Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1896-07-23
WOODBURY., n j. THURSDAY JULY %, 1896

stanuaru ana borh the parties this year
are declaring against it, If the gold
standard is the standard Of civilization,
why, my friends, should we not have
it? So, if they come to meet US on that,
we can present the history Of our nation.
More than that, we can tell them
this-that they viii search the pages Of
history in vain to find single instance
in which the common people Of any land
have ever declared themselves i'll favcr
Of gold standard They can find where
the holders Of fixed Investments have
Mr.. Carlisle said in 1878 that this was
a struggle between the idle holders Of
idle capital and the struggling masses
who produce the wealth and pay the
taxes Of the country; and, my friends,
it is simply aquestion that we shall de-
eide upon which side shall the Demo
cratic party fight-upon the side Of the
idle holders Of idle capital Or upon the
side of the struggling masses? That is
the question that the party must answer
first, and then it mast be answered by
each individual hereafter.
The sympathies Of the Democratic
party, as described by the platform, are
on the side Of the struggling masses,
who have ever been the foundation of
the Democratic party. There are two
ideas Of government There are those
who believe that if you just legislate
to make the we'll to do prosperous
their prosperity win leak through on
those below. The Democratic idea has
been that if you legislate to make the
masses prosperous their prosperity viii
find its way up and through every class
and rest upon it.
You come to US and tell us that the
great cities are in favor Of the gold
standard. tell you that the great cities
rest upon these broad and fertile prai-
ries. Burn down your cities and leave
our farms, and your cities viii spring
up again as if by magic; but destroy
our farms, and the grass will grow in
the streets Of every city in this country.
My friends, we shall declare that this
nation is able to legislate for its own
people on every question without wait
ing for the aid or consent Of any other
nation on earth. Upon that issue we
expect to carry every single state in this
Union
1 shall not slander the fair state Of
Massachusetts nor the state of New
York by saying that when its citizens
are confronted with the proposition, Is
this nation able to attend to its own
business?-I will not slander either one
by saying that the people Of those states
will declare our helpless impotency as a
nation to attend to our own business.
It is the issue of 1776 over again
Our ancestors, when but 3, 600, 000, had
the courage to declare their political in
dependence of every other nation upon
earth. Shall we, their descendants,
when we have grown to 20, 900, O0O de-
clare that we are less independent than
our forefathers? No, my friends, it will
never be the Judgment Of this people
Therefore, we care not upon what
lines the battle is fought. If they say
bimetalIism il good, but we cannot have
it till some nation helps us, we reply
that, instead Of having a gold standard
because England has, we shall restore
bimetailism and then let England have
bimetalIism because the United States
has. If they dare to come out and in the
open and defend the gold standard as a
good thing, we shall fight them to the
uttermost, having behind Us the pro
ducing masses of this nation and the
world Having behind Us the CONNER
cial interests and the laboring interests,
and all the tOiling masses, we shall an
swer their demands for a gold standard
by saying to them: You shall not press
down upon the brow Of labor this crown
Of thorns. You shall not cruelty man
Kind upon cross Of gold