The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-10-23
BRYAN AN AGITATOR.
HIS EFFORT ALONG THE LINE
is TO STIR UP STRIFE.
Some of His Red Flag ExpressiOns-An
Apostle of Discomfort who Seeks to Ar
ray Glass Against Glass.

Mr. Bryan apparently started out with
the intention Of discussing the coinage
question as a question of pure finance
and craftsmanship. In his Madison
Square Garden speech he said nothing
which could be construed as an appeal to
prejudice. unless perhaps it was his dec
laration that there can be no sympathy
or cooperation between the advocates of
a universal gold standard and the advo-
Gates of bimetalliSm. Between b.metai-
lsln-whether independent or internation-
al-and a gold standard there is an inn
passable gulf The question at issue
in the present campaign is not. as Mr..
Bryan would have the public believe. be-
tween bimetallism and the gold stand
ard; it is between bimetallism and the
silver standard. But when Mr.. Bryan
commenced speaking without notes the
undergone of haired and diSsenSiOn which
characterizes his public utterances be-
gan to be distinctly audible.
By the time that he reached Syracuse
he was in a frame of mind which led
him to assert that men who do not favor
silver recommendation are enemies of
this country. who think they are greater
than the government and can make the
government their instrument for private
gain. the greatest enemies that this coun-
Try has He called them 'plunderers
of the industrial masses. in behalf of the
r.,fi Of nd
Europe
At Erie. Pennsylvania. he acknowledge
ed that he depended more upon an ap-
peal TO the emotions than 20 the intellectS
of his hearers. when he said:
1.-The heart is the place where conduct
is determined. and if You want to find out
where a man is in this fight do not look
at his brain; that would find a reason for
whatever his heart wants to do. Look
at his heart, and find out where his SYM
pathies are. = Show me the sym
pathies of a man and | Will mark out
his conduct. 3" Show me 4 man
whose sympathies are with the idle hold
erS of idle capital, and | will show you a
man who wants as little money as pos
sible. and puts it Oh the ground that he
loves his neighbOr better than himself
Show me a man whose SympathieS are
with the struggling masses. and | will
show you man who will never stand
up for syndicates and consent to let them
control the financial policy OF the United
States
BY the time that he reached Buffalo he
began TO Sneer at his opponents, as, for
instance. in the declaration that when
the Creator made man. he did not use
any superior kind of mud when he made
fnancierS." 1t was here that he said:
Advocates of bimetalliSm The should
have said silver mOnOmetalliSm) are
called demagOgues There has never been
statesman whose heart beat in Sympa-
thy with the struggling masses who has
not been called Il denmgOgue by those
who opposed him. Young man, do you
want 10 know how to keep from being
called demagogue? l will give you
certain method. Get in the employ of
some great corporation. and then call all
the people anarchists. and you will be
statesman among your employers
At LOckpOrt. New York, he became de-
mandatory. and said: ''They have driv-
Ell down the price of your products, they
have increased the burden of your debts.
they have foreclOsed your mortgages.
they are degrading and lowering the
standard of civilization by driving people
who want to work out upon the streets.
and their idleness breeds crime. and
crime menaceS the safety of every citizen
Of the land He expressed the belief
that 1.-The gold standard has made more
misery for the human race than wars
and pestilence and famnes; more misery
than human mind can conceive or hui
man tongue can tell" He began his ap-
peal to the passions of his hearers in the
words: 1.-The PRONUNCIATION of the gold
standard is an attack upon your homes
and upon your firesides. and you have
as much right to resist it as you have TO
resist an army marching to take your
children captive and burn your roof over
your head" Since man has right to
resist an army by force, the only possible
inference is that the friends of silver
monometallism would be justified in a
resort to violence to prevent the continu-
ance of the present monetary system of
the United States.
y
AT Tonawanda he said that ''the Chica-
go platform means that every man shall
be defended in the enjoyment of that
which he earns, but that no man shall bn
permitted to enjoy that which somebody
else has earned and which is taken from
him by vicious legislation" This is 2
palpable threat of spoliation of the rich
The platform" he continued. lis a men
ace to the wrOng-dOer-not the small
wrong-doer only, but also the larger trans
gresSor, who attempts to use the govern
ment as his instrument to wrong Others"
This is an attack upon government and
upon the principle of self-government. If
the platform is a menace what would the
election of Mr.. Bryan be?
At Toledo he gave the workingmen
some very bad and immoral advice in
the words:
Il Will not ask him to anything which
may endanger his position Let him wear
the opposition button if he will. Let him
put his name on their club list if he must
Let him contribute to their fund if no
will. But let him remember there is ono
day in the year when he is his own mas
ter and can use pencil as he pleases T
am willing for you to be Republicans ey-
cry day in the year if you will lust be
democrats on election day | am wjllino
for you to wear gold-bug buttons all tha
rest of the time if. when you enter the
booth. you will remember that the GOLD
standard never conferred a benefit mon
those who toll and that it was never in