The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-08
immense hall. He then introduced the
BCeaKer of the evening.
THE GENERALS SPEECH.
A Notable Presentation of the Finnn
rfn Onc~fi0n.

THE GENERALS SPEECH.
Notable Presentation of the Finnn-
ciaI Question.
After the applause following his intro
duction had subsidized. General Harrison
spoke, in part, as follows:
sFellow-citizens-I1et us be comfortable.
I have had a suspicion for some time, that
has settled tonight into conviction, IT IS
impossible to try to keep the presidency
the Republican party is fortunate IN the
fact that it presents to the voters OF the
United States a ticket that in its first name
Is great and wholly unexceptionaI. Gov
ernor Mckinley. who was named by the
convention at ST. Louis for President, is a
proachabIe. Governor Mckinley began his
public life by offering himself when q
youth for the defense of his flag in battle
and by bearing himself in scenes OF danger
and death with intreDidity and herolsm.
He has had long public service IN the
Congress Of the United States and by his
ability came to the front in that great
body of the House of Representatives, oc-
cupying its most important positions in
committee and acquiring on the floor of the
House parry leadership. He is q marked
man. Few men can more forcibly or at
tractively address their fellow-citizens, but
he Is more and something else than an ora
ter. He is a man of action, and ms actions
are before The second man on the ma
tioral ticket Is a man of the highest char
fully q large and important business,
man of fidelity and who holds in high
measure the confidence of his neighbors
TT is an historical fact that when the
Republican administration went out we
were in a time of great prosperity; the
country was prosperous to an extent that
never before had been attained 1t IS his
torieally true that since the democratic ~
policy has been brought to legislation the
country has gone step by step from this
pinnacle of prosperity to the very depth OF
business depression and distress
Is that harmonious, we'll adjusted reve-
nue-producing and protective tarin sfall De
substituted. that the revenues OF the gov
eminent shall be made adequate to Its ex-
penditure. We propose that the necessity
treasury and to restore a wasting, gold re-
serve shall be remedied by filling the treas
ury of the United States with adequate
revenue. We propose that the money OF
the country whether in it's various forms,
or silver and gold, shall, every dollar of it,
be kept at parity with every other dollar
We propose that there shall be no distrust
accompanying the dollars, paper or CON-
that this government emits or authorizes
We believe that these things will restore
the prosperity we have lost. We propose
to maintain intact, against every assault
the constitutional right and duty of the
President of the United States to enforce
all national laws without asking the consent
of the Governor of any State. We propose
that the federal judiciary shall be kept in
the full and dignified discharge of every
duty that the Constitution confides to it.
WHAT BRYAN OFFERS.
what do our Democratic friends offer?
Free silver. They propose to cure these
Ills by authorizing every miner of silver ore
to bring the bullion he takes from the earth
to the mint Of the United States and there
at the expense of the government have it
converted into. silver dollars at q ratio that
returns to him double, things are now,
In value for the bullion. They propose then
that he shall take these dollars and use
4Iovrx In, lit o,,,i To NAL
every one to receive them at the value of
100 cents for a dollar. Mr. Bryan has adj
mitted that the silver miner would get what
he calls an Incidental benefit from having
so cents worth of bullion coined into a dol
lar. 1t is certainly very direct and patent
benefit. By however much the dollar when
coined is worth more than the silver metal
that Is in 1t by so much the mine owner
will be benefited. These great silver stock
owners, these bonanza mine owners who
uct Of their mines in the past, whose stocks
are on the market, and are very largely
held in Europe. these stocks will enor-
mouSly enhance in value. and the men al
ready rich by the good fortune of having
come into the ownership of rich mines will
say in passing that it seems strange that
these Democratic orators should be so en-
ragged at men who have acquired wealth by
manufacturing or in commerce that they
ctn think of nothing Well to say of them
and yet they take to their bosoms the men
who have made the largest fortunes and
In the United States
1T was essential that the coined value. the
bullion value of the metal in each of these
dollars should be the same, or closely the
same. and so our great statesmen OF the
past. Hamilton, that great leader of
thought and of the Federal party: Jeffer-
son, that great thinker and leader of the
Democratic party, put their powers to work.
to select and find a ratio between silver and
gold each of them declaring that the
double standard must be based upon the
commercial value of the bullion that was
d. l1IIA &c. cd nl4,,
silver dollars at is to 1. when the CONNER
cial ratio is 81 to !.
"These men say they are followers of
Jefferson. Mr.. Bryan says we signed, pro-
claimed and made good upon the battle
field the Declaration of Independence. We
whipped the British at Yorktown and could
do it at any appointed place. Now Ma
ton so powerful he says are we to be
Britain's slaves when we have cast off our
are some things that human power cannot
do. The individual can't do it. Nations
cannot do it. and one of these things rss is to
cannot fix the market value of silver or
gold any more than it can fix the market
value of wheat. There are laws of trade.
and ali the legislatures in the world cannot
annul them.
8. Now Bryan's proposition is that we shall
have bimetallSm of both gold and silver at
the ratio of is to l. in other words that We
shall have by law a proclamation that a
man shall give dollars worth of some
thing for 50 cents worth of something else.
It is absolutely impossible. 1t is base. 1t
is worse than base it is not creditable; it
is not speaking in high estimation of the
intelligence of our people when it is said to
them that because we achieved our politi-
cal independence we can make two un-
equal things equal to each other. Cap
plause) A Congress might pass law that
one buffalo skin should be equal to a coon
skin Qaughter), but if you want TO know
the ratio between those skins you would
have to go to the fur merchant. not to the
statute book and so it is precisely with this
matter of the ratio of one dollar to another.
The law can take the commercial ratio or
approximately and hold and maintain the
double standard, but 1t cannot disregard
the quotations in the market for these
metals"
Ex-President Harrison concluded by de-
pfcting the effect of the 16-to-1 theory upon
the wage Garner. if applied to practice.