The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-26
CONVERTED in KANSAS
DENNIS BRYAN WENT THERE FOR
SILVER, NOW Is FOR GOLD.
A Thorough Democrat, but What He
Saw aud Heard In Kansas Made
a Gold Bug of Him.

DeDnlS Bryan. OF SO south meridian
street. a wholesale butcher and stock deal
er. has undergone a change of convictions
on the money question. and the experience
through which he went to give up his free
silver belief and become a stanch sound
money advocate are interesting and in
structive. Mr.. Bryan is a great reader and
thinker. He is a plain man of the people
and accustomed to thinking from the work
ingman's standpoint. During the agitation
of the silver question. prior to the St.
Louis and Chicago conventions, he became
thoroughly convinced in the belief that
free silver was the panacea which the Ma
ton was in need of. He saw the issue of
government bonds to pay the expenses of
the government; he saw the rich grow
richer and the poor poorer. In fact he
saw and appreciated all the events which
have been dwelt upon since by the politi-
cal speakers. He agreed with Teller,
Turpie. Tillman and others that what the
people needed was more money, /. e., a
larger volume of circulating medium, and
came to their conclusion that to get this
it was necessary only to open tile doors
of the minis to the free and unlimited
coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1.
Then came the Chicago convention and
Mr.. Bryan read his namesake's "oration''
which stampeded the convention and nom
mated him. II Mr.. Bryan had any doubts
before about the wisdom of adopting the
free-silver scheme. they were all swept
away then, for he was already warped In
the line of silver and it required only the
Bryan speech at Chicago TO root him flrm-
ly on the silver side. He was "A full
fiedged Popocrat and doubtless could and
would have talked with the best of the
silverites in the Forum if he had passed
that way since the Forum has become
such an eminently respectable place.
But Mr.. Bryan had business in Kansas.
He owns a small ranch in Butler county.
Kansas. and went out to that State during
the latter part OF July TO look after his in
terests; He returned a sound-money man
but TO do all he can TO warn his friends
TO steer clear of the free-coinage heresy.
sas," he said yesterday 10 a Journal re-
porter, and am we'll acquainted In that
section of the State: | thought the people
or Indiana were well informed on political
matters: that they were about the worst
people in the world to talk politics. but
l found they were not TO be compared this
Is a State where the people are more dE-
rectly affected, not only by the campaign
itself, but by the possible results of it.
money question was the chief topic and
1 was also surprised to learn that the
sound-money sentiment was almost unani-
NOUS. Aside from the professional poll
ticians, who support any platform because
It's the platform OF their party. the rsonle
who support the Chicago platform are
looked upon with suspicion. Kansas. as
you are aware, is a State of mortgages.
thousands of farmers there have their
land mortgaged and these farmers form a
class of themselves in considering the
financial question. 1 know them pretty
we'll, and in going around among them /
the silverites of Kansas is well founded.
/ believe as a rule the honest farmer and
ranchman is In favor of sound money and
it is only those who are willing and anx-
ious to swindle their creditors out of half
their indebtedness who are sounding the
silver bugle.
having a very damaging effect. l had a
talk. while at Eldorado, with President
Gardner, of the Farmers and Merchants
loaning from 500, 600 to sl5o.0So every year
70 the cattlemen of Flint Hills alone. This
year he. saiG the bank was refusing all re-
quests Tor loans, no matter what the Sc
curity. In the first place. he said. his bank
could not get the money from the East to
,oah' ana, III IL coulu. Wouiu ne AFRAID 10
loan any until after the election: II could
not afford to take the chance of being paid
in a deprecated currency.
1.-The course OF this bank Is that of all
others in the State. and it's effect will be
the destruction of the cattle interest.
Thousands of head Of cattle are
every summer to be fattened on the
rich grass and made ready for the winter
markets. The owners Of them are men
who are without ready cash. either because
they are poor men or because they have
invested all they have in cattle with the
expectation of borrowing. as usual, to carry
on the expenses of their business until they
market their stock. TIL cattle now are al
most worthless If thrown on the market,
but with money refused them the cattle
men are forced to sell at ruinous prices.
president Gardner said that another
good reason for refusing loans was that if
Ii became evident that the silver craze was
going TO win there would undoubtedly be a
heavy run on the bank. for people who
have money deposited would prefer with
drawing 1t and placing ii in a safety vault
to letting IL lie in the bank and depreciate
to half it's value. To prepare for such an
emergency the bank was all the time call
ing In money and letting it lie idle. to its
own injury and the distress of the people
who need II. He predicted that every bank
in Kansas would be forced to the wall If
Bryan should be elected.
These conditions have made times aw-
fully hard in Kansas. and / have noticed
the same conditions exist here in modified
form. 1t Is enough 70 make a man. who
will stop q moment and think. come to the
conclusion that the quicker the free-silver
deception Is got rid of the better IL will be
for the people. The very thought of it
closes factories. ruins business and throws
thousands of people out of employment.
What extreme the realization of the silver
mans fsnaticism may reach is only to be
surmised. 1t would be terrible. Is IL
strange that i have forsaken the silver be-
lief and am a believer in sound money"
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