Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-08-20

IAN issue has arisen. It was fc-eea upon
this people For 20 years 1t has been
arowing, and during the last three years
its growth has been more rapid than in any
three years before this issue was presented
to the American people. The republican
party met in convention. 1t had lis op-
portunity. When Abraham Lincoln was
the idol of the republican party the re-
publican party was willing to meet the
issues of the day. LGreat applause-]
MOI Wiling Meet Issues.
1.-The republican party at St. Louis was
not willing to meet the great issues OF the
day. IApplause-l The people We're sUf-
fering from a gold standard The leaders
O. that party knew it. In the platform they
declared that the gold standard is a bad
thing, because they said they wanted TO
get rid of it as soon they could. lap
plause.l If any republican tells you that
the gold standard as A good thing tell him
to look at his platform. Applause and
laughter-l His platform says that The re-
publican party VIII substitute bimetaI-
ism for gold monoInetalIlsm whenever
some other nation viii help US do il. lap
plaGse and laughter.1
81 have said and expect to keep on say
ing thai there are two questions which
will drive the republican party from the
field The nrst is: II the gold Standard is
a good thing, why not keep ic? If it is
a bad thing, why should we keepit? LGreat
applause.] If it is good thing, wny try
to get other nations to help us to deny
to our people the benefits of it? IApplause.I
If it is a bad thing. who dares to say that
the American people shall suffer for bad
thing? [Great applause.l
Now, my friends, 1 did not intend tc
make speech. !Cries of Go on; go on:
/ must stop now.
A Voice-TelI US about sixteen to one.
What Sixteen to One Means.
Mr.. Bryan-There are several definitions
of sixteen to one. will give you some Of
them. [Applause.] Some think that six
teen to one means that the government will
I'm Cix iIyar 1larc
coins one gold dollar. Laughter Some
think it means that the government viii
give sixteen silver dollars for every gold
dollar. [Laughter.1 1t does not mean
tEat under free coinage it viii be as easy
to get sixteen dollars as it is to get one
dollar under the gold standard. Laugh
teri That may approach the truth.
Laughter and applause.1 Sixteen 70 one
simply means tbat, according to law, the
debL-payinS power OF one ounce Of gold
when coined snail be equal TO the debt
paying power OF sixteen ounces OF silver
witen coined. 1t simply means that the
silver dollar is sixteen times large as
the gold dollar. That is what sixteen 20
one means.
Power of the Silver Dollar.
when we say we are in favor Of the
present ratio OF sixteen to one, We simply
say that we are in favor of having the
silver dollar remain the size it is now, ard
having the gold dollar remain the size as
i; is now. That is what we mean. Zap
pIauSe.l We mean that is the ratio. That
has been so since the days or Andrew
Jackson, that it shall be the ratio at which
the minis shall be opened to the free and
unlimited coinage of silver. Applause
1t means this, that If you owe a debt you
can go into The market and buy silver and
have it coined and use that silver to pay
your debts. Already YOU go ont into
the market and buy gold and pay your
debts after it is coined, and when you
have the right 10 either one, # they
%
the other. Long and continued applause
Whereas, if you have but one metal which
you convert into money and that metal is
cornered, you are at the mercy of those
who are managing the corner. Applause. /
Now, just one word more. hear peo-
pie talk about the great advantage it
would be if we had the free coinage laws
SO that men could go out and buy silver
for so cents and have it coined into 100 cents
ard make the difference. I have known
men to spend time specializing upon how
much could be made under such system.
Uses Dounel1y Illustration.
at am going to illustrate that PROPOSE
ton by a story told of ignatius Do,nel1y,
Mr.. Donnelly observed two men discuss
ing the question in car, and one gen.
tleman said to the other free-coinage man:
Don't you think it is wrong for the gov
eminent to say by law that any man could
go and buy silver for so cents and after
it was coined could sell it for 100 cents and
make the differcnce?' and the advocate Of
free coinage said TO this person: Under
free coinage any person who HOLDS 4121s
grains of standard silver can take that
silver to the mint and have it coined into
a dollar at any time. Now, if that IS true,
who, he asked. under the free coinage OF
silver would sell his silver for 10 cents?
[Great applause.] There was silence for
q moment, and then some one says: Z
would The free-silver advocate went to
see where the voice came from, ana he
found that it came from a sallow-faced
young fellow sitting oy his mother, and
the mother said: Don't pay any attention
to the boy; he is IDIOT - [Great ap-
plause and laughter.1
stand free coinage, everybody Can, and if
everybody can do that, / cannot Tor the
life of me see where the profit is going
to be. I cannot see who is going 10 sell
silver for less than what he can get Tor
1t coined, but yet there are people who are
specializing to the amount that can
be mace by buying it at half price. - ZAP.
plause.]
A Voice-Wouldn't the silver mine own
ers have monopoly?
Mr.. Bryan-The mine owners are the
only people who produce silver, just as
the gold mine owners are the only people
who produce gold. Tremendous applause
and cheering The silver, when produced,
is of no use to the man who produces IL
until he either exchanges it for money
or converts It into money for his own
use, and the momSnt he brings that silver
from the mine and converts it into money
that money Is m use to buy the comm obi.
ties produced by the tOiIerS of this cOlITi.