The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-10
THE BRYAN IDEA.

During the last few weeks the people of
the United States have been told a great
many times by candidate Bryan that it is
their patriotic duty to declare their fnan-
cial independence of all foreign countries
and adopt a monetary policy of their own.
In the speech al Chicago in which he NOM
mated himself he said: 1T is the issue of
1776 over again. Our ancestors, when but
three millions, had the courage to declare
their political independence CT every other
nation upon earth. Shall we. their de-
scendants, when we have grown to seventy
millions, declare that we are less independ
ent than our forefathers?" 1t must be sup
posed that this powerful argument, repeat
ed many times by Mr.. Bryan, has had the
effect of rousing a new spirit of patriotism
that will not cease to agitate until every
vestige of foreign dictation shall be wiped
out of American life. OF course, there will
be opposition, as there is to every great
form. Mr.. Bryan says There were tories
in the days of the revolution just as there
are now. and 1 have no doubt they were as
honest in preferring British rule to Amer
lean independence as the tories of to-day
are in preferring the British gold stand
ard Only day or two ago one of this
class. Mr.. Charles Emery Smith. editor of
the Philadelphia Press. addressing the Re-
publican editors al Canton, o., said:
The most puerile and grotesque idea even
of the boy Orator is his repeated and
pet notion that because this country de-
clared political independence of Europe in
1776 it ought to declare an independent
monetary standard in 1896. He seems to
think that we ought to have a distinct
American because
have a distinct American measure of lib
erty. We can have American geography
because our rivers and mountains and
glorious fields. with their rich harvests,
are our own, but we cannot have an Amer
not make five. and fifty does not make one
hundred in the United States any more
than in Europe.
This shows either that Mr.. Smith is
tory else that he has not caught. up
with and on to Mr.. Bryans advanced and
patriotic ideas.
The practical application of the Bryan
idea will result in abolishing a great many
foreign principles, methods. discoveries. in
ventions and arts which have either forced
themselves upon us or have been thought
1essly adopted by to the detriment and
danger of free institutions. If we are to be
truly independent all these foreign ideas
1t may not be possible to change the IAN
guage, but we should cut loose as far as
possible from English literatu We should
discard the authorized version of the Bible
which is of purely English origin. and have
an American translation. Shakespeare Mil
ton and all the English writer's who have
been insidiously influencing our literature
ever since we had any should be weeded
out. Habeas corpus and trial by jury must
go. The of steam as a mo-
tive power should be discouraged the
original discovery having been made by an
Englishman. An American compass should
be invented. For hundred years past we
have been slavishly following in the foot
steps of other nations and using a compass
whose needle points to the north The in
strument was invented by the Chinese
many centuries ago and introduced through
the Arabs into Europe. 1t has been i'm
proved and perfected by British inventors
and has contributed in no small degree to
the extension of British empire and com
merce. There is not quarter of the globe
to which it has not pointed British ships.
There is not the faintest trace or sugges-
ton of Americanism about it. This hateful
badge of despotism and reminder of effete
monarchies should be cast aside and in its
place we should have an American compass
that Will poinh to the west. But space
would fail TO enumerate the changes that
should be made to give effees to the BRYAN