Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-10-20
ARMSTEAD ON silver.
The Eloquent ColOred Orator Spoke at
Martins Ferry
Last Night to a Big Audience in the
Rooms Of the Bryan Bi-Metallic
League - An Excellent Speech,
Punctuated With Applause
Throughout.

The Bryan Bimetallc Club hall at
Martins Ferry was crowded to its ut
most capacity last evening by an audi
ence TO hear c. F. Armstead, the noted
colored orator Of Charleston, W. Va,
discuss the money issue, and to say that
the majority, who were free silver adyo-
Gates, were pleased, is putting it mildly
while the sprinkling Of Republicans that
attended were given matters to think
about that will rack their brains for
some time to come.
From the time he began until the close
he held the undivided attention Of the
audience. treating his different SUBJECTS
in a sound. logical and earnest hdnll1I'
which the audience frequently interrupt
ted with wild outburs,s Of applause ana
enthusiasm. -.
The meeting opened shortly before
O'Clock. DR.. J. J. Burton presiding
He introduced the speaker, who was re-
ceived by deafening applause. Mr.
.Arms.ead wasted no time, but got rlght
down TO business, showing up the re-
Gently discovered gold standard men IN
their true light.
q This money issue. said Mr.. Armsleau'
Is q question that is TO be submitted 10
the voters of this country on November
Sd. and as look into your faces l can
see what | have seen in my SIX weeks
of stumping over this county and the
State across the river, that you people
want to do what is right and honest
and are going TO cast your vote Tor Wha'
is right and honest.
God in His infinite goodness has
blessed this great and glorious land OF
ours as he has no other land on the
face of the globe. Looking TO the north
we see the great fields of grain; looking
10 the east we see our wonderful man
ufactories turning out their products;
looking TO the south we see our fields OF
cotton and corn; and looking to the west
we see mountains Of precious metals
and fields of grain. We are the richest
people on the face Of the earth, the most
intelligent In the world; and yet with all
that Natures God has done for us,
ask, Why is il That we are unhappy and
Disconnected? Why is it that Ameri-
can citizens are starving in the midst
OF plenty? These are questions you
voters will have to answer at the polls
with your ballots and unless you an
swer them right then YOU will nave TO
answer them 10 your children.
There are only two men in this great
political contest that you need to think
about. One is William Mckinley. have
nothing against Mr. Mckinley in a gen
eral way, but like all other men, he is
human and is liable to go as,ray, and
now is a time when he has gone astray.
On the other hand you have that great
chieftain, that grand and glorious man.
William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska.
(Cheers)
They offer 70 you Mckinley and the
gold standard, and in answer to that
say we have it now, and you know what
it is. On the other hand, YOU have Of
fered to YOU William Jennings Bryan,
a double money standard and prosperity,
and now it is left for you TO take your
choice.
Here Mr.. ArmS,ead gave narratives
of Biblical history, showing that silver
had always been used as standard
money in the early days. and stepping
from sacred history to the days of Wash
ingtOn. Hamilton and Jefferson. They
found il necessary TO establish a none
tary system and after investigating the
monetary systems they settled on the
Spanish milled dollar and decided that
coin TO be our unit of value and that
was the unit Of value until 1873, and in
that year Congress, for some
reason passed law chang
ing our monetary system. and
want to ask my gold standard
friends that are present that if they can
tell me why that law was passed. I
never found one yet that could. You
ask them why, and they will start off and
tell you this man voted for il. and that
one voted against it. That is how it
was passed, but that is not il, why was
ii passed?
They tell us now that we cannot have
free coinage without asking the consent
of England. I want to ask them if they
asked the consent of England when they
STOP
to analyze that idea of the gold standard
advocates that we have TO have Eng
lands consent? In 1872 three millions Of
people drove Great Britain off this con-
tinent and established monetary sys-
te min defiance Of the British lion. and
now in 1896 cannot we seventy millions of
people do as much as three millions did
over one hundred years ago? Are we cow
ards? Have we not got as much patriot
ism as we had then? CApplause)
They tell us we will have Scent dol
lars. The bullion in a dollar now IS worth
but SO cents and why does it pass for 100
cents? 1t is not backed by gold. There
is nothing behind it. What makes that
Scent dollar pass? Simply because the
government agrees to accept it i'm pay
ment. Now, when the government agrees
to pay Sl29 for all the silver produced.
won't that create a demand for silver just
the same as a demand has been created
for gold? Will that demand for free sill
YER not raise the price of ito I'll stop ten
minutes to let any gold standard advocate
tell me otherwise.
Gold standard mon tell you that hard
times are due TO overproduction. We
never had an oyerproduetion Of anything.
but knaves and fools. Tell me that men
are starving because Of having too much
too eat: tell me why does a man wear six
teen patches on one pair of pants? 1t
surely is not because we have too much
clothing. Tell me why parents take their
clothing and make it over for their chill
dren? II surely is not because we have
too many yards of CAMEO. It is hardly
possible that all this is taking place in