The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-30

he wants a higher price for his product.
Applause.) They want the laboring man
is going to hurt. him My friends. 1 would
rather risk the laboring man TO decide what
Is good for him than to leave his interests
in the hands OF his ancient enemies.
And what do the laboring men say? II is
only a little more than a year ago that a
petition was sent TO Congress asking for
the immediate restoration of the free and
unlimited coinage Of gold and silver at the
present legal ratio of 16 to l without wait
nation and II was signed by the leaders
OF every prominent organize ton in the
Snited states; tAppiaussl who can pest
labor organizations in the fights In the past
or the men who in the past have used
their power to defeat the only protection
OF the laboring man. nameiys his organiza-
Now why did these laboring men de-
mdnd the restoration OF silver? Because
they know that when the dollar goes up
property goes down. and they know that
when property Is falling all enterprise IS
retarded and stagnation follows. They
know the gold STANDARD encourages the
boarding OF money instead of the expand
Ing or IL and the development of the re-
sources of the country. and now that this
policy OF boarding is driving thousands and
tens OF thousands and hundreds of thou
sands of workingmen out in the streets,
where they beg for the privilege Of work.
ing for their daily bread. (Applause.) These
workinsmen know that they cannot sep
Tnese laboring men know that there can
be no prosperity in business i'm this coun-
Try unless the farmer is selling what he
produces FOR more than what IL costs him
TO produce IL. tApplause) They know that
a dollar that decreases the number of home
owners and Increases the number of ten
ants lmpoverishes not only the farmer. but
every man who earns his bread by the
sweat or his brow, and they know that the
great toiling masses have got to stand to-
gether. and, If / may use one of the early
JOKES. tney nave got TO hang together or
they will hang separately. (Applause.)
a man saws that no 10 npncca1 20 n
goId standard and is in favor of bimetal-
nsm' out says that foreign aid is neces-
Sary 10 SUPPORT this government. you tell
MIN mat there were lots of good citizens
who thought the same thing i'm 1776. but
tney nave no monument; no monuments
nave ever been erected by which TO re-
member them. (Applauseo Ii they tell
you that they don't want a 53-cent dollar.
ASK them If they ever got any of those
dollars. and If thew have any 10 sell now
for % cents. You tell them that under free
coinage the dollar VIII be the same size
tnat II Is now. the same weight, will have
the same hneness. 1t will be a legal ten
der. better than il is to-day. because, while
the silver dollar to-day is n legal tender,
unless somebody contracts against il the
new silver dollar will be of legal tender
no matter whether any man hereafter tries
to demonetize by law what the, government
calls money. You win tell him that If a
dollar is worth a hundred cents to-day.
because you can nay taxes with II, and
pay debts with IL. and buy property with
NJ how he knows IL is going to be less
when you make II better than Ii is to-day.
(Applause.) If he says that when you melt
that silver dollar down 1t Is worth but 50
cents, you tell him it is because the law
says that If the dollar melts you cannot
nave 1T coined again. but must use it to
say he can take IT to the mint and have 1t
restamped again just as he can take a
IL it melts. (Applause.l II he tells you
that If you melt a silver dollar to-day IL
loses something and then tells you that
because he loves the laboring man, tell
him that. according to present laws. If the
rich man has his golu melted he can have
Ii restamped again. and If the poor man
has silver melted he has got to lose the
difference In the price. tApplause.) If he
to have a right to contract against money
you ask him why a man ought not to be
aroweo c 20 sec asiae 2 penal statute 6y
there be a difference? Why should this
government make one dollar good enough
for ninety-nine men anu then say this is
a particular kind of a dollar that is good
enough for the hundredth man?
THE SPEAKER INTERRUPTED.
My friends. they tell you that the gov
eminent must redeem all its obligations in|
gold. Who said so? No law ever said SO.
No law is upon the statute books to-day
that ever said so. Who said SO? Nobody
but the financiers who made a profit by
forcing that kind of construction upon the
government. tApplause.) They SAY. retire
the greenbacks and substitute bank notes,
and ii you have bank notes isn't the bank
authorized to redeem that note in any kline
Eof legal tender?"
A voice-You cannot pay import duties
with silver.
Mr.. Bryant am speaking now of bank
notes. The bank exercises the right to re-
deem its bank note in greenbacks or in gold
or silver, and during the war did redeem
ways exercise the right to redeem their
own paper in any kind of money. so that
the government. acting for all the people.
of coin in the redemption of it's paper
A. Voice-During the war banks redeemed
with greenbacks simply because gold and
silver was not known at that time. Amt
that right. Mr.. Bryan?
Mr.. Bryan-They could have bought it
probably as the government bought.it, but
they preferred to take the cheaper money
because the law said they could. (Great
applause and cheering)
Nov, my friends, there is Just one other
thought / heard some people say that We
cannot maintain the parity between gold
and silver at the ratio of 16 to 1 by free
coinage. and when asked how they know
they swell up with Importance and tell you
because Mexico has tried 1T and failed.
When you remember that In commercial
er in area, 1 think you will agree with me
that this Nation Is able to do what Mexico
would find 1t impossible 10 accomplish. W.
believe that with 20. GOO, Oo0 Of people. the
most productive people in the worlt. people
consuming more per capita than any people
in the world. with railroad development up>
paralleled anywhere else. I believe that this
country could take and utilize in It's COM
merce more silver than can possibly come
here under the free and unlimited coinage
of silver at 10 to l." (Applause.)
A Voice-How about the tariff?
Mr.. Bryan-What is the use of discussing
the tariff question until we decide whether
the United States has the right to legislate
on any question. Why not submit the tariff
question to international agreement along
with the money question: (Appiause.) My
friends. the tariff question, compared with
the money question Is absolutely insignin-
cant, and you can't force the tariH question
into this campaign when the people are
trying to decide a financial Independence
Of every other nadon on earth. (Appiause.)
wanted to come among you so you could
see what the man whom they call the lead
ing Anarchist looks like before you vote
for him. (Applause.)
HIS IDEA OF GOVERNMENT.
Now. my friends. L am willing TO con-
fess that my idea of government is very
different from the idea of those who call
mo an Anarchist. Their idea of govern-sl
ment is that no matter how much you op- I
pose the power of government the people |
who suffer must keep silent. no matter
how severe their suffering is. (Applause.)
L believe that the government derives its
just powers from the consent or the gov
erned. and from no other source. Instead
of telling you that the Creator made a
great many TO toll and a few to ride on
the backs of those who toll tapplause). l
come to renew your faith in the Declara-
ton of independence. that declares that all
men are created equal (~app4ause); that no
government should either enable or per-
NJ