New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-13
MR.. BRYANS LABORIOUS FAILURE.

The Boy Orator was not fattered by his re-
ception at Madison Square Garden Tammany
train bands filled the body OF the floor ana
responded with mechanical regularity as at any
machine ward meeting, to the signals OF lead
ers. The rest Of the audience. composed very
largely of sghseers began TO drift out before
Mr. Bryan had been speaking five minutes. and
soon the noise made by hundreds leaving every
minute was such that few could hear the speak
err Instead of the thrilling appeals OF the
orator who had been nominated because of a
single passionate speech. the audience was af-
Hcted with an address read from manuscript.
long. so carefully pruned that it scarcely touched
the sympahies Of his hearers. and so moderate
in language and statement that neither the
Tammany train bands nor any Western audi
ence would have heartily cheered more than
once or twice. but from n sense Of duty.
The address is an elaborate effort to state
the theory of bimetallism in such form as not
to offend Eastern hearers From opening to
end it has not a new argument, not even a
striking or novel statement of an old argument,
but the well-worn and familiar sophistries of
the advocates Of free coinage are repeated with
great detail and with more careful moderation
of statement than in any other address Of late
tons which have been a thousand times chal-
enged; they are simply repeated as if they were
axioms. To follow Mr.. Bryan in detail through
this maze of sophstry is quite unnecessary. For
through it all there run certain palpably false
assumptions. which entirely destroy the force
Of his reasoning.
The first is that free coinage by the United
States alone would raise the price Of silver bull
ion throughout the world to 81 % in gold Mr..
Bryan offers not an item of evidence to sustain
this assumption The history of the world dis
proves it, But If it is true. it destroys absolutely
all the force of threequarters of Mr. Bryan 8
speech. in which he attempts TO show that vari-
Gus classes have been plundered by making gold
too dear and that cheaper dollar. one Of less
purchasing power. is needed 70 restore the bal
ance The second assumption is that bmetal
lsm is free coinage whereas all practical men
know that free coinage in this country alone is
recommendation. for without agreement Of other
nations in fixing ratio between silver and gold,
it would simply demoneize gold in this coun-
try. fix premium on il, and compel the redemp-
ton of all notes in silver only. Either Mr. Bry-
an is not ingenious or he is far more slow in
mind than people think him. in carefully avoid
ing the long years of proof that no one nation
can fix the ratio between the metals or establish
actual concurrent use of the two without CO.
operation of other countries.
1t follows that the entire argument is radically
deceptive, and at no point more plainly than in
It's labored attempts to smooth over and explain
away the proposals 10 reconstruct the Supreme
Court. to deprive creditors of the Government
of payment in the kind Of money borrowed and
the kind pledged. and 10 deprive all private and
business creditors of their rights in the same
way 1t is most significant too, that with all
his anxiety TO make the Chicago platform ap-
pear harmless. Mr. Bryan had not the hardi
hood TO refer to the declarations against Ma
tional interference TO suppress iioting or revou
ton in State. But they are part of the doc
trne Of his platform. which Mr. Bryan broadly
declares that he accepts without alteration.
II is to Mr.. Bryan's friends a most disap
pointing speech He Is not at his best in at
tempt to reason soberly and with moderation OF
language. The speech disappointed the audi
ence quite as keenly as the rapidly vanishing
audience must have disappointed the speaker
and that Is saying much