The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1896-07-28
THE SENl-WEEKLY OHIO DENOcRAT TUESDAY july 28 1896

character however pure, personal pop
ularlty however great. that can pro
tect from the avenglng wrath OF an in
dgnsnt people the man who will neither
declare that he IL in favor Of foistlng
the gold standard upon the people or
who is willing to surrender the right OF
self government and place legislative
control in THE hands Of foreign poten-
tates and power. (Cheers).
We 20 forth confident that we shall
win. why? Because upon the para
mount issue In this campaign there Is
not a spot OF ground upon which the
enemy dares to challenge battle. Why,
II they tell US that the gold standard ls
a good thing, we point to their platform
and tell them that their platform
pledges the party to get rid OF a gold
standard and substitute bl-metallism
(Applause) If the gold standard Is a
good thing why try to get rid of It?
daughter and continued applause)
And 1 might call your attention to the
fact that some of the very people who
are In this convention today and who
tell you that we ought to declare In ia
vor OF International bl-metallsm, and
thereby declare that the gold standard
Is wrong and that the principle of BIZ
metalllsm is better. these very people
four months ago were open and avowed
advocates of the gold standard and tell
Ing us that we could not leglsla.e two
metals together even with all the world.
Nenewed applause and cheers)
l want to suggest this truth, that n
the gold standard Is a good ching we
ough. to declare In favor OF its reten-
tion and no; In favor of abandoning
1t; and II the gold standard is a bad
thing, why should we walt until come
other nations are willing to help us to
lf.k NJ, ,1utt l.. tl..
OF battle. We care not upon which is-
sue they may force the fight. We are
prepared TO meet them on either Issue
or on both If they tell us that the gold
standard is the Standard Of civilization
we reply to them that this, the most
enlightened of all the nations OF the
earth. has never declared for a gold
standard, and both the parties this year
are declaring against 1t. (Applluse)
II the gold standard Is the standard
of civilization. why, my friends should
we not have IL? So lf they come to
meet US on that, we can present the
history of our nation. More than that
we can tell this-that they Will search
the pages of history In vain to find a
single instance In which the common
people of any land have ever declared
themselves In favor of the god standard
(Applause). They can find where the
holders of fixed investments have. Mr..
Carlisle said In 1878 that this was a
struggle between the idle holders of
idle capital and the struggling masses
who produce the weakh and pay the
taxes of the country, and my friends
1t is simply a question that we shall
which side shall the Dem
ocratic party fight? Upon the side o.
the idle holders of Idle capital, or upon
the side of the struggling masses?
That Is the question that the party
must answer first, and then 1t must bs
answered by each individual hereafter.
The sympathes of the Democratic
party, as described by the platform,
are on the side of the struggling masses
who have ever been the foundaton OF
the Democratic party, (Applause.)
There are two ideas of government
There are those who believe that If
you just leglsate to make the well-to-
do prosperous. their prosperity will
leak through on those below. The
Democratic idea has been that II you
legislate to make the masses prosper
GUS, their prosperity VIII find Its way
up and through every class and rest
upon 1t. (Applause)
You come to us and tell us that the
great cities are In favor of tho gold
standard l tell you that the great
cities rest upon these broad and fertile
prairles. Burn down your cities and
leave our farms and your cites win
spring up again as If by magic. But de-
stroy our farms ana the grass will grow
In the streets of every city in this coun-
try (Applause)
My friends, we shall declare that this |
nation Is able to leg slate for its own
people on every question, without wait
Ing for tine aid or consent of any other |
nation on earth (applause), and upon |
that issue we expect to carry every
single state In the Union. (Applause) |
| shall not SANDER the fair state OF |
Massachusetts, nor the state of Now |
York, by saying that when is citizens |
are confronted with the proposition, Is |
this nation able to attend to its own |
ousiness?-I will not slander either one |
by saying that the people OF these states |
Will declare our helpless impotency an |
4 nation to attend to our own bus ness. |
II is the issue of l776 over again. Our |
ancestors, when 100000 had the oour-
age to declare their political indepcnd- |
ence of every other nation upon earth.
Shall we, their descendants, when we
nave grown to 70,000,O00, declare that we
are less Independent than our forefath-
ers? No my friends, 1t will never be the
Judgment of the people, Therefore we
care not upon what lines the battle Is
ought If they say bl-mctalllsm Is good
lut we can not have Il till some nation
ielps us, we reply that instead of haV-
ing a gold standard because England
has, we shall. restore bi inetallism, and
hen let England have bi-metall!sm be-
cause the United States has. (Applause) !
II they dare to come out, and in the
open defend the gold standard as o
good thing. we shall fight them TO the
ittermost, having behind us the pro.
iucing masses of this nation and the
world. Having behind us the CONNER
,lal interests and the laborlng lntereets
md all the to.llng masses. we shall am
Iwer their demands for gold standard
oy saying to them you shall not pres
iown upon the brow OF labor this crown
" thorns. You shall not cruelty man
Snd upon a cross OF gold. Great ap
1lause)