The Portland daily press., 1896-09-04

to 10 ok into the faces Of the Republicans
Of Portland. We in New York have be-
come accustomed to look upop.Maine
az a political Mecca and wait for her
bugle note. Many of US have for many
years been looking to Maine for presi-
Dental candidate and some of us propose
to keep looking, although we NAV rob
the first district of its able and brainy
T representative. (Applause)
1t Is necessary to have political nsrties
in this country. We of tie Republican
party believe We represent progress.
When any thing is to be done, the Repub-
licans are called on to do the job. (Ap-
plauss.) The Democratic party is sup
posed to be conservative We think some
times that 1t stops the wheels of progress
too much. can understand how a man
can be o Democrat; but never could
understand how man could be Popo-
orat (Laughter.) There must be- insan-
ity In the family. (Laughter.)
Mr.. Payne after describing George Fred
Williams as Mugwump, said that a
mugwump Ia something that is educated
beyond it's capacity. (Cheers.) In the
53rd Congress George Fred was for the
gold standard. But I remember him
more for the pathway he wore from his
seat to the seat of the Republican lead
er, Tom Reed of Maine. CHEERS. In
1899 we were marching on the broad
highway of progress. In the previous ten
years we had made suoh.progress as the
sun had never before shone on. But the
people. like Israel Of old, had waved
faS and kicked. They wanted a change.
Some of them had been short of change
for some time. (Laughter.) They got the
change. And with it came such an OBJ
jeot lesson that we do not have to say
much about the tariff this campaign.
But the very people who prescribed
their free trade dose with such bad re-
suits, como forward unblushingly now
and offer new remedy, sort of an old
woman's remedy, the free coinage of sill
YER. 81
Now money In simply tho measure of
value, whereby com modities are more
easily exchanged. II is necessary that
money, like the yard stick, should be un-
changing. So the civilized nations. have
been looking around for the best stand
ard. You cann0t make q man rich by
QUITTING his dollar in two and giving him
two whore he has one now. Y on might
as well try 20 mako six-foot person
twelve feet tall by halving the yard stick.
But they say that after silver was
stricken down in 1873, gold appreciated.
and prices were driven down. But how
does 1t happen that prices did not begin
to fall seriously until after 1899. And
from 1865 to 1873 prices fell more tn an
they have in all the years since? And
this being SO, how can Ii be that the act
of 1878 had anything to do with the fall
of prices?
Prices Of commodities had fallen in re-
Spouse to inventions, extended produo-
Il on, etc.
A greater and better measure of the
value of gold was human labor. This Is
the great product, and measured in wages
gold fell in value from 1850 to 1891.
The fathers Of the governments never
thought of regulating the ratio Of gold
and silver at any other than the market
ratio. Jefferson, whom Bryan was al
ways referring to but never quoting. ex-
pressly advised that the legal ratio be
fixed at the market ratio.
Mr.. Payne then described the use of
gold and silver down to 1878. The act of
1873 was not the real demon etization of
silver. They simply erected the grave
stone over what had been done In 1857
Senator Stewart was one of thoss who
passed the act of 1878. He said then that
the only real dollar was the gold dollar.
He has changed his mind since he has
owned silver mines. daughter
But silver was not stricken down by
the act of 1873. Since that time the world
has coined over two Thousand million
dollars of silver, while in all the years
before 1873. only 1900 millions were
coined. Yet in spite Of this extensive
recent coinage of silver, the metal has
steadily gone down. This is because OF
the great production, which has tremen.
dously increased.
1t was said that the United States was
strong enough alone to raise the price of
silver. B ut the United States could not
buysthe whole world andspay cash. Gap
plause.) II our mints were open to silver
we should become the dumping ground
Of the worlds silver. Solid silver dishes
are now sold for dollar Il n ounce. Open
our mints to silver at S1.29 an ounce,
and all the tea pots of the world would
come to the mint for sale at profit.
Why give such advantages to the mine
owners? If there was any free honey
to bespassed around we all wanted to be
in 1t. If enhanced value was to be given
to anything, let it be given to some
things that we all can get. The silver
product of the nation is only 86 million,
while the hens' egg product is 100 m H.
lions. Why not stamp hens eggs and let
them circulate. (Laughter.)
According to Mr.. Bryan 10 took all the
civilized nations in 1878 to strike down
the value of silver so per cent How in
the mama of comman sense can ua glove