St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-08-29
BILL ARP ON BRYAN.
Sage Of Barlow Predicts Demo-
cratic Succe SIS in November.
Age Is Not Drawbaca-GoId Is So
Scarce That He Fears His
Golden Wedding VIII Be
Taiiure.

politics been in such n tangie as 1t is
now. Never such bitterness and ir-
reconeiIable differences in the press
concerning platform and d candidate.
Some of their utterances are shameful,
intolerant, disgusting. They speak OF
the Chicago platform as born OF an
archy and repudiation and use all the
odious adjectives they can find in the
dictionary. The New York World is es-
pecially bittera gainstboth platform and
candidate, and because it cannot find
blemish in Mr.. Bryan's life or record
tries to belittle him as the boy orator.
When Jobs three aged friends charged
him with self conceit and rebellion
against his Maker a young man listened
and at last Ventured to speak. He
apologized for his youth, but added:
"Great men are not always wise, nor
does old age always understand judg-
ment." The Lord was wroth against
Jobs three friends, but had no word OF
condemnation for Elihu.
don't know how, old these belliger-
ent editors are who denounce Mr.. Bryan
for his youth, but they seem to have
forgotten that Jefferson was only 33
years old when he wrote the declara-
tion of independence. Madison was only
40 when he and Hamilton wrote and
published the Federalist, which is still
said to be the greatest treatise on po-
litical science that has ever appeared in
the world. John Marshall was only 80
when appointed attorney general by
Washington, Patrick Henry was but
30 when he made the speech that first
made him famous, and was 80 when
George Mason said of him. 'sHe is by
far the most powerful speaker / ever
heard. Your passions are no longer
your own when he addresses them. He
is the first man upon this continent, as
well in abilities as public virtues"
James Monroe was sent to congress
when he was but rs years old, and when
he was but % Bancroft says he was the
most conspicuous representative upon
the floor of the house. Henry Clay was
| sent to the United States senate when
| he was 20. John Randolph was leader of
the house in 1900 when he was only 28=
years old.
y
old enough to capture and lead the old
and the young who are SO fortunate as
| to hear him; and Alfred Lewis, of the
! New York Journal, who has heard all
his speeches, says he has never made a
| failure or a mistake; that he is a stu
1 dent of all history and burns the mid
night oil. Every newspaper correspon-
dent at Chicago accord to him extraor-
| dinary abilities and have dared to say SO
even to the disgust of the old stays who
stayed at home.
As to the platform cannot see any
! thing in it that should arouse such de-
nunciation. One platform is for gold
and the other for silver and gol. Great
and good men differ honestly about
that and they have a right to differ.
| The best editorial I have seen from a
gold standard paper was in the Rich
mond Dispatch under the caption of
"Don't Exaggerate" the spirit of
which was ..Don't try to alarm tile peo-
pie with predictions of ruin and panic
and national distress should silver be
restored to its former condition. While
we are fer single gold standard yetwe
cannot predict any such evils. The
transition will come gradually If it
comes at all, and our bankers and COM
mercial men are smart enough to pre-
/ pare for it and let it come by degrees.
! Don't exaggerate the situation"
That is the way to talk and to write.
Let everybody do like my friend Larra-
more, who has all the time been gold
bug, bus says he shall support Bryan
and the platform. / tried, said he, to
keep them from putting that silver
plank in the platform, but they would
do it, and now / am going to stand OIL it
until it breaks down, and then can tell
the boys. .'I told you so.'' And then he
whispered to me: ''And, besides being a
i democrat from. away back, my mother
was a Bryan and her father was from
Culpepper co:inty, in old Virginia, don't
you see" "Of course, of course" said
I, "you are right; you are always
right"
There are bigger things than the cur
4 rency and the country has survived
them. haven't seen ten dollars in gold
surely has ceased to be the common
currency of the country. In two years
more my wife and I are to have a
golden wedding, if we live, and Ia
afraid there won't be enough gold in the
country to make the event respectable.
The bankers keep it all locked up and
out Of sight, except when they have to
ship it to England to pay our gold
coupons. History tells of the time in
this country when coonskins and deer
skins and tobacco were the currency
and the people got a1ong-and there is
still some remains of the continental
money that circulated during the rev
olntionary war, and kept on getting
worse and worse just like our confeder-
ate money did. But we got along finely
with confederate money as long as there
was anything to trade on. The higher
the price of things the more money
: there was to buy with and q man felt
sorter rich with a big roll of 1t in his
81 pocket. even il 1t did take 5000 to buy
q a pair Of cotton cards In times OF
& trouble the people have to get used te
things, you know, and coffee made o1
! parched rye or goobers was better than
s no coffee. It is all in getting used t.
things. Thewar was SO much worse thar
the currency that we didn't complain
8 about the kind of money. Town coiln
ellis and corporations and railroads and
even individuals issued their own shin