The herald., 1896-08-30

they were not willing to indorse in a
convention. l simply call your atten-
tion to the methods we have to meet in
this campaign, and / ask you whether
these methods characterize a people
who are so devoted to honesty in every
thing that they want honest money and
sound dollar? Great applause
Now, as against party which, without
daring to advocate a gold standard, yet
declares in favor of its maintenance un-
til other foreign nations come to our re-
lief and as against the other so-called
party which advocates the nomination
of ticket, not for the purpose of elect
ing it, but for the purpose of electing
another ticket, we present a straight
forward, emphatic declaration, which
is so clear that one who runs may read.
We want the restoration of the free and
unlimited coinage of silver at the pres
ent legal ratio of 16 to l. without waiting
for the aid or consent of any other ma
tion on earth. Now, my friends, | be-
lieve that you have q right to consider
the candor and frankness with which
these propositions are stated when you
come to decide which side is honestly
striving to do that which is best for the
American people.
When our opponents come before the
people, to whom do they appeal for
votes? Do any of the Republican
speakers turn to the money changers
and appeal to them TO vote the Repub-
lican ticket? No. 1t is not necessary.
my friends, to waste time on them. To
whom do they appeal? To the ones they
think less likely to vote the Republican
ticket. They appeal to the ones who
they think will require the most persua-
sion. To whom do they appeal? To the
laboring man of this country. They
tell the laboring man that they are so
afraid that something is going to hap
pen to him. Gaughter.) Well, now,
how can you tell whether the men who
stand at the head of the gold crusade
and yet not have the courage to say so
when they talk, how can you tell wheth-
er they are going to help the laboring
man or not?
Judge the present by the past We
have scriptural authority for the asser-
tion that the tree is known by it's fruits.
These trees have been bearing fruit for
twenty years and there has not been a
thing on single tree that the laboring
man would have in his house. Cap
plause.) Show me the man who has
tried to break down labor organiza-
tions (crles of Hanna, Hanna, Han
na,'D and / will show you a man who
today is sweating blood for fear some
laboring man is going to have his wages
cut in two. daughter and applause.)
Now, my friends, the pIicy of the enc
my is to divide and conquer. Whenever
there has been an effort on the part of
the laboring man to secure any legsla-
tion needed, where have they found
their friends? They have found their
friends upon the farm and not in Wall
street. And now they appeal to the la
boring man to come with the money
changers and help them defeat the
farmer because he wants higher price
for his product. (Applause.) They
want the laboring man to believe that
the free coinage of silver is going to
hurt him. My friends, l would rather
risk the laboring man to decide what
is good for him than to leave his inter-
ests in the hands of his ancient enemies.
What do the laboring men say? 1t is
only a little more than a year ago that
a petition was sent to congress asking
for the immediate restoration of the
free and unlimited coinage of silver and
gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1,
and it was signed by the leaders of every
prominent labor organization of the
United States. (Applause.) Who can
best be trusted, the men who have led
the labor organizations in the fights in
the past or the men who in the past have
used their power to defeat the only pro-
lection of the laboring man, namely, his
organization? Great applause.) Now,
why did these laboring men demand the
restoration of silver? Because they
know that when the dollar goes up prop
erty goes down, and they know that
when property is falling all enterprise
is retarded and stagnation follows, They
know the gold standard encourages the
boarding of money instead of eXpending
it in the development of the resources
of the country, and that this policy
of boarding is driving thousands and
hundreds of thousands of workingmen
out in the streets where they beg for
tilt VI NOIhluS lOI tHtlr udlly
bread. These wori<ingmen know that
they cannot separate themselves from
the tiller of the soil. These laboring men
know that there can be no prosperity in
business in this country unless the
farmer is selling what he produces for
more than what it costs him to produce
it. (Applause.) They know that dol
lar that decreases the number of home
owners and increases the number of
tenants impoverjshes not only the farm
er but every man who earns his bread by
the sweat of his brow and they know
that the great toiling masses have got
to stand together and if I may use one
of the early jokes they have got to hang
together OF they will hang separately
(Applause.)
Mr.. Bryan then took up the argu-
ments of the gold men that free coin
age of silver would result in fifty
cent dollars and reiterated his own
argument that action by the United
States placing silver on an equality with
gold at the mints would necessarily in
crease the value of silver and establish
the price at the coinage value fixed by
the government. He then turned to the
right of contract In favor of gold, .argu-
ing that it was a discrimination in favor
of the rich and said
,J,, Il