The San Francisco call., 1896-09-29


try to sweep back the waves of the ocean. Jap
piausel The have interjected into the body
polite foreign financial system, and there
is agitation aud there Will be agitation until
you remove it. [Applause.l Il say foreign
system, because we borrowed it from another
country [sPplausel not only borrowed II, but,
my friends we are anxious to return it to the
land from which we borrowed IL. IGreat ap-
plausel
Ii YOU doubt it let me call your attention to
this fact, that until this campaign no poll tical
party in the United States ever declared the
gold standard good thing. The Kepu bllean
party declares that blmeiallism is Die,
but until the leading nations OF Europe also
desire bimetallism. we must go without II. L
am unwilling to admit that foreign nations
shall determine what kind of financial syS-
TEN we shall have in this country. lApplause.l
We advocate an independent financial policy;
we advocate the adoption OF system by the
American people ior the American people and,
my friends, one of the evidences that we are
right is that our opponents are not wiling 10
openly declare that which they are secretly
seeking to secure. lApplause,l No Republi-
can is willing TO write upon a card and wear
upon his breast that while he is ali American
citizen he does not think this Nation is big
enough to attend to its own business lap
plausel, and that is what the Republlcan plat
form means.
A voice-Where will We be when we get
free silver?
Mr.. Bryan-Are you in favor of gold
standard?
The voice-I am.
Tell me why"
The voice-Because 1 believe it is the
best for the country. Every nation will
accept gold dollar for dollar.
Mr.. Bryan-Why? 1 will tell you. Be-
cause of its value. The reason why our
gold dollar and gold bullion are worth the
same is because the law says you can con-
vert bullion into dollar at tn mint.
The voice-Well, how about silver?
Mr.. Bryan-WheE the laws are SO under
the free coinage OF silver that the holder
of silver bullion can convert his silver
bullion into dollars at the mint that will
fix mint price for silver then, as We have
a mint price for gold now, and silver dol
lars will be worth as much abroad as our
gold dollars. Great applause and cheer
ing Now. my friends, do not object to
have questions asked, because If l am
wrong on this question there is nobody
more anxious to find it out than L am.
Bat if am right and my friend is wrong
hope he will be anxious to get right as
l am. [Great applause. Questions do not
hurt, my friends. We are glad to answer
questions, because there is not question
tnat can be answered by an advocate of
the gold standard that cannot be answered
by advocates of free coinage. Applause
anj cries of "Why don't Mckinley come
out and answer some of themP
A yoice-People here have the impress
sion that when the free coinage of silver
is brought into effect they can take their
silver pots ana coin them into money.
Mr.. Bryan-The gentleman says the
people have the impression that under
free coinage the people can take silver tea
pots and silverware and have it coined
into money. 1t is true that under free
coinage any man can melt up q dol
lar and haif's worth of spoons and
have the silver coined into one dollar and
twenty-nne cents, if you have a man who
is fool enough to do it. Great applause. |
Now, why will people refuse 10 melt up
their silverware? Because it will be worth
more as silverware than it will be worth
in silver dollars under free coinage Zap
plausel, and, my friends, you can depend
upon it that people will not do
things which are going to hurt if
they know it. That is one the
things that you base your reasoning
upon and in that connection / frequently
! have people ask me, Nv Wouldn't it oe pos
sible for man to buy silver Tor fiity-three
cents and have il coined into dollar and
make the differeneeP' Laughter and q
voice, who is going TO sell it?'] The
gentleman asks the question, which shows
he understands 1t. He saws who would
sell il. Now, when you cannot coin silver
you can buy for tifty-three cents the silver
that is in dollar, but when you can have
that silver coined for q dollar then you
cannot find anybody who will sell you
that silver for ffty-three cents. Now, my
friends, if the farmer cannot get money
for what he produces how is ne going to
have the money to buy what other people
have 10 sell? A voice, start up the
mills."l Continuing Mr.. Bryan said:
Suppose you start up the mills; how are you
going to dispose OF the things which the mill
produce unless people can buy the produce of
your mills? While the Republicans are accus-
ing us o. arraying class against class they are
doing more in this campaign TO appeal to class
distinctions and class Interests than was ever
done by any party in the history OF the United
States. [Applause.l Out in my State the Re
pu blicen committee tried TO array the school
teachers againstth people who pay the taxes.
You will see every day letters sent out trying
to array the wege-earner against the farmer.
They tell the man who is drawing a salary
that The free coinage of silver will hurt him
and that hemust look out for MS salary They
have not appealed 10 the people in this eoun-
try and asked them TO consider the interests of
the country.
Look at the applications whi ch are furnished
to railroad men. lAEp.ause.l They ear
nestly requested TO observe their own inter-
es by joining club. and in the application
you will find a statement like this: II am
opposed to free coinage because it would in
jure me as wage-earner." They want those
who join sOund-money clubs 10 assert that
they have an individual personal reason for
antagoniZing free silver, and yet the great
advocates OF the gold standard want you TO
believe that they have no personal interest for
favoring a gold standard. tApplauSel Do
the members of the syndicates winch have
been bleeding the country assert that they
have a pecuniary interest In bleeding the
Government, and therefore they don't want
that right taken away from them?
Do the heads oil the railroads say that they
have any interest in this campaign in trying
to prevent arbitration7 No. Do they assert
that they are in this campaign for blood, be-
cause they want to continue COVE ment by
injunction? Not at all. [Applause. They
want you to believe that they are patriotic
people who lie awake at night wondering how
they can do something for roiiing humanity.
Laughter and applause.l They are not only
trying to array the wage-earner again ST the
farmer but they make special appeal to the
.depositors in the savings banks aid tell you
they don't want free coinage of silver because
it will enable them to pay their depositors in
cheap dollars, and they are afraid that If they
are enabled to do so that they won't have the
moral courage TO do SO. but will pay you in
god dollars.
know a little about the banking business
will know more soon as get my tax dfvi.
dend on the amount had deposited when the
bank Jailed. lLaughter.l We had a cashier OF
that bank who was afraid OF silver and wanted
honest money, and was afraid that the peop pie
would get 50-cent dollars. They would have
been glad 10 get paid in 5o-cent dollars TGreAt
cheering and laughterl Mr.. Blaine IN 1875
said that the dest uction of silver as money
and the establishments OF the gold dollar as the
sole nnit of value rnust have rufnnus aFFaot ~