The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1896-09-05
At COLUMBUS, OHIO.
Bryan Quotes Washington, that For.
eIgn Influence Is The Most BaHe.
ful Foe Of Republican
Government.

/
| COLUMBUS, O., Sept. 2.-The free
silver campaign in Ohio attained its
/ high water mark in Cleveland Monday
night, but the outpouring Of people to
see and hear the Democratic presidential
candidate at the state capitol last night
was greater in proportion to the size of
the city than that in the northern
metropolis had been. BRYAN had the
state capitol grounds for his forum, and
the memory Of the local politicians CON
| tains no such demonstration as the one
In which he played the star part. In
habitants say that no political attraction
| has ever drawn 50 strongly in Column
| bus. A rooted and flag draped platform
| faced the eastern front of the capitol
| building, and as Mr.. Bryan looked
down from its height. twenty feet above
| the street, he saw the steps and terraces
| packed in solid rows with the gloomy
stone wall for the back ground, while
at the other side Of the stage across the
| lawn of several acres to the street be.
hind, stood regiments of which an aecu-
rate estimate was an impossibility, and
| which careful guess would place at
| 30 900
Mr., Bryan said in the course of his
speech:
We hare entered upon q campaign which
means much to the American people. If our
opponents speak truly wnen they describe what
WILL In their judgement be the effect Of the free
coinage Of silver then the success Of the Chicago
| ticket would certainly be g calamity TO the
country. If. on the other hand, We speak the
truth when we describe 10 you the effect OF the
gold standard continued, the maintenance OF the
gold standard until foreign nations come to our
relief IL Is an evil which cannot be contemplated
By those who love their country. We have be-
gun an unceasing warfare against the gold
standard. The Republican party without de-
elaring the gold standard Ia good thing, has
declared that the gold standard must be main
tainsd. call your attention to the fact that no
party In the history of this country has ever in
a national convention. commended the gold
standard Its effects are so bad that Io party
has dared TO uphold it.
7 desire To Impress upon yonr minds the fact
that the enemy We are fighting in this campaign
ia an enemy which has never gone into an open
battle. The advocates of the gold standard have
never dared TO submit the gold standard to the
erbilrament of the ballot Every step that has
been taken has been taken by stealth aud with
out the approval Of the American people. When
silver was demonetized in 1873 the people had
not discussed II. and persons who were mem bers
| OF Congress and who voted upon the measure
testified that they did not understand that the
bill demonetized silver. When the crime was
discovered AMI the American people attempted
To restore silver to Its ancient place By the side
of gold the opponents OF free coinage forced the
Bland act upon Congress as a compromise and
az soon as the Bland act went into force the enc
mics of free silver proceeded 10 repeal the Bland
act aud left nothing In its place But the silver
sentiment grew until 1890, and In that year the
opponeuts OF free coinhge being afraid of the
passage of a free coinage BILL secured another
compromise, which was known as the Sherman
law.
In the support of that measure Senator sher.
man made speech. aud in the course of that
speech he went on to say that we required more
than a., 010D 90 new money every year TO keep
pace with population aud industry. and he adYo
Gated that measure on the ground that 1t gave to
the people more money and yet. in his reeellee
tons. published only a few months ago, yon will
find that Senator Sherman says that he was in
favor Of the Sherman law simply to prevent free
coinage. and that he was willing To vote for Its
repeal the day after IL was enacted If he could
prevent the substitution Of free coinage. There
you will find the chief-the chief supporter of
the gold standard policy In the United States
supporting bill because 1t gave money to the
American people, and then declaring that he
would have voted for the repeal the very next
day. fApplausel
dThey secured the repeal of the Sherman law
and they pretended that when they got that out
Of the way they would restore silver to Its former
place. There were some who said that the de-
feat Of the Sherman law was to that end and
we had TO secure a way through the rubbish
before we could build up good system: and
there were others who said that If we stood By
free silver We would drive Europe to bimetal
ism. But those who made this argument have
proven that they were not sincere aud their pur-
pose was 10 deceive the American people. TAP
plau.e1 In this campagn every party in its
platform SO far has declared that the principle of
bimetallism Is better than the gold standard,
and yet In spite of these declarations you know
that there Is body Of people in the United
States. who, under cover of friendliness 10 BIZ
metallism, are seeking to fasten gold standard
upon the American people.
We are in favor Of ratio of l6 to !. not
because we produce silver. but because we use
both gold and silver, and need all the gold and
silver to keep the parity between money and
property. We are opposed to the gold standard,
because the gold standard means rising dollar
rising dollar means falling prices; falling
prices mean hard times The party that tries to
make, by raising the value of the dollar, lower
prices for the general products of human labor,
Is the party that legislates stagnatioo upon q
people aud drives men into bankruptcy.
Just word about one phase of this subject
want to caution you against putting your
affairs In the hands of foreign nations. Let me
read to you some thing-I am afraid may offend
some advocate Of the gold standard, but l am
going TO read 1t, even at the risk of offending
him. Let me read you something. and soc If
you can guess who used the language:
Against the insidious wiles of foreign in.
fluence, conjure you, my friends. and believe
me, my fellow citizens, the Jealousy of free
people ought to be constantly awake since
history aud experience prove that foreign in
fluence is one of the most baneful foes Of
Republican government
What anarchist do you suppose wrote THAR
What man do you suppose, desiring TO excite
| Your prejudice against foreigners, used that
| language2 What demagogue, appealing to the
passions OF the people employed those words7
| These words were used 100 years ago, on the
| 18th OF this month. by George Washington.
| when we tell You TO beware Of placing legis-
latiye control of our financial policy in the
| hands OF foreigners they accuse us of trying to
stir up the hostility OF those who live abroad.
| They use all sorts OF abusive names, and yet,
sirs. we have never said, In all this campaign,
1 anythi * moro emphatic than the language used
BY the first president OF the United States, the
| father of the country"