Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-24
MISPLACED SYMPATHY.
hr- Bryan Says the Treasury Officials Arc in
Touch With Syndicates and Not
the People. 49,.

great corporations, you will understand
why they call me an anarchist. But do
not want to dwell longer on this.
Il want, for a few moments, to call
your attention to the present financial
system and then explain to you what we
desire to substitute in the place of this
financial system. Now the present finan-
cial system is based upon gold. The pres
ent financial system contemplates the re-
tirement of greenbacks and treasury
notes and the substitution of bank paper
for those notes. The present financial
system contemplates the retirement of all
legal tender silver certificates, contem-
plates gold only as the legal tender
money of this country, and bank paper
only as the paper money of the country.
The financial policy under which we now
suffer, therefore, contemplates a condi-
ton in which few men will control the
gold money and the national banks will
control the paper money. and the people
will have nothing to say about it.
Mr.. Carlisle, in a. recent letter, says
that it is the duty of the secretary of the
treasury to redeem silver dollars In gold
whenever 1t becomes necessary to do So
in order to maintain the parity. What
does that mean? 1t means that all this
talk about retiring greenbacks and treas
ury notes Is farce, and when the farce
gives out they intend to start an endless
chain as soon as they get through with
the present endless chain.
I'VE have got to have either one kind of
standard money or two kinds. If we can
not have two kinds then 1t must be one,
and the government must have the right
to use silver dollar If the government
cannot use silver dollar to pay all the
debts that 1t owes then the silver dollar
is not as good as the gold dollar. be-
lieve this government has a right to use
its silver dollars as it uses it's gold dol
lars, but our opponents have gone on
different theory, and they have taxed the
people of this country to pay interest on
$22600O000 in bonds in order to buy gold
on the theory that silver was not as good
as gold.
MY friends, when I see bonds worth
$1.19 sold for $1.04@, and try to describe
what kind of a transa ction 1t was, re-
greet that my parents did NOT teach me
more tongues in which to express my
Ideas. And yet the people who sell for
$1041a bonds worth $1.19 assume that they
are the only people who understand finan
ciering. believe that instead of the Sec
rotary of the treasury getting on his
knees and asking these men to please tell
him what he ought to do that he ought to
stand UP, and, with 100000 of people be-
hind him. tell them what they ought to
do and make them do it. You say that it
is not possible. The great trouble has
been, in my judgment, that our treasury
officials, instead of being in sympathy
with the masses of the people of the
OHltGu otdleS, ffdNe Dctfl III sympathy
with the syndicates and the financiers of
the United States
Our platform declares for the double
standard without discrimination or
charge for mint7ge. Our platform is but
a reitera ton of the main part of the plat
form of 1892 without the steps. 0augh-
ter) We left the steps off because the
candidate did not care to step down this
time. Great applause) Our platform is
not made simply that they may get on,
but it is made to stand on after election.
1 am in favor of free coinage whether we
produce an ounce of silver In this coun-
try or not. 1 am in favor OF the use of
silver, not because we produce 1t, but be-
cause we own 1t. If we need 1T, and If It
is best for us at the present ratio. am in
favor of having 1t, even If to have 1t gives
the people who produce silver chance to
do what they did before the law struck
silver down.
.They tell you that free coinage helps
those who delve in the mine. Admitted.
tell you that when they bring out metal
they pour it into the chanenls of trade
and we are blessed by its discovery. Gap
plause) Who will be helped by the gold
standard? Not those who produce the
metal and pour it into the channels of
trade but those who corner the money or
the world and keep it out of the channels.
(Gpp1ause) But they say there is going
to be an enormous increase in production
That is guess work. You say it is pos
sibility but we do not legislate on pos
sibilities. You tell me there may be a
flood of silver. Tt Is possible but l look
back and l see we have used silver for
six thousand years and never a flood of
silver In all that time. / base our reason
ing upon the past. We judge what may
be by what has been. And yet our
friends forgetting the past or at least
disregarding previous experience tell us
that legislation can have no effect what
ever on the value of silver. Legislation
creates demand. Demand, acting with
the supply, fixes the prices, and whenever
you can create demand greater than
the supply, you can fix the price wherever
you will. We do not want to change the
ratio. 1t Is not because we produce sill
yer that we want 16 to l, but because we
own property and owe debts and we do
not want to make our debts any heavier
by law or wipe out our property by leg
islation. (Applause.) Butt must not de-
tain you longer" (Cries of go on, go
on.')
Mr.. Bryan then went over his favorite
argument of Bismarck and bimetallism,
and said: Shame on the cowardly
American who thinks this nation is not
as big as Bismarck thinks 1t Is. Cap
plause). We say that If this nation can
not have an independent financial system
1t cannot have foreign policy of it's own
some of the policies of the president but,
be it said to the credit of the people of the
west and south, that in spite of their OPP
position to the presidents financial poll
cy they stood by him on the Monroe doc
trine when your coward1y financiers
begged him to submit to anything. Great
applause and cheers).
my friends, the circulation of this
country is today $780, 900 less than it
was two years ago, and republican sue
cess means a further contraction OF the
currency. If you want hard times, the
republican party promises hard times,
because 1t promises the same financial
system. If you want an American finan-
cial system, a system by this nation, re-
CARELESS of what other nations may ask
of them or wish, you have got to get 1t
by defeating the republican platform and
republican ticket. Great applause and
cheers).
When Mr.. Bryan concluded he was
loudly cheered. He presented Senator
Blackburn, asking the audience to listen
to him, and most of those who had heard
the presidential candidate remained
The Meeting at the Rink.
The meeting at the rink was under the
ausr1icaG of the Rrvan laaCt1a Of Yin -e