply to Mr..
Bryan. And what a reply! How far
beneath the reputation of the man who
made it. 1t was eloquent in some parts,
logical in none, demagogic in all
He began his reply by saying that the
question is whether the powers of this
government shall be used to protect
honest industry or to tempt the citizens
to dishonesty, and that on this ques-
ton honest men cannot differ. He de-
clared it one of morals and of justice;
one that involves the existence of social
order. In fact, a contest for civilization
itself.
BY this declaration he declares
all men who do not agree with him, on
a question where honest men, do differ,
to be dishonest, a most remarkable
piece of conceit, even for a man of so
much conceit as Bourke Cochran. He
declared that he did not believe that
Mr. Bryan understood the faith he pro-
fessed. Certainly no nan understands
the political faith that Mr. Cochran pro-
fesses, unless it be the worship of
wealth. His Characterization of Mr..
Bryan was itself nothing but lurid rhet-
oric proceeding from his own perfervid
and half-mad brain. 1t is really sur
prising that a man Of his reputation
could have talked so much nonsense.
For a man who pretends to political
acumen and judicial sense could any
thing be more absurd than for Mr..
Cochran to insist, all the way through
his speech, upon calling the Chicago
convention a Populistic convention. and
the platform there adopted Populistic
programme?
Here is what he has to say about
the income tax plank of the Democrat
ic platform:
Yet we have this Populistic conven-
ton. because a Populist measure was
condemned as unconstitutional. pro-
posing not to amend the constitution in
the ordinary way prescribed by that
instrument itself, but proposing to
pack the court, reorganize it Che used
the language Of the platform itself so
that it viii pronounce those laws to
be constitutional which the constitu-
ton Itself condemns: a proposal to
make the courts of law instruments of
lawlessness: to violate that sacred
compact between the states on which
the security of this nation rests; to
profane the temple erected for its pro-
lection by the hands of false priests.
who, though sworn to defend it. will
be appointed to destroy it.
That is the veriest CANNON in the
world. When he uttered those words
he uttered that which he knew to be
false, but he knew that it would tickle
the ears of the milhonaires who listened
to his voluble sop3listry. Will some
of these praters about patriotism, some
Of these devotees to duty, some of
.g,xaS-a ol,er,,hir71 and cara 0fiy,, who 1.-Two