The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-22
GREATEST OF THE DAY.
Not Less than $4,000 People in the
bedford Audience.


At Mitchell, five miles further on, a
crowd of three hundred had gathered, and
General Harrison addressed them briefly
and to the point, his words evoking a
hearty response.
At Bedford, the great center Of the In
diana stone industry, was the most re-
narkable demonstration that had been met
during the day. The courthouse stands
about two hundred feet from the station,
and the big yard and all the space between
was covered with acres of people, bowling
and cheering like mad. There were not
less than 25,000 people on hand, the lead
ers estimated, and where they had all
come from was a mystery too deep for
even the managers of the demonstration
The big rally had been in progress all day,
and during the morning a parade three or
four miles long had marched through the
streets. Aside from the usual features of
decorated floats, cavalry companies, girls
with their gold uniforms and golden tresses
floating to the breeze, it contained a
mounted club of over one hundred first vot-
ers and a big delegation of men who are
employed iu the quarrieS. The parade had
ended before the train arrived, and the
whole crowd was compressed into the
courthouse yard and the snace between it
and the station. A way had been cleared
through the throng and was kept open UNI
Ill General Harrison and his party had
passed through. He was greeted with q
mighty roar of cheers when he appeared,
and was introduced by Judge Martin. The
crowd was SO great that it was almost i'm
possible to talk to it, and not one-fourth of
the people could get within hearing dis
lance. In the course of his speech General
Harrison said:
INV aIInur-cifi1apC- fhfrl r an tan.
to a few score of people who are near me,
but this is an impossible audience. And
yet this great asSemolaEe, surprising ally
thing l have seen on this trip. where the
| meetings have been everywhere great, is
Itself the most eloquent tribute that can
be rendered to the character of the Re
publican candidates and to the quality OF
the Republican platform. l think We haa
better close the debate and just make it
unanimous. tCheers.) What Is the use Of
| talking? 1t seems. to be all settled now.
! (Cheers.D - The Democratic party has NOT
always been 81 candid party. but this year
they exhibit camden enough to admit that
the conditions of things III this country are
very bad. and they are candid enough TO
admit that the medicine they administered
to this country four years ago has moi
worked well. They are not proposing 70 use
any more of it just now. 1t has brought
disaster and trouble. It has brought the
people down from a pinnacle OF prosperity
to an abyss of adversely and distress.
They now propose, not more tariff re-
form, but to substitute free silver as the
| panacea that is to cure all our ills. How
w tt-s HAioN ~ - = &'NN
cured anybody? Can they point to any ma
ton in the worlds history that has been
frae coinage lGn 81 of silver Not one. the nae "a
tons of the world that have 1t lave 1t, not
because they like it. but because they do
not see the way to get anything else. The
nations that have it are the nations where
labor gets the lowest wages and human,
life has the fewest comforts. 1t is therefore
rot to ne taken upon the certificate of any
body who has tried it. Oh dinf.riiy the ven-
derS of patent nostruIns publish a certifl-
cate from somebody who has tried it. They
have tae picture of the mar before taking
and after taking. But these political quachs
that free silver has ever worked TO elevate
or better the position of any people in the
world. 1t is a trick with cards, a sleighs-
Cf-hand performance; it is chfld'S play. We
are to pretend that SO cents worth of silver
is a dollar and that it is going 10 make us
rich.
FEDERAL Law MUST PREVAIL.
But that is not the worst feature of the
Chicago platform, in my Judgment, because
if we get free silver we will be SO hurt by
it that we will scramble out of the swamp
into which we have fallen just as quick as
we can. We may have lost our hat and
shoes and some of our clothes, but we will
get out of it.. The American people cannot
be killed by any of these quack medicines,
although they can be greatly hurt. But if
the Democratic doctrine as to the powers
of the general government the powers of
the President, the powers and duties of
the courts of the United States is to pre-
vail. then we have struck a fatal blow at
the honor and dignity of our Nation. Gap
plause.) If we are to elect a President who
believes that it would not be right for him
to use the power of the United States to
execute the laws of the United States. but
that he ought to go and ask the permits
sion of the Governor Of some State before
he does it, we Will have inflicted a blow to
the dignity and honor and power of this
Nation that will be fatal. ~(Applause.) /
feel sure that it is not written in the pur-
poses of Almighty God for this Nation that
holds such doctrines as that. (AppIause.)
Let me say, in conclusion, that L spent
some time this summer in the East, and /
bring you the assurance that there will be
no Democratic State east Of the Allegheny
mountains. (Cheers.) The great Empire
that will take them until Christmas to
count. (Cheers.) Connecticut. sthat has al
most invariably been Demoeratic, Will have
ways Democratic, will give 10000 majority
for Mckinley. Pennsylvania don't know,
unless they introduce some shorthand meth
cd of computation. how they are going to
count the majority in Pennsylvania.
(Cheers.) But Bryan has hopes of Indiana.
people of Indiana love the flag and the
Constitution. They sent out as many brave
men in proportion to tneir number as any
Constitution, and they are not going to sur
render to the boy orator of the Platte. In
diana has paid her debts honestly. and in
sists that the United States shall. She in
sists that as there has been no stain on the
flag there shall be no stain on our financial
record" (Applause.)
After the speech, a rush was made for
General Harrison while he was being e-
eorted to his train. The train had hacked
down a square from the station, and he
thought he could walk to it rather than
have it come up to him. In this ne was
mistaken, however. The press of people
became so great and the effort to get near
him so fierce that those with him had to
hurry him into q store and close the doors
to escape his overZealous friends. The
train was brought down opposite the store
and d way was with difficulty cleared for
him through the dense crowd of men, who
were complaining that they had not been
able to get near enough to hear his voice,
and clamoring for a word more. Whan he
reached his car they swarmed about it.