The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1896-08-21
THE WEEKLY OHIO DEMOCRAT FRIDAY AUGUST 2 1896

HOMtNtI BtI0t BtloObdl pup
ularlty, however great. that can pro-
ltect from the avepglng wrath Of an in
dlgnant people the man who will neither
declare that he H. In favor of foistng
the gold stnndard upon she people or
who Is willing to surrender the right Of
se,f government and place legislative
control In the hands Of foreign poten-
tates and power. (Cheers).
we go forth confident tnat we shall
win. Why? Because upon the para
mount issue In this campaign there is
not SPOT ~ ground upon Which the
enemy dares TO challenge battle why,
If they tell us that the gold standard p
good thing, we point to their platform
and tell them that their platform
pledges the party to get rid Of a golI
standard and substitute bi-metallsm.
(Applause.) If the gold standard Is
good thing why try to get rid of It,?
daughter and continued applluse)
And l might call your attention to tn,
fact that some of the very people who
are in this convention today and who
tell you that we ought 20 declare In ia
vor OF International bl-metallsm, and
thereby declare that the gold standard
Is wrong and that the principle of BIZ
metallsm Is better, these very people
four months ago were open and avowed
advocatse of the gold standard and tell
Ing us that we could not legisla!e two
metals together even with all the world
Qeenewed applause ana cheers)
/ want to suggest this truth, that II
the gold standard is n good ehing we
ough. to declare in favor of its rsten-
tlon and no: in flv5r of abandoning
IT. and If the gold standard Is n bad
thing, why should we wait until some
other ratlons are willing to help us to
le: go? tAppllsse). Here Is She line
of battle. We care not UPON which is
SUE they may force the fight. We arc
prepared TO meet them on either issue
or on both, IL thsy tel us that the gold
standard is 4he 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, ana both the parties this year
are declaring against it. (Appl2use).
If the gold standard is the standard
of civilization, why, my friends, should
we not have 1t? SO IL they come to
meet us on that, we cam present the
history of our nation. More than that
we can tell thls-that they win 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 the god standard
Applause). They can find where the
holders of fixed investments have. Mr..
Carlisle said In 1873 that this was a
struggle between the idle holders of
idle capital and the struggling masses
who produce the weaLh and pay the
taxes of the country, and my friends
1t is simply a question that we shall
decide-upon which side shall the Dem
ocratlc party fight? Upon the side o.
the Idle holders of idie capital, or upon
the side of the struggling masses?
That Is the question that the party
must answer first, and then ii must be
answered by each individual hereafter.
The syppathies of the Democratic
party, as described by the platform,
are on the side of the struggling masses
who have ever been the foundat'o on os
the Democratic party. (Applhuse.l
There are two idsas of government
There are those who believe that If
you Just leglslate to make the well-tp-
do prosperous. their prosperity wifi
leak through on those below. The
Democratic idea has been that If you
legislate to make the masses prosper
Gus, their prosperity VIII find its way
up and through every class and rest
upon it. (Applause)
You come to us and tell us that the
great cities are in favor of the gold
standard. l tell you that the great
cities rest upon these broad and fertile
praries. Burn down your cities and
leave our farms and your cit es win
spring up again as If by magic. But de-
stroy our farms and the grass will grow
in the streets of every city in this coun-
try. (Applause.)
My friends, we shall declare that this
nation Is able to leg slate for it's own
people on every question, without wait
Ing for the aid or consent of any other
nation on earth (applause), and upon
that issue we expect to carry every
single state ip the Union. (Applause)
] shall not slander the fair state of
Massachusetts, nor the state of New
York, by saying that when is citizens
are confronted with the proposition, L.
this nation able to attend to it's own
will not SANDER either one
by saying that the people of these states
will declare our helpless impotency az
q nation to attend to our own bus ness
1t Is the issue of 177G over again. Our
ancestors, when 100000, had the cour-
age to declare their political indepeEd-
ence of every other nation upon earth
Shall we, their desc endants, when we
have grown to 7O.0O0,O00, declare that we
are less Independent than our forefath-
ers? No my friends, 1t will never be tn
judgment OF rtne people therefore we
care not upon what lines the battle Is
fought. If they sag bl-matallsm is good
but we can not have 1t till some nation
helps us, we reply that Instead of hav-
Ing a gold standard because England
has, we shall restore bl metallism. and
then let England have bi-metalllsm be-
cause the United States has, (Applause.)
If they dare to come out, and In the
open defend the gold standard as
good thing. we shall fight them to the
uttermost having behind us the pro-
ducing masses of this nation and the
world. Having behind us the CONNER
col interests and the laboring interests
and all the tolling masses, we shall an
swer their demands for a gold standard
by saying TO them you shall not press
down upon the brow Of labor this crown
Of thorns. You shall not cruelty man
kind upon cross Of gold. (Great ap'
plause)