The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-10-24
Tens of Thousands Hear Him
at Springfield.
ON A MOTORCYCLE.
At Decatur Bryan Is Carried
In a HOrseless Wagon.
The Crush to Hear Him Was
Very Great.

+ ISc6ptlOn CFOWdS mum bereQ IN the
tens Of thousands and listened and
noisily demonstrated their affection
for him and their belief in the princi-
pies that he advocated.
Mr.. Bryan delivered two speeches in
Springheld-one at the court house and
the other from the front of the state
capitol From the platform erected
near the court house, Mr. Bryan spoke
in part as follows:
My friends, we are reaching the
close of a remarka Bile campaign. the
most remarkable which has been Waged
IN THIS country within the past genera
ton Greater issues are at stake today
than have been presented in recent
contests. This election viii determine
whether the influence of this the
greatest nation on earth, shall be cast
upon the side of gold as the only stand
ard money, or upon the side OF binletal-
ism. On your votes may depend that
contest Free silver may triumph with
out the vote of Illinois but with the
vote OF Illinois, free silver is sure to
succeed We may have enough elector-
al votes outside of Illinois, but we
snail certainly have enough if we Sc
cure the vote of this great empire state
OF the west, and the electoral vote of
the state of Illinois may turn upon the
vote of a single citizen. I want you
therefore, when you come to cast your
votes, to remember what responsible
ties rest upon the citizens this year.
My friends, bimetallism is necessary
Tor the prosperity of the country. Our
opponents have been appealing to var
lOuS class interests They have been
trying to array the laboring element
against the farmer. The great capital
of your state would have little to con
tnue existence for if the prosperity of
the farmer and the prosperity of the
wage Garner were destroyed. I want
to warn the wage earners against the
policy of our enemy, our enemy desire
to divide and conquer. Our opponents
have done all they could do in the east
to destroy the labor organizations and
make the laboring man defense1ess, and
now they are trying to use the IabOring
man to overcome the farmer and make
him helpless.
I want the wage earners to remern-
Der that in all their contests. and efforts
to better their condition they have had
to rely not upon the Wall street finan-
ciers, not upon the trusts and syndf-
Gates ana COrpOratiOuS=the labOriner
man has found his best friends upon
the farms, and upon the farms only. If
you come to a contest of endurance
want to warn you, laboing men, that
the farmer can stand the gold standard
longer than the laboring man can
Great applause and cheerfng) You
may continue the gold standard until
you foreclOSe the mortgage on the far
mer's farm, but when the MORTGAGE IS
closed the man who buys in the farm
will not work it himself He will want
tenant. and the farmer can become
the tenant on the farm.
when the farmer ceases to he q
home owner he can still live as a ten
ant and make enough off the farm to
feed his family, and if necessary we
can go back to the old times before +ha
war, and the wives and daughters viii
make the clothes for the husbands and
sons The farmer can burn his corn for
Iuel when he cannot buy coal blY4 the
miner cannot eat coal when he fails to
buy wheat (Great applause and
cheers) l say, my friends, that in a
contest of endurance the farmer will
be the last to perish, because he was
the first when the species of civviliza-
tiOn began. But there is no need for a
test Of endurance. The principles the
policies that are good for the farmer.
are good for the laboring man. and
they ought to stand side by side and
shoulder to shoulder in restoring this
government to its old foundation, where 4
it viii guarantee equal rights to all
and give special privileges to nonev
A1r- Bryan closed his first speech with
the following reference to Gov Ait
geld:
T feel that in this state where our
candidate for governor is so ably pre-
senting and defending the principles
involved in this campaign, and so con
Vlnclngly presenting the paramount is
sue of the money question it is scarce
" necessary that anyone else shall saw
a. word. Because of all those who are
today defending the money of the con
st1tution, there are none who are doing
it more ably or with more emphasis
than John P. Altgeld'
From the state house Mr.. Bryan said
in part:
Il am glad to come back to Illinois
for while Nebraska is the state Of nv
residence. Illinois is the state Of NV
birth became acquainted with many
of the people of this capital city be
fore I was acquainted much beyond the
confines Of my own county. am also
glad to come to Springfield because it
was here year ago last June the Dem-
Mt loo
Of the nation that Illinois was stiu a
Democratic state. (Cheers) They
gave notice to the Democrats of the
nation that no matter how other states
might desert Democracy for plutocracy,
the Democrats Of Illinois stiIl prayed
with the windows open and toward
Monticello and the Hermitage. Great
applause and cheers-)
Your convention had much to do
in giving hope and inspiration to the
Demo Is Of the nation and your state
played most important part in bring
ing the Democratic party to the in
dorsement of free and unlimited coin
age of silver at 16 to /. without waiting
for the aid or consent of any other
nation.
Upon the action Of the United States
may depsnd-ayes my friends, I believe
upon the action Of the United States
viii depend the monetary policy of the
civilized world. believe that when
this great nation shall cast its infl1l-
ence into the scale. then International
bimetallisn which we pray for, viii
be brought to US, not by our following.
but by our leading European nations.
Great applause and cheers.}
do you tell me that we shall put
bimetallism further away by our ef-
forts2 I tell you that we have waited
for twenty years and Detitioned and
begged; but. my friends. while we have
been petitioning the dollar has been
rising. and those before whom we laid
our petitions were proiting by the de-
lay Washington has well said in his
farewell message that one nation need