The record-union., 1896-09-25
ARMY and NAVY LEAGUE.
Enthusiastic Gathering Of Veterans Last
Night.
Addresses by Colonels McElroy and
Babcock, and Hon. J. A.
Waymire.

There was a large attendance at the
meeting of the Army and Navy League
last night, the veterans turning out In
Iull to listen to the eminent speakers
from abroad.
The back part Of the hall was orna-
mented with a brand new banner
bearing the legend, Bryan and Bread
Mckinley and Three Square Meals"
Colonel ]. p. McElroy and Colonel
George Babcock of Oakland were the
speakers, and their remarks were list
ened to with attention, and the many
points made by them were received
with frequent applause. Johnston and
Atop furnished the musical part Of the
programme with a mandolin and gui-
tar
G. M. Mott, Colonel of the camp, pre-
sided, and opened the meeting with the
announcement that the meeting, in
stead of being one of the club would
De a general one. The charter of the
club, framed in gold, occupied a con-
sp1cuous place near the platform
Colonel McElroy was the first
speaker. He read a telegram from
Oakland League sending greetings to
Sacramento League, with three cheers
Tor Mckinley and Hobart.
He said they were here under the
auspices of the Army and Navy
League, which has now over twenty
camps in the State. He had come here
In the first place to wake up the old
comrades and rally them to the sup
port of their old comrade, William
Mckinley. Applause) The league
has been in existence about fifteen
years. He read an appeal sent out to
the comrades signed by Daniel E.
Sickles, Franz Sigel and many others
Of the old leaders, appealing to them
to make a united stand against the
wave of anarchy and repudiation that
Is threatening the welfare Of the coun-
try and help as of old to sustain the
Government that they had once fought
for.
He said that the occurrences at the
Chicago Convention were enough to
rouse the spirit of the veterans of the
Union. The assertion of Tillman that
this was another sectional fight, the
statement of w. W. Foote, another ex-
Confederate soldier, that they still be-
lieved in the righteousness of their
cause, were followed by the playing
Of Dixie" and Maryland, My Mary
Gratis who believed in free trade, but
they knew the issue had been tried and
failed. Then came Bryan with a
thirty minutes speech that was COM
posed of froth at the top, wind in the
middle, and nothing at the bottom.
applause and laughter) He told the
farmers that they knew as much about
business as Phil Armour; the miners
hot
those in Wall street. Then he came to
the silver question and laid the low
Irices of everything, the stagnation of
business and the general depression to
the demonetization of silver. He said
that we must coin silver at the ratio
Of Is to /, and guessed that it would
not drive the gold out Of the country,
but would restore prosperity after a
while.
The speaker said that he was at first
inclined to favor silver coinage, but
when he was in doubt he did not go to
his enemies for counsel, but to his
friends. He found the Republican party
had formulated a platform with a
plank in it that was not unfriendly to
silver, but favored bimetallism by in
ternational agreement with the lead
ing nations OF the word, and pledged
itself TO promote that end; but it fa-
vored sound money, and said the obli-
cations of the Government must be
maintained. The standard of compara-
tive value was fixed in the early his
tory of the country upon the price of
bullion, and was not changed until
speculation in silver caused it to fiuc-
tuate and Jefferson had the ratio
changed and 1t remained SO till 1887.
No more of the silver agitation was
heard until 1873. and it has been
charged that John Sherman procured
the change made at that time in his
own interest. The speaker did not be-