The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-06-20

, brave. You and / know that hunger
and distress will destroy patriotism
and love of country. To have love of
country, patriotic fervor and indepen-
dence, you must have your citizens
comfortably fed and comfortably
clothed. That is what made me a Re
publican. that is what his made me a
Republican during all these years, be-
cause / believed that the Republican
party was made for the masses of
men; that its legislation was intended
to lift up and elevate and hold up and
sustain the distressed and gave every
citizen opportunity before the law.
,Applause.)
/ do not believ that it can be had
with the gold standard. You may
doubt my argument, and many OF you
will, but shall / doubt it? / must act
upon my Judgment and not upon yours
/ must answer to my conscience and not
to my eig'hbors. / must do my duty as
it presents itself to me, and not as pre-
scented TO you. | say TO you
now that with the solemn
conviction upon me that tins
gold plank means ultimate disaster and
distress to my followers, | cannot sub
scribe to it, and if adopted, / must sever
my connection with the political or
ganization which makes the gold stand
ard one OF the main articles of it's prin-
ciples. (Applause). / repeat here
what | said yesterday in the commit
tee | would not, upon my judgment
alone, carefully as / have attempted 30
prepare it, dare to take this step alone.
ECONOMISTS FOR BIArETALLISM.
My friends, am sutained in my view
OF the dangehr that is coming to us,
and coming to the world by the adop-
tion of the gold standard, by the intel
ligence of the world. They may say
that the silver question is nil Let me
tell you that the best part of the world
is with the advocates of bimetallisn.
All the great political teachers of Eu-
rope, with the exception of five or six,
are the pronounced advocates of bimet
allism, unreStrained bimetallism. All
the great teachers of political economy
in the European colleges, without eX-
ception, are in favor of bimetallism.
My own Judgment, based, as | have
said to you, on careful preparation and
careful study for twenty years, bears
me out and puts me in accord with
them, and / would be recreant to my
trust, if | failed to protest here, and il
| failed when the Republican party
makes this one of the tenets of it's
faith, to sever my connection with that
power. applause and cries of Mo-
Mr.. President, | ask your permission
to say few things personal to myself,
and when | have said them, having
told you what my conscience demands
that | should do, | will leave this ques-
ton for your consideration. Do you
suppose that myself and my associates
who act with me and take the same
view of this question that | do, do you
suppose that we can take this step
without distress? Do you suppose that
we could take it for any personal adj
vantage or any honor that could be con-
fcrred upon us? We say it is a ques-
ton OF duty. You may nominate in
this convention any man YOU choose;
if you ominate the right kind OF man
on the right kind of platform, | will
vote for him. You may take amy meth
DDS to nominate him that you think
proper.
WILL NOT SURRENDER PRINCE
Piles.
l will defer to your judgment, and
support him il your platform is the
right one, but when you ask me to sur
render my principles, as an honest man,
/ cannot do that. / realize what it will
cost us. | realize the gibes and sneers
and the contumely that will be heaped
upon us; but, my fellow citizens, | have
been through this before-before the
political party to which you belong had
q being. have advocated a cause more
unpopular than the silver cause. have
stood for the doctrine of free homes
and free speech and / do not care what
may be the result. If it takes me out
Of political life | will go out with
feeling that, at least, | maintain my
consistency and my manhood, and that
my country will have no right to find
fault with me. (Applause).
| beg your pardon for saying things
so personal, but yet if a personal act
that to some implies perfidy and dis
honor is about to be taken, ! think
it but just to myself and my associates
that / should proclaim to you that we
take this step, not in anger, not i'm
pique, not because we dislike the nomi-
nee prospectively, or otherwise, but be-
cause our conscience requires, as hon