The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-10-23
BARBECUE AT PERU.
An Immense Crowd Which Showed
BRYAN Much Atten tion.

BRYAN Much Attention.
Peru. Ind, Oct 23.-Peru advertised
/ as the only town on earth had a bar
! becue within its corporate limits yes
] terday and a gOCdly crowd Of the coun-
| try folk gathered not only to partake
I of the sixty beeves, 200 sheep and pigs
! and other provisions" that the big pos
I tiers told about, but to listen to free
| coinage doctrine coming from the lips
/ Of VIM. J. Bryan.
About a platform in an open lot they
assembled and cheered the candidate
as he spoke. A big procession marched
I the triple nominee through the streets
and in its desire to show the Demo-
cratic standard bearer to the people Of
/ Peru the committee got Mr. Bryan
out of town over an hour late In his
speech Mr.. Bryan, in defining a gold
dollar, quoted as an authority in sup
port Of his position, Prof j. l. Laugh
lin, of the Chicago university. He said
in part:
I am glad that you are going to have
fun opportunity today to hear the
money question discussed from all
standpOints. I understand that Sena-
tor Turpie is to speak to you tonight,
and in all this country there is not
Democrat more able to present and de-
fend bimetallism than Senator Turpie
has shown himself to be You are go
ing to have an opportunity to hear
Senator Teller, who stands represent ia
tive among those Republicans who this
year have abandoned the Republican
party rather than abandon their cOun-
try to foreign influence and then you
are going to have a chance, 1 under
stand, to listen to Mr.. Pence, who
speaks from the Populist standpoint
and who may be able to give some
points upon one of your distinguished
citizens who used to be silver man,
but now he is not. (Mr. Bynum)
If you Will inquire, you will find the
only definition given by the gold bugs
in this campaign, of an honest dollar
is a dollar which loses nothing by
melting. I will give you definition of
an honest dollar that has stood the test
or centuries, and Ii is this, an honest
dollar would be a dollar whose average
purchasing power would be the same
yesterday. today and forever, and If
YOU believe that is not a true definition.
L ask you to turn to Laughlin's book
on bimetallism and you viii find out
that he not only declares it an inVari-
able standard of value but he declares
that if justice is desired, IN long time
contracts. you cannot expect exact jus
tice from either the gold standard or
from bimetalIsm. He is right We do
not reach exact honesty in the dol
lar"
There was a repetition of the morn
ing at Delphi when, at / o'clock. the
Bryan party arrived at that place.
From the stand near the railroad, Mr..
Bryan addressed the enthusiastic gath
ering and in addition to quoting what
MI Mckinley had said six years ago
on the silver question and citing from
the Republican platform upon which
Mr.. Harrison was elected in support of
his silver theories, Mr.. Bryan made a
strong appeal to those present to sup
port the silver Republican nominated
for congress and endorsed by the Pop
ulists and Democrats on their ticket.
Ex-C Congressman Joseph Headley. he
said, should be elected. and although
Mr. Bryan declared that he had al
ways been Democrat, he said he
would rather vote for a Republican
who is for free silver than to vote for
a man who has been a Democrat but
who is now a plutOcrat. This state
ment was received with great applause
and cheering.
At Delphi, Mr. Bryan also took occa-
sion to reply to some extent to the
speech made by ex-PreSident Harrison
yesterday in which Mr.. Harrison quo
ted the language used in regard to the
syndicate which had as he claimed,
first driven the nation into an extremity
and then saved it every few months at
so much per save. He told the people
Of Delphi that he was helping Congress-
man Joseph Cheadle who was an ex-
soldier and at the same time Harrison
was doing his utmost to defeat him.
Frankfort turned out very large
crowd. and it was simply a repetition
Of the scene along the road.
The crowds at La Fayette were enor-
nous and were enthusiastic to a great
extent Mr. BTyan's appearance on the
balconies Of the court house was the
signal for wild cheering. Here he spoke
from three sides of the court house and
at each side the streets were packed.
Ex-President Harrison came in for
another touching up here. It was as
follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen:-I want to
ask you to consider for a moment the
position taken by the leading advocate
of the other side, President Harrison.
I think am justified in saying that of
all the supporters of McKfnley's cleo I
ton Mr. Harrison is the ablest and
most distinguished He made a speech
yesterday in which he tried to show the
fmpOssibility of there being a double
standard and yet Mr.. Harrison was
elected president on a platform which
denounced Grover Cleveland for trying
to demOnetize silver. He tried to show
that it was impossible to have two
yard sticks, and yet he ran four years
ago on a platform that declared that
the American people, from tradition
and interest, favored bimetallisn, which
means a double standard but worse
than that, while he opposes the double
standard he is trying to run on two
platforms this year
He said in his speech yesterday: The
present conditions are that we are a
bimetallic country and yet the Re
publican platform of this wear saws that
we must maintain the present gold /
standard. If we are a bimetallic COun- !
try why did not the platform say we
must maintain the present binetallic
standard? And yet while the RepUbI- :
can platform declares that We are at
present under a single gold STANDARD, !
Mr.. Harrison states that we are under !
a bimetallic standard. What does it
mean. my friends2 It means that, hav-
ing been defeated in this campaign on /
the gold standard now, as the election /
approaches they are trying to get I'M
der cover Of bimetallism and claim
that their platform is false
MY friends having failed to prove /
the benefits of a gold standard they are [
seeking to win a victory under the pre-
tense that they are in favor Of bimetaI- (
lism. 1t only proves. as have asserted /
before, that the advocates Of gold never |
won an open fight. never fought an
open fight. but always fight behind a
Mass go l9;,1eirsig 60 ne ~
not becorne true or lust or wise if they