Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-10-29

inevitable, what special claim has Mr..
Bryan TO the suffgages OF the poorY Is
IL because he promises that Instantly
upon his election all poverty will cease?
MIR. Bryan is very promising young
man, but he never promised that. In
his New York speech he distinctly as
serts that the poor we will have always
with us, and there is nothing allurinp
in that statement. The only practical
tangible suggestion that he has thus
far made for the betterment of his con-
stituents was his casual reference TO
postoffices, and the truly Jacksonian
distribution which he proposed TO make
of them. But the demand for post
Offices, compared with the supply, is as
IL TO l and the syndicate will tolerate
no rival in the free coinage Of POST
offices. So there is, after all, but little
encouragement in that suggestion.
Is it because, being poor man him
self, no is more in sympathy with the
toilers of America than his older wiser
and more experienced opponent?
But sympathy is not what the poor
man bankers for, after all. He wants
work TO do, and money as honest as the
sweat he gives for 1t. The most sym
pathetic friend know OF is the honest
dollar. Moreover, | have learned to
be skeptical of man who is forever
prating of his affection for me, and
when | pick up volume labeled
eleven Great Speeches Of VIM. j.
Bryan, the Champion OF the People, .
or 90 out into the country and behold
llaring posters announcing the coming
of VIM. j. Bryan, "the friend of the
common people" Gust as if VIM. J.
Bryan was a circus-and perhaps he
isl, why, | am inclined TO say, as
Shakespeare would say: The gentle
man protests too much, methinks.n
For we know that there is scarcely IA
man of means in all America today
VINO does not look back upon a youth
of poverty and struggle. Were the
hearts of those men hardened in the
struggle? / don't believe it. have
they turned traitors to Il country
which yielded them their opportunity.
don't believe it. Did they graduate
out of one class into another class Of
citizenship? No: for this country has
but one class of citizenship, and every
mothers son Of us belongs to it.
On the platform adopted at Chicago
he said:
Mr.. Bryan says he stands with both
feet on the Chicago platform, just as
the boy stood on the burning deck
whence all but him had fled. Why,
in the event of his election he could
not select, from the Democratic follow
ing still left TO him, a cabinet that
would reflect the common sense OF the
American people, much less the genius
and craftsmanship of this great nation.
This fact of itself should make us
pause; for surely the more honest and
sincere "A voter is in his advocacy of
free coinage, the more he must hesitate
TO commit his darling theory TO the
keeping of those who, by education,
temperament and experience are un.
; fitted TO control the revolution which
they say is imminent, and which every
declaration of their platform assures
us will be radical and far-reaching.
But the Chicago platform lays spec
ial stress on its financial plank and
asserts that the free coinage Of silver
is the paramount issue OF the campaign.
That may be, for it is always bewilder-
ing to choose between evils The
plank attacksng the federal judiciary
simply means anarchy and disruption.
while the free silver plank means
bankruptcy and dishonor-a difference,
you observe between tweedledee ana
tweedledum. This plank demands the
free and unlimited coinage Of silver at
the ratio of Is 10 /, without waiting
for the aid or consent OF any other ma
ton on earth ''-eXcuse me. The words
"on earth" are usually appended by
Mr. Bryan in his speeches, not because
the sun. moon and stars have anything
to do with the case, but because the
added words breathe sort of noble
defiance TO all things terrestrial, which
sounds heroic, but which you and /
know is only idiotlc.
But why do they want the unlimited
coinage of silver at this particular
ratio? The answers to the questions
are various. Mrs Lease, for instance,
SAYS she wants dollar that will stay
at home. Just so; and | have heard
it intimated that this quality is equally
desirable in a woman. However, Mrs
Leases want is the only one which
could possibly be gratified Free coin
age would give us dollars that would
certainly stay at home, and for the
very good reason that we couldn't get
rid of them. Moreover we would have
nothing else to do but sit around and
admire their staying qualities. Lycur-
gus, you remember, coined iron money
in Sparta just to discourage the eXtrav-
agance OF the people, and IL had the
desired effect. Spartan broth three
times a day, was considered an eXtrav-
agant menu in the homes of the people
after the government forced on them
money that would do nothing else but
stay at home. There is such thing
as having money demonstrated, aud at
this blessed moment we have thousands
of tons-tons, mind you-of silver dol
lars in the vaults of our treasury that
are pretty good stayers just as they
are.
After explaining the free coinage
heresy and quoted from McCauley's
history to show that it had been
failure wherever tried, he closed his
speech in the following eloquent lam
guage:
The people are for Mckinley. IL
was they who nominated him. and as |
have faith in their sanity so | declare
to you that in the name of the people,
whose voice, like the voice of catar-
act, goes up for him: whose love, like
a gloriying influence, goes out to him;
in the name of the republic, for whose
sake lIDOn many n battlefield he offered