The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-30
THE ST. PAUL ATTORNEY ADDRESS
SEES LARGE AUDIENCE AT
MARKET HALL.
PLEA FORA FREE CURRENCY.
NEED 1T FoR THE MAINTENANCE
OF FREEI HOMES I'm THIS RE-
PftBLIC.
NO SUCH THING AS FREE TRADE
England, tie Mistress, He Says, of
the Seas3s the Money Markets
and Exchange System.

An audience that filed Market hall
In spite of the storm, and most Of
whom remained until the speaker clos
ed at midnight. applauded the new
doctrines. of liberty as enunciated by
w. w. Erwin last night The meet
ing was held under the auspices Of
the Bryan and Lind labor organiza-
lions. On the platform were seated
score OF the best known labor leaders
and some Of the leading politicians of
the Democratic party. In the audi
ence were many ladies, who, like their
escorts, were 10th to depart and re-
manned until the close of Mr. Erwin's
remarks. g
Matt Bantz presided, and the open
Ing exercises put the crowd in rare
good humor. J. c. Hanley and j. e.
White sang solos, that of the former
being set to the music of 1.-THE Battle
Hymn of the Republic" The audience
joined in the chorus with rare good
Will and never at any political assem-
blage OF the hundreds that have been
held in the old hall has there been
such a demonstration. Mr.. Bantz made
a brief address, and was followed by
H. L. Chaplin, of Minneapolis, both of
whom made pleas for free coinage.
When Mr.. Erwin reached the hall the
crowd was becoming impatient, and
1t was nearly o'clock when he made
his bow and waited patiently for the
enthusiasm of his hearers to subside.
The burdensof his plea was for free
currency He did not once use the
term free silver, nor did he mention
directly, and but once by implication,
the name of the Democratic candidate
Tor presidents But with the faculty Of
subtle speecht with which he is gifted,
Mr.. Erwin had the audience in cheers
time and again for the free coinage
| candidate. In opening he said the con-
| test Of the world had been for liberty
and the grandest struggle had taken
place on American soil. William Penn
mad set the pace for future generations
Wnen ne established a colony which
should be governed by the people. This
experiment proved 50 successful, that
within one hundred years the colonies
| OF the nation had imbibed the ideas
| taught by Penn. Then came the strug-
gle that was followed by the declaration
! OF independence and the sundering Of
ties of bondage of the mother country
| SO today, the American people are on
the eve of a great struggle whose eff
fects will be far reaching, not only to
! the present generation, but also to the
| liberties of mankind
Man only gained his liberty by slow
| and short steps," said the speaker
| Personal liberty was wrested from
kings after long and bloody struggles
| then the contest for freedom Of con-
science began; in America the chains of
slavery were stricken from millions Of
! men only after a most gigantic war
| fare. The result sof this struggle for
| advancement, had been that the .Ameri-
cans are now the greatest race on the
/ face of the globe. We are now first in
everything that makes people great.
| We are now endeavoring to secure for
| ourselves a new and untried privilege
| called economic nberty-not the mere
right to labor, but the right also to
enact a system of laws that will give
Us the power to labor and return for
| that labor without division with any
other man. Now for the first time
have the people begun to inquire what
! is wrong with our condition and how to
! better it. This movement is no craze
| 1t is not dedicated by any human
| leader. The finger Of heaven which has
| touched the pulse Of the people all over
! the land, awakening them to the dis
| covery of the new, higher and better
| liberty Of mankind. From this time
| forth the masses will assume the right
of finding out for themselves the poll
| cies which shah guard their homes
| The supineness and neglect Of dele
| gated representatives will be no longer
| tolerated. u y
Few understand the vast aggregate power
of the American people Few understand the
progress made by free labor. Yet our poll
| teal opponents say that if we attempt
financial changes alone we shall not only
fail. but that We shall lose the few privi-
leges we now possess. These people do not
American people fs3equal to that of the
nations of Great 7 Britain Germany and
| France combined. We have the right and
the power to be- of ourselves and Independent
Of the rest of the world and it is only the
selfish interests sof those who tell us other
| wise that deters us from prompt action in
such a crisis as this
| ''It has BEEN forced upon us that some
men in departments of life advancing
| rapidly to wealth and some are slowly but
surely getting less and less for their labor
and for their products. For thirty years up
| to 1890 the manufacturers of the country
made an average profit Of 81 gross per cent
| On their invested capital; during that same
period the farmer of the country made an
| average of only five gross per cent. Pro-
| lection had been carried to such
| a degree that the manufacturers fourished
while option traders in Chicago forced the
| price of wheat down to rs cents a bushel.
| Thus the markets of all the products are in
| the hands of the option traders. Yet Nc
Kinley and his followers revie us for re-
fusing to accept a money system that is
| more absolutely controlled by the Bank of
| England than the commodities of Am
! erica by the option traders
There Is no such thing as free trade. Eng
| land is the mistress of the sea-. Cne mistress
| of the money markets, the exchange system
| of the world. There is no such thing as an
| American dollar good for dollar the world
| over. The Bank OF England. to prevent the
| United States from securing the trade of
| Argentine, fixed the rate of exchange OH our
proud American dollar at per cent. So
long as England remains the trader Of the
world, SO long will our gold dollar be worth
so much-less exchange in the markets Of
the world.
1.-The combined capital invested in coal,
iron and petroleum industries of the United
States in 1889 was $500. 600. 000 Suppose con-
gress should have passed laws prohibiting
the productions of those industries. The
combined capital invested in gold and silver
mines in the saIne year was S4S6 600. The
production of gold and silver for the year
was $98, 600, Of which nearly one-half was
paid to labor. But congress did not hesitate
to strike a blow at the mining industries
at the instance of the money power. They
tell us that with free currency the silver
Of the world viii be- dumped on our shores.
Let it come. We need it all to satisfy the
needs of free labor in this republic. All the
silver of the civilized world is at par, and
If thew DUNN it here Ii will be because they