The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1896-10-02
DEMOCRACY!
The People Came to Hear "Our
Bob"
More Enthusiasm and the Biggest
Political Gathering Seen Here
in Ten Years.
Gov. Taylor in Fine Voice and Full of
Fire-Free Silver was His Slogan.
Bryan's Name Enthusiast
oally Applauded.

for him. He made one of the great
est campaign speeches that a Maury
County audience ever heard. And
more than that, Maury County had
prepared herself to hear him. She
turned out Ell masse. From the hills
and wales, from the hooks and cor
ners of the county they came. The
different portions OF the county We'd
with each other in bringing out the
greatest demonstration, but Spring
Hill and Culleoka showed the most
activity. Their uniformed horse
men showed up to great advantage
| in the procession.
Gov. Taylor arrived on the 10:37
train Wednesday morning, and an
escort of 300 horsemen headed by a
brass band and the Columbia Light
Infantry were ready to receive him.
The long procession moved from the
depot down High street to Seventh,
then down Seventh to the Public
Square, and from there to South
Side Park, where the speaking was
to take place. The town was full of
people, and when the procession
headed its way for the park every
body went out, aud at quarter past
twelve Gov. Taylor began his speech.
He was introduced by Senator Whit
thorne, who performed the functions
of that office in very graceful and
| happy manner.
Four thousand people packed
themselves close around the speaker
and gave him close and careful at
! tention. Never before had Gov.
Taylor made so much impression
upon the people of Maury County.
He spoke earnestly, and many who
went to laugh at his jokes remained
to pray for the success of the Demo-
cratic party in State and Nation.
An epitome of his speech cannot
do him Justice. He showed him
self familiar with National affairs,
and for the greater portion of his
speech be DEVOTED himself to the all
absorbing question of the free coin
age of silver. He showed now the
prices of everything had fallen since
the characterization of silver, how
the purchasing power of the gold
dollar had doubled since the crime
of 1873. This was the correct way of
stating it. Prices had not so much
fallen as the purchasing power of
the dollar under the gold standard
had increased. And he demon
strated this by showing that silver
bullion had kept pace with all other
commodities that you could buy as
much to day with silver bullion as
Iyou could have done twenty years
Eago, but that under the gold stand
lad h. Iol1nr lad i,opaoca1 -,
purchasing power that now it could
buy twice as much wheat and corn
and silver, and all other COM
modities as it could have done 20
Years ago. He pointed out the only
remedy for our suffering condition.
1t was return to the coinage of
the constitution, to the gold and sill
yer dollars of our fathers; that we
must have the free and unlimited
coinage of both gold and silver at
the ratio of l6 OF. of silver to OF.
of gold, and that we must adopt this
policy without waiting for the aid or
consent of any other nation on earth.
He also answered the objections usu-
ally urged against the free coinage
of silver.
AS to the flood of silver, he showed
that all the known silver in the
world did not amount to but $54 per
capita, and he thought we could
stand $54 a head. But another
thing. The silver of the foreign
countries would not come to us. 1t
was more valuable to them as sub
siduary coin than in would be to ship
it over here and have it melted, and
re-coined into dollars, But if they
did bring it to us we would be glad
to see them, because they would
have to buy our products before they
could put their silver off on us, and
the Lord knows we would be glad to
sell our products.
The speaker was in earnest, and
his burning eloquence brought cheer
after cheer from the listening multi
tude, and when he called the name
of the gallant young leader of Demo-
cracy, William ]. Bryan, that whole
mass of earnest humanity broke
forth in tumultuous applause.
The speaker then turned his at
tention to State affairs and paid his
respects to his competitor, the Hon.
G.. n. Tillman. He said in part:
my competitor, Hon. G.. n. Till
man, has projected his canvass upon
a plane to which 1 am unaccus-
toned, to which 1 have never
stopped, and refuse now to be de-
coyed into abandoning the consider
alton of the vital questions which
affect the veal or woe of the people,
to follow him in the mire. His
speech as delivered and published
did not reach the dignity of argu-
ment, but is string of accusations
founded in perverted facts Of un-
warranted conclusions drawn from
transformation of distorted state
ments predicated in false deduction
of suppression of facts to deduce
erroneous conclusions. Never does
he propose remedies, but he seems
TO think his mission is ended when
he has stirred up scandal, and he has
no higher conception of the duties
of his high Office of candidate for
Governor than that it privileges
him to abuse his competitor.
! He then took up the charges, one
by one, which had been made
against him and his administration
and answered them with facts and
figuers, and showed their utter
falsity or their utter littleness.
WHa aSSertsii said the SDaakar Uthat