Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-23

when they make public speeches they
| do not say that the democratic party is
| wrong because 1t interferes with their
business. What do they say? They aay:
"Great is Sound money Great is an
honest dollar" (Applause)
l say this platform was not written to
| attract their votes. 1t was written be-
| cause we want to destroy the business
| in which they are engaged. But, my
| friends, If those who have made a profit
| out of the governments financial policy
array themselves against the democratic
| party may we not expect those who be-
| lieve that we are right to come to our
| rescue and fill up the ranks that are be-
| ing depleted by their desertion? (Ap-
| plause) If we must part company with
those who believe in a government of
| syndicates, by syndcates and for syndi-
| Gates, may we not appeal with conf
| dence to those who believe that gov
| ernment of the people, by the people and
| for the people should not perish from the
earth? (Applause)
If these men who pride themselves
upon their prominence in the business
! world and who glory in the title of busi-
ness men are going to make business
out Of politics, are going to use their bal
lots to increase their incomes, beg you
| to consider whether
The Great Toiling Masses
of this nation have not right to make
| d DuSllleSS out OIL pOHliC5 loI OiSC anu
| protect their homes and their families
| from disaster. (Applause) l have not
| been in the state of New York long; l
| have not met many of your people, ana
| yet in the short time that 1 have been
| here l have met enough republicans
| who said that they were going to vote
| our ticket to make up for every demo-
| crat that ever deserted us, and we well
come the coming guests as we speed
those who are parting. Applause)
frfn audi q
question. 1t is a question which you
must consider for yourselves. The gen
tleman who has preceded me has very
properly told you that you were compe-
tent to settle these questions for your
selves. The founders of our government
never conceded that the time would
come when there would be only few
people in this country who were compe-
tent to settle great public questions.
(Applause) If they had they would nave
written In the constitution that on most
questions everybody could vote, Dut on
| the money question only the financlers
could vote. daughter and applause.)
1t is hollow mockery to grant to the
people right in your constitution anu
| then deny them the privilege OF exercls-
| ing it. l assert that the people or the
| United States, those who produce wealth.
as we'll as those who exchange 1t, have
sufficient patriotism and suff1cient lnteill-
| gence to sit in Judgment upon, every
no matter how long our government may
endure. (Applause) 1t requires no ex-
tended experience in the handling OF
money to enable a man to tell right from
wrong. And, more than that, this money
question will not be settled until the
great common people act upon 1t. NO
question is settled until the masses set
tie it. Abraham Lincoln said that the
Lord must have loved the common peo-
pie because
He Made So Many of Them.
He was right about it. There is another
evidence that the Lord made the COM
mon people and made a great many OF
them. 1t is because the common people
are the only people who have ever sup
ported reform that had for its object
the benefit of the human race. do not
mean to say that there have not been
exceptions to the rule do not mean to
say that you have not found among the
ma sses at all times those who were ready
to betray those who toiled for them II
they could see some chance of personal
elevation, nor do l mean to say that those
who have gone beyond the ranks of the
common people are entirely unmindful
of the claims of brotherhood upon them,
but what / say is that, as a general rule,
the common people here and everywhere
have been the support and the only sup
port, of every measure of reform. Now
you have a right to take this question,
examine 1t and form your own opinion,
ana the DallOt Is given u yUu III Oidet
that you may express your own opinion /
when you come to vote and not be re-
quested to accept some one elses opinion.
And am going to call your attention to
a few things for you to consider when
you are trying to make up your mind
what you ought to do. Now our opinions
are all divided as to the policy which
should be pursued. You take the gold
standard democrats Some of them say
they ought to come out openly and in
dorse the republican caddate so as to
be sure to elect him, and others say no,
that would be dangerous because unless
we have a candidate of our own why
there would be a great many democrats
who would be foolish enough to vote the
democratic ticket of the common people.
Gaughter) And there they are divided.
They all want the same object; they all
want to elect "a republican candidate be-
cause their democracy Is better exempli-
fled through republicanism. Naughter)
But a say, they are divided as to the
means of getting at 1t, and think that
they can elect a republican candidate
better by having candidate of their
own to
than they can by openly supporting the
republican ticket. Not only are they di-
vided there but they are also divided all
the way through when they come to ar
gument. Why, some of them Will start
out to show that the gold standard is
has gone on "a while showing what great
thing the gold standard Is, then another
speaker comes along and he says that 1t
Is a mistake to say that the gold stand
ard Is good; the gold standard really Is
not good. What we want is bimetallism,
but we cannot have 1t until somebody
helps us. Oaughter)
Now those two arguments are not con-
sistent. If the gold standard Is a good
thing, why should they want bimetal-
lism? And yet, If. they ever have two
men making speeches the same night the |
chances are 16 to Qaughter) that one of |
them will praise the gold standard as |
good thing while the other will tell you |
how anxious they are to get rid of 1t. |
Well. then, they come to details of the |
argument. One man says the reason |
why he does not want free coinage Is |
that he does not think that the govern |
ment should pass law that will enable |
the silver miner to take so cents worth Of |
silver bullion and convert 1t into 100 |
cents and make the difference, and he |
will get red in the face and become in |
dignant at the idea that the government |
che aff fn emma individual L