The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-08-13

(Applause) There are people today who
believe that this nation is not strong
enough to legislate for our own people,
and there are people who honestly be-
lieve that an attempt to do so would bring
distress and many evils. We may re-
Spect their honesty. but must we enter
into life and death struggle with them
because we assert here that the financial
domination by a foreign power is as dan
gerous to the liberties of the people as
political domination. (Cheers)
But | must not talk. Cries of go on;
yes. you must yes, yes, go on.) | desire
to thank you for the interest you have
shown in the very beginning of this cam
paign. | have no fear that your inter
est will be allowed to die--not a bit
believe that the toiling masses of this
country. those who have achieved and
who must arhieve its greatness. are will
ing to risk their all in their republic and
to them we can appeal in tlhs campaign
with Il confident assurance that when
the vote is counted an enormous ma iOrity
of the American people will declare in
favor of the American system of finances
for the American people administered by
Americans. loud and continued cheer
ing)
At the meeting in the Avenue theater.
Mr. Bryan was introduced to the audi
ence by Joseph Holley, the chairman of
the democratic county committee. as the
next president Of the United States.
Mr.. Bryan was received with great ap-
plause and spoke as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen--I do not con-
slider the enthusiasm which has been
manifested all along the road as of II
personal nature, 1t simply proves that
respect which people feel for those who
n n OF nd
before the people as candidates for those
positions. We are people who love gov
ernmcnt, who recognize its necessity and
stand ready to defend it ut all times.
And no matter how much we may differ
with those who for the time being decide
or execute our laws, we sustain them in
that authority until time can change
them and make them to accord with our
purposes. 1t shows the icapacity of our
people for sclf-government 1t is the
best evidence that we are Il people who
can be trusted on large matters as well
rs to do those things wich are necessary.
| have an abiding faith in the love of
country and in the honest purpose of the
American people to secure that which is
best. We differ very much; we wrangle.
we quarrel, we present our views with all
the ability and all the vigor we have, but
yet when it is all done we bow to the will
Il campaign which will exceed in interest
and intensity any campaign through
which we have passed. | see before me
the faces of young men-yOung men.
who. like myself, have grown up
since the war. We have been
fighting those war questions and too
often the bitterness of century ago has
fingered to cloud our judgment and to
darken or understanding. But we have
,.,1
Il period when all war questions are set
tied between the people face to face with
great industrial problems; when people
come face to face with great economic
questions. Every political question, if it
remains before the public long. can be
based on economic truths, and every
economic question is at least formal
question, Il question of right or wrong
and no question has ever been settled
until il has been settled upon Il basis of
what is right
Thomas Jefferson never said Il truer
thing than that the art of gov
that to discern right from wrong re-
quires not the help of many counselors.
He was right. The great principles of
right and wrong are easily observed and
that is why it is the people are competent
to settle every question that can arise in
a government like ours. And when |
find people who say that this is a great
question, Il complicated question. as they
say the money question is, | find they
conclude by saying they have made
study of complicated questions. laugh
ter) When l see Il person who says il
is too deep for people, | find some one
who says it is just about enough for him.
Applause and laughter.) No question is
too deep for the American people Tap
plause), and the seventy million people
acting as Il great jury must finally de-
eide and they alone can decide every
public question. (Applause.) | read tho
other day in a little pamphlet sent out
by the advocates of gold standard, who
call themselves advocates of sound
money, and it contained this paragraph,
that all of the financiers and capitalists,
the only people who are competent to eX'
press an opinion on the subject. are in
favor of the gold standard. 1t first ap.
peared in an article in the Quorum, writ
ten by distinguished Frenchman and
was then reproduced and scattered over
this country as literature by the advo-
Gates of the gold standard and there
fore we must support it because it ex-
presses their idea, that only capitalists
and financiers are competent to express
an opinion upon this subject. And they
are not slow to express an opinion and
condemn the patriotism of all the rest
of the people, whom they would exclude
from participation in the settlement of
this great question. applause and
laughter)
A voice-But they can't do it.
Mr.. Bryan-No my friends, but each
man, whether he be high or low, rich or
poor. is the best judge of any proposition
bearing upon himself (applause) and he
alone has the right to say how his vote
shall be cast and on which side his in
huence shall be thrown. My friends it
is the principle of the broadest demo-
cracy that these questions must be set
tied by the common people and that this
government has never created a party
class to legislate for others. (Tremen-
dous applause) When | say that no
man can accuse me of attempting to
deny to capital or the fnancier the right
to have his views and to have his opin-
ion and to express that opinion: | simply
deny to him the exclusive right to think
upon these subjects. while deny to him
the right to act for anybody but himself.
Great applause) We stand upon the
doctrine contained in that immortal docu-
ment penned by the greatest constructive
statesman the world has ever seen, the
declaration of independence. (Applause.)
We stand upon the proposition therein
laid down and would apply those propo-
stions to every act of legislation as pro-
posed. That declaration says: ''All men
are created equal" Great applause)