The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-08-07
Speech by Thomas B. Reed.

ALFRED, Me-, July 29.-This quaint
county seat was the scene today of tht
opening of the Republican nationa
campaign of 1896. People for mile.
around came to listen to speech by
Thomas B. Reed and congratulate
him upon the fact of his renomi.
nation for congress many people
from near by sections of New Hamp-
shire and Massachusetts,.
| Mr.. Reed addressed the large gather
| ing as follows:
eff l were going to give advice to
the people of the whole United States
| should not take this time to do it.
Just now there is a great deal of froth
and foam in the air, and some time is
really needful disclose clearly to every
eye how much of it is the result of
the temporary breeze which stills at
nightfall, and how little there is of
that heavy ground swell which shows
that great elementry forces are at work
Two months ago no man of any
standing would have risked his reputa-
ton as a prophet by limiting the
slightest doubt of Republican success.
Four years of actual trial of the opposi-
tion under the guidance of its best and
twice-trusted leader, has left no shadow
of fquestion as to the public duty. Two
months have slipped away-hardly
time to ripen strawberry, much less
system of finance-and there are
those who tell us that all things have
changed; that these very men who
were being arrayed for decent burial
had burst the cerements of the grave.
and, trans6gured by some new arrange
ments OF crowns of thorns and crosses
of gold, were to lead us to new happi-
ness and even repair all the damage
they themselves had wrought. Now
this may be 50, but to me it does not
seem probable. Human experience in
every walk of life teaches US that those
men who have blundered will blunder
again, and that the wisest course is
not to employ ship captain who has
not emerged from his last shipwreck,
but the sailor who has never lost
ship, passenger or letter, and has
held safe through every sea. He may
have lost masts and sails and even
been rudderless for hours, but if he
has every time come safe to shore,
better have him than all the landsmen
that are forever shouting what they
can do, and never dare to tell what
they have done. Boosters are worth
nothing. Deeds are facts, and endure
forever and .ever. Talk dies in the
empty air. Better pound of per-
formance than shipload of language.
"Two months ago, as have already
said, everybody conceded the election
Of the Republican ticket What has
happened since then? Have the four
years of history been blotted out? Not
one scrap of it. Is our condition bet
ter? Rather worse. We are all IN
bad way, and something must be done.
Let us see what is proposed by those
gentlemen who within the last two
months have discovered new cure for
| all the ills flesh is heir to, and who pro-
claim, as they did four years ago, shat
they hold prosperity in their grasp.
Their remedy is the coinage OF silver,
| l6 to 1. What does that mean? Here
tofore whenever gold and silver have
stood together it has been at the mar
ket value. When we tried to make
gold and silver circulate together we
have always married them according
/ to their market value. Today we find
them not 16 to /, but 81 to L, and
they are going, they say, to lift silver
TO twice its value, not by the universal
sense of mankind, which alone makes
value, bnt by the statutes of the United
States, single-handed against the civil
| lied world. Why should the United
States do this alone?
/ az won't discuss the question wheth-
or with free coinage silver will rise to
par or not. Very few people claim II
will, and if they did 1 could not believe
them. / was told in 1890 by two OF
the most sincere, as well as the ablest
|, silver men, that the purchase OF 4 ,9UV''
lO0O ounces q month would raise silver
to par. and when We did buy 1t silver
went down like lead. Silver men have
not been good prophets in the past
J What We want is.not more money bu'
more capital-money always comes
with capital. We have money now
more than we can use, lying idle w
have exported large amount OF Il
Money Is the transfer of capital, as
J hayrack and horses are transfer Q
i hav. More hayracks will never caus
t more hay. but more hay Will requ'r
i Al