Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-08-19
Bryan in New York.

speech that he accepts the nomina-
ton for the Presidency of the United
States of America.
On the night of the 18th inst, at q
large meeting in Madison Squsre. he
msde the notification speech. He
read the speech. Ii was two hours
long, and long before he was through
half the audience had left.
The Philadelphia North American
! calls it
BRYAN's BEST.
The public has now what his adj
mirers assured US would be Bryan's
best, But what is BEyan's bestf A
mass OF statements, based chiefly on
old assumption, and without yes-
tige OF argument to sor.ify The state
ments. The ouly approach TO iogi-
cal procedure IN tie whole niass cf
commonplace is where he starts out
with false premiss, and in fact IN.
dertakes to demonstrate that au sr-
ror is better than the truth. But we
are glad to have Mr. Bryan's best,
because he has ali along appeared at
his woret Even now, through the
Ill digestcd mass OF dog,aatic atatu-
ment there runs minor chord OF de-
preoation, which seems to say: Don't
bs alarmed; for bad as We are, We are
not so bad as you think we arc, and
however loudly we bark We do not
bite Mr.. Bryan's speech was two
hours in length, but Of neither
breadth nor depth. It contains ne
new thoughts and 10 tracs OF argu-
ment, aad nowhere rises above the
mediocre as a composition.
Let Us take few points on which
he prides himself. He reiterates that
free coinage at
SIXTEEN TO ONE
would, if ordained in this country
alone, advance the valuc of silver to
S12e, the world over Against this
most absurd and stupid assertion we
put the fsct taat when, for foyty-two
years, we had free coinage of both
metal at 15 to 1, we were never able
tor a single day to make silver ex-
| changsooie for gold ct the rate 81 Is
TO l, we were never able for 8 single
day to make silver exchaagsable for
gold at the rate of Is ounces of the
former for one ounce OF the lstter.
Nor were we able 10 keep what gold
we coined IN the country Because
we undevaiued gold, that metal
sought better market. And when
in 1884 we reduced the amount of
gold IL The eagle so as TO make the
ratio about 16 to l, Wa we're never
able TO keep our silver in circulation,
because in turn we uaderYalued it as
compared with gold And from that
time forward. Until 1859, our small
exchanges wero carried oa il Spau-
ish and .Mexicau silver. Why? We
ordained that 1G OUNCES OF silver
; should be the price of an ounce of
gold, Or what Is tbs same ,hirg, that
al oance % gold should purchase six
teen ounces Of silver. But never in
the ninetsaE years could sixsesu
ounces Of silver Sa purchased with an
ounce Of gold. There wes no free
coinage possible ct that ratio. We
see, then, The free coinage OF Is to l
did not, from 1881 to 1878, influence
the market price of bullion one cent.
Therefore. free coinage at l6 30 I,
witt. the market ratio ct 30 TO l, as il
Is at This moment, c,uld not possibly
restore the psri5y OF the metal
Again this Daniel comes forward
snd declares that banks are
NOT DEBTORS
bsoause if solvent, thsy have more as
sets ihan liabilities. Great Scott!
Then debtor is one who cannot pay
bis debts! 4 debtor is one whose la
bilities exceed his assosa. But q man
who owes hundred thousand and
has property valued ct 81IG,0G0 is
not debtor' Wall, snd stili well!
Th;s is O. new classification, indeed,
aud how many men would BE happy
K they could believe thas they did
not ows anything so long as they
have property enough to pay their
not debts, because they are sub debt
ors--but can in o pinch make ends
meet. In nothing are the chronic
rtupiditisa OF this Mr.. Bryan more
vividly illustrated. Mr.. Bryan fur
ther says We falsely attribute the do
clue in the value of nilyer to the
EXCESS OF PRODUCTION
over the douand. Why falsely Moth.
ing is more certain than that the sup
ply far exceeds the demand, and when
taat condition serves prices decline. |
That is TIE law Of trade, snd nobody |
doubts its operation in every iIind of |
production Il the Iaw of trade ia
false, We leave NJ. Bryan to urestle
with it, though in wrestling with er-
ror ho seems to DO thrown everyj
time.
IsCCNE TAX MATTER
Mr. Bryan disciains any intention 10 !
disoreGis the Court, but onIy It's de !
cision. lie says thai the Court has
sustained the principle shat undcriies |
tle income tax fol & hundred years. |
We deny it, and challenge hirn to
show any case, except that bora OF
war; in which any direct tax of the
discriminating nature OF the last law
has ever bsen sustained by the Su-
prerne Court. The Constitution ex-
pressiy says shat all direct taxes shall |
be levied On the base of population !
The income tax of thirty years ago |
was
wAE MEASURE |
and il war the laws are silent. The
question is not as ar Bryan puts it,
but it is whether under tae C0nstitu. |
ton, il times of peace, a dizcct tax
can be legally levied except upon the
states as contributing members OF the