River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1896-10-01
A PATRIOTIC APPEAL.
Con. Sickles to the Old Soldiers
of the Union.
He Calls on Them to Put Patriotism
Above Party. and Stand Once More
for the Country's Peace. Vel
fare and Honor.

My Dear CofFddes i ask you 10 con-
slider and reflect upon the sacred interests
involved In the present situation OF our
public affairs. ! know you love your coun-
try. You have given to Il the best proof
of devotion man can give-you have de-
Tended II I'm battle
Let me urge you and everv union veteran
to lay aside party feeling now and unite
for national honor and foo law and order,
as you did In 81 20 '65 against treason and
rebellion The present crisis seems 10 me
as vital 10 the welfare OF the country as
that which called us to the field before.
Some OF the principles for which we
then contended are again at stake Sec
tionalism Reputation and mob rule are
threatened. Many of us we're obliged to
choose between our country and our par.
ty in those days. | feel that this is a
time wher all true patriots should stand
together, preferrinR their country. its
honor, good faith and untarnished name
above all mere partisan considerations.
Reviging Sectionas Hate.
Mr.. Bryan and many or his supporters
are trying to combine the south and west
against the north and east This is sec
tionallsm-of which the reaolllon was the
offspring. VIII you follow these guides
into dangerous paths, or will you not
rather follow Washington in "frowning
upon the first dawning of every attempt
TO ALLEVIATE one portion of our country from
the rest, or to enfeeble the ties which now
link together the various parts?" Section
old adversaries in the south. who have
outgrown the asperities OF the war. and
are now loyal to their united country
as any of us Union veterans who fought
for one union, one constitution and one
destiny, can never favor any candidate or
party seeking to array one section of our
common country against another.
Silver Means Reputation.
Mr.. Bryan proposes to pay all the cred
itors of our government in silver This
. a, a 4
grace us as a nation in the eyes of the
whole world Among the creditors of the
nation are the pensioners II you consent
to pay i'm debased silver the bondholder
who lent his money to the government to
arm and feed and clothe sig troops. YOU
consent at the same time 10 reduction
of one-half of the pensions awarded to
the war veterans, and to the widows and
orphans of those who are not living. All
the creditors of the government must
stand or fall together. Many of you are
pensioners. or the friends of widows and
orphans who are pensioners Many of
you have deposited your savings In savings
banks. Most of you are toilers at the
pow, or In the workshop, dependent on
small salaries, in public or private en-
ployment To all so situated the payment
of wages and pensions and your savings, in
silver, not redeemable in gold, as proposed
by Mr. Bryan ana his hybrid allies, would
involve severe losses and hardship. The
cost of all the necessaries of life would
be doubled, while the value of the money
In which wages and pensions would be
paid would be reduced nearly one-half.
On the other hand the farmers would not
be benefited. because they must sell their
products for money worth only a little
more than half it's present value. based on
a gold standard. Every producer and
every workman would thus suffer. All
business would be leranged. Employment
would be difficult to find. Wages would
advance very slowly. II at ALL
Washington VS.. Bryan.
Mr. Bryan assails the obligations Of pub
lie and private contracts. He would not
pay the public creditors in the money they
have the legal aud moral right to demand
and receive This would destroy the pub
lie credit Mr.. Bryan says the government
has 40 use for credit-which Is foolish.
Washington, in his farewell address to his
countrymen, admonished us to cherish
public credit, as 1ery important source Of
strength and security" Mr. Bryan would
despoi the citizen of his right to recover
what is due to him from his neighbor. ac-
cording to the tenor of an obligation law
fully made. This would destroy confidence
between man and man. Public credit and
national honor are fnseparable. When
our peorle cease to feel a patriotic pride in
the honor Of their country they will surely
lose q just sense OF personal honor-and
when both of these sentiments are lost,
the nation is lost.
The constitution of the United States
declares that the validity of the public
debt OF the United States. authorized by
law, including debts incurred in payment
Of PENSIONS and bounties for services in
/ suppressing insurrection or rebellion shall
not be question This pledge to all the
world is consecrated by al the sacrifices
and suffering OF the secession war We
must make 1t good.
Tho Attack on the Supreme Court.
| Mr.. Bryan threatens TO reorganize the
highest court In the land 80 that It's de-
/ cisions shall satisfy the demands of the
populists If elected he would make the
| judicial department of tile government
! obedient to his will He would destroy the
Independence of the courts of justice.
| This would overturn the framework of
our constitution. This would be revolu-
/ ton.
Mr.. Bryan proposes that silver shall be
the money of the country There is no
nation in which silver Is the standard of
value where the wages paid for labor
are more than fraction of the wages paid
4 to the American workmen Nobody un-
derstands the evils of a deprecated cur
/ rency better than the veteran soldier and
sailor. because they were paid during the
war In paper money not tbs n redeemable
In gold. This was the best our government
could do fot US during the war. and we
made no complaint. Often this paper
money was worth Jess than 10 cents on the
dollar. while the cost of everything you
bought was double, but your pay was not
| increased.
An Enemy of Order.
Mr.. Bryan denies the authority Of the
president and the courts oil the United
States to interfere with mobs They may
with impunity disturb the peace. destroy
property and life, interrupt navel between
the states. and obstruct the United States
mails and interstate we'll as foreign
commerce, but the government must look
on, powerless, helpless. parslyzed This
is mob rule-enarchy. 1t is impossible to
, 70 ha asrff - III
really overshadowS all others. because It
touches the foundations o, social order
and civilization. This new doctrine is
worse than the I'D secession heresy you
put down with your bayonets. Let us ST.
lence the new heresy with oCr ballots.
While many veterans may hot agree with
some of Mai: McKinley's political views.
we are ell, hope, far more
widely separatei from the ruin
Gus policy of his adversary We
feel as Stephen A Douglas felt at the be-
ginning of the war. when he gave his sup
port to Lincoln, saying: give me coun-
try where my children can live in peace.
and then we can fave room to settle our
political differences afterward."
To those who, like my self. have ad-
hered to the democratic party, let me say
that the platform and candidate pre-
sentedt ~ he Chicago convention are
not der 1cratlc. They are disowneC and
denoun cd by millions OF the best demo-
Gratis In the land. No man of recognized
authority in finance indoses the financial
policy OF the Chicago platform. You are
not populists, nor socialists. nor revolu-
tionists Read the platform adopted by
democratic ional conventions in former
years and yC will see that tn last Chicago
convention rejected all the rest traditions
of our history and adopted much of the
revolutionary creeds of the populisis and
free slverites AMI socialists dictated by
Altgeld, Tillman & Co. They repudiated
you and your party and your principles.
They have no claim to your support. Let
us defeat them
What Mckinley Stands For.
Comrade Mckinley stands for all that
America must now uphold. lie has been
chosen as the cand. date of the party which
is resisting national d!shonor. You and
j can do no better than give our votes to
his country by shouldering his niusket and
serving for nearly two years IS a private SOL
der. Ills promotions were fairly earned by
his courage and his faithful performance c {
the duties of an enlisted man In the ranks.
His comrades may well trust him. He
will see TO IL that the principles for which
you and he have suffered and sacrificed so
much, and for which so many of our com
rades gave their lives, are preserved and
perpetuated A few days ago | met many
thousands of our comrades at St Paul
during the national encampTnent AmLTg
that vast multitude / only heard one voice,
honor" once, only once did ! hear the
name OF Bryan. and then the cry was: NO
use for Bryant This Will be reechoed by
the American people in November-''No
use for Bryant
In this contest we must not be satisfied
10 1afQ 0f Mr ~