The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-06
SPEECH AT NIGHT.
Ex-Governor Peek Gets on a Joke in
Introducing Bryan.

Introducing Bryan
The meeting at Schlitz Park this evening,
which was addressed by Mr.. Bryan, so far
as numbers and enthusiasm were con-
cerned, was a great success. Mr.. Bryan
was announced to begin his address at 8
O'Clock, and long before that hour the gal
leries of the theater and the large audito-
rum were filed, with thousands OF people
unable to gain admission to the hail. The
stage contained large number of ladies
and distinguished citizens. Mr.. Bryan was
introduced by Ex-Governor Peck of Wis
consin, as William j. Bryan, at present
of Nebraska, but later of Washington, d.
c." and was extended very warm ova-
ton. When silence was restored Mr.. Bry-
spoke follows:
Since the public officer is. elected to car
you shall know first for what policies does
a candidate stand, and second. will he
carry out those policies if elected? l be-
lieve in the platform not because / stand
upon i'll believe in it because it presents
the doctrines which / believed in before
they were written in that platform. Great
applause.) And | have reasons for the
faith which is in me. 1t is true of every
platform that it embraces a large number
or subjects, because a all times govern
ment covers various questions, but it is
also true that in an election there is gem
orally one issue which rises above all other
issues and which, more than any other
or all others, engrosseS the thoughts of
the people and of the party. The citizen
takes the paramount issue in any cam
paign, the thing which he thinks more i'm
portant than other issues, and by that par
amount issue he determines his allegiance.
In this campaign we have suffered some
assertions. Why? Because our platform,
departing from what has sometimes been
emphatic on the leading questions. Gap
plause) 1t is easy to hold all the members
of the party together if your platform
means nothing and people are willing to
submit to platforms which may mean any
thing or nothing according to construc-
tions; but whenever party takes firm
position on any great question it must ex-
pect that those who do not believe with
the party will feel justified in leaving the
else an expression of their ideas. l say it
must be expected
But. my friends we have reached a
time when decided action was necessary.
This money question which to-day over
shadows all other questions has been
thrust upon the American people not SO
much by the advocates of free coinage as
by the opponents of free coinage. (Ap-
plause.) What has brought it to the atten-
ton of the American people? AS soon as
the last campaign closed the moneyed in
terests of this country made a combined
man law. They demanded the repeal of
the purchasing clause of the Sherman law
and they based their attack upon the plat
form of the Democratic party of 1892; but
instead of attacking that platform a
whole they picked out a part of a sentence
and insisted upon enforcing a part of the
platform while ignoring the rest of the
platform. (Applause)
"A MAkESHIFT."
1.-THE Democratic party denounced the
Sherman law as a makeshift. What is a
makeshift? Why, it is a temporary ex-
pedient 1t is a thing used until some bet
ter thing can be secured, and the very
plank in the platform that declared in ia
vor of the repeal of the makeshift asserted
that we held to the use of gold and silver
49, 49,
not that only, but the platform added that
the gold and silver be coined without dis
elimination against either metal or charge
for coming. (ApDlause.) There were GER
tain qualifying words which followed hut
those qualifying words d1d not destroy the
declaration of the Democratic party for
terms, and yet the moneyed interests Of
this country combined to attack the Sher-
man law and to secure its repeal and leay-
ing in its place to furnish the money the
people need nothing. fhey said that the
gold was going abroad and that if they re-
pealed the Sherman law gold would stop
going abroad. After a struggle that has
seldom been equaled they succeeded in re-
pealing the Sherman law without condition
and then what? Did gold stop going
abroad? No; gold went abroad faster than
before; and then what? Then they began
nish it to those who wanted to send it
abroad or who wanted to put it away in
for the issue of bonds. (Applause.) They
issued fifty million dollars of bonds and
then fifty million dollars more of bonds,
and then the administration entered into
what was known as the Rothschild con-
tract.
My friends, let me dwell just one mo-
ment upon that contract. call your at
tention to the fact that while that con-
tract was made by a Democratic admin
ing members OF the Republican party. Cap
plause) And more than that. the Repub-
not de noun ~ or erese that Rotheeh id
contract. Why? Because the men who
wrote the Republican platform have al
ways justified the Presidents conduct.
Now, L want to say to you that in my
humble judgment that contract was the
most infamous one that. was ever entered
contract, at an enormous price, employed
certain ffnanciers in New York and London
and protect. Do you know what it
means when you employ man to protect
good will you confess that if you do not
purchase it you will not get it. Gap
plause.) And when you buy it at a high
price you admit that his good will is very
valuable to you.
Il want yoa to remember, my friends.
that if this Nation is dependent upon the
good will of one banking firm in New York
and one banking firm in London, the very
moment you confess it you put it in the
power of those two firms to charge what
ever they please for their good will to-
wards this government. (Applause.) And
L am not willing to admit that this govern
ment exists by sufferance. Applause) l
am not willing to admit that we have
reached an extremity where it becomes
necessary for us to purchase the good will
of any syndicate foreign or domestic
More than that. [ assert that the more
than seventy millions of people. in their
majesty and strength, have a government
or should have a government, which cam
not only live without the aid of these SYM
dicates, but can live in spite of anything
that these syndicates may do. (Contin-
ued appiause9 / am not surprised that
members of that syndicate are opposed to
the Democratic party. tApplause) | am
rot surprised at all because the Demo-
cratic party believes that this country can
get along without them: and more than
that, the Democratic party believes that
II they imagine that they can iniure this
government and dare try it, 1 say the
Democratic party believes that they ought
TO be treated ike any other conspirator.
Continued apDiause)
CICERO.S ADVICE.
Cicero once said to his son; Don't so
into the retail business. (Applause) The
retail business is a small and vulgar bust
ness. Go into the wholesale business; that
is a respectable business Laughter.) My
friends. this doctrine seems to be applied
to these who would injure the government
Ii a man attempts to do the government a
small injury he is a contemplate man who
ought % be punished, but If he attempts to
do tha government a great injury he goes