The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-07-22

ing distinctness the sound of the waves
as they beat upon the lonely shores of
st. Helena.
+ 'Why this change9 All, my freinds,
is not the change evident to any one
who will look at the matter2 It is no
private character, however pure, no
personal popularity, however great,
that can protect from the avenging
wrath of an indignant people the man
who will either declare that he is in
favor of fastening the gold standard
upon this people, or who is willing to
surrender the right of sell-government
and place legislative control in the
hands of foreign potentates and pow
ers.
| CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS.
1--WE 90 forth confident that we shall
win. Why? Because upon the para
mount issue in this campaign there is
not spot OF ground upon which the
enemy will dare to challenge battle.
Why if they tell US that the gold stan
dard is good thing, we point to their
platform and tell them that their plat
form pledges the party to get rid Of a
gold standard and substitute bimetal-
lism. If the gold standard is good
thing, why try to get rid OF it9
II might call your attention to the
fact that some of the very people who
are in this convention today, and who
tell you that we ought to declare in
favor of international bimetallism, and
thereby delare that the gold standard
is wrong and the principle of blmetal-
lism is better-these very people four
months ago were open and avowed ad
vocates of the gold standard, and tell
ing us that we could not legislate two
metals together, even with all the
world.
81 want to suggest this truth, that if
the gold standard is a good thing we
ought to declare in favor of its reten-
ton, and not in favor of abandoning
it, and if the gold standard is bad
thing, why should we wait until some
other nations are willing to help us to
let goS
THE LINE OF BATTLE.
''Here is the line of battle: We care
not upon which issue they force the
fight. We are prepared to meet them
on either issue, or on both. If they
tell us that the gold standard is the
standard of civilization, we reply to
them that this the most enlightened of
all the nations of the earth, has never
declared for gold standard, and both
the parties this year are declaring
against it.
eff the gold standards the standard
of civilization, why, my friends,
should we not have it2 So, if they
come to meet us on that, we can pres
ent the history of our nation. More
than that, we can tell them this that
they will search the pages of history
in vain to find a single instance in
which the common people of any land
have ever declared themselves in favor
of gold standard. They can find
where the holders OF fixed investments
have.
"Mr. Carlisle said in 1878 that this
was struggle between the idle hold.
ers of idle capital and the struggling
masses who produce the wealth and
pay the taxes of the country, and, my
friends, it is simply question that we
shall decide, upon which side shall
the Democratic party fght? Upon the
side of the idle holders of idle capital
or upon the side of the struggling mas
ses2 That is the question that the par
ty must answer first and then it must
be answered by each individual here.
after.
"The sympathies of the Democratic
party, as described by the platform,
are on the side of the struggling mas
ses who have ever been the founda-
ton Of the Democratic party. There
are two ideas of government. There
are those who believe that if you Just
legislate to make the we'll to do pros
porous their prosperity will leak
through on those below. The Demo
cratic idea has been that if you legislate
to make the masses prosperous their
prosperity will find its way up through
every class and rest upon it.
CITIES REST ON PRAIREs.
"You come to US and tell us that the
great cities are in favor of the gold
standard. I tell you that the great
fcities rest upon these broad and fertile
prairies. Burn down your cities and
| leave our farms, and your cities will
spring up again as if by magic; put de-
stroy our farms and the grass will
grow in the streets of every city in this
country.
my friends, we shall declare that
this nation is able to legislate for its
own people on every question, with
OUT waiting for the aid or consent of
any other nation on earth, and upon
that issue we expect to carry every
single State in this union. ! shall not
slander the fair State of Massachusetts,
nor New York by saying that when
its citizens are confronted with the
proposition. Is this nation able to at
tend to its own business?-I will not
SANDER either one by saying that the
people of those States will declare our
helpless impotency as nation to at
tend to our own business.
ISSUE OF 1776 OVER AGAIN.
''It is the issue of 1776 over again.
Our ancestors were the 5000. 900 who
had the courage to declare their politi-
cal independence of every other ma
ton on earth. Shall we, their descen-
dants, when we have grown to 70, 0O0,-
600, declare that we are less indepen
dent than our forefathers? No, my
friends, it will never be the judgment
of this people.
Therefore, we care not upon what
lines the battle is fought. If they say
bimetallism is good, but we cannot