Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-14

reproducing here the following editorial
from the New York Journal of Wednes-
day:
DAY by day the feeling spreads more
widely among the people that this is to
be a battle for liberty, for the rescue
from the encTDachments of capitalism of
the ancient rights of free speech, of free
thought and free political action. Great
as is the currency issue. the need for
protection of individual liberty is sup
planting ii as the prime issue of the cam
paign. Not by those who from the first
have stood for Bryan and the Chicago
platform has this issue been raised. 1t
has been proffered boldly, insolently by
the classes, that in their dread of the
effect OF free silver coinage upon their
unlawful gains have thought to avert
IL by exercising upon the masses of the
voters the power of coercion which great
wealth has given them. Not from the
friends and supporters of the democratic
ticket has proceeded the snarling chorus
OF malicious epithets directed at honor
able political opponents. No democratic
employer has threatened his men with
discharge unless they cast thetir votes
according to his will. 'Object lessons
of a sort that bring penury to thousands
of homes, taking the bread from the
mouths of hungry children, have not
been employed in Bryan's behalf. We
must look to the better classes for
these incidents in the evolution of Ameri-
can liberty.
THE masses of the people are not cow
ards. Recognizing the invasion of their
rights by the forces of plutocracy, they
offer resistance. For every man whom
coercion forces into support of Mckinley
a score will assert their manhood by raj
lying to Bryan. They recognize in the
contrast between the elements surround
ing the two candidates the line OF diver
gence between serfdom and liberty, and
they know that unless the choice be wise
ly made this year four more years of pow
er will so entreneh plutocracy that Its
overthrow viii be impossible. The sig
nifcance of the unity of the millionalreS
and the corpora tons in support of Nc
Kinley is not lost upon the nation. The
people study the personnel of Mr.. Han
mas New York and Chicago finance COM
mittees with shrewd and deep seeing
eyes. The farmer who sees the names
or Armour and Allerton heading the Chi
eago list remembers how steadily the
price of his cattle has decreased since the
trust organized and controlled by these
men became the only purchaser in the
market. They who note the name OF
Rockefeller leading the New York COM
mittee will not forget the execrable
record of the Standard Oil company IN
corruptng courts and legislatures ana
| in running by the violent outlawry of the
incendiary such riv- as it could not
overcome by the sinister methods or the
| conspirator.
at is to the glory of William j. Bryan
and to the eternal credit of the PLATFORM
| upon which he stands that he is opposed
| by the classes of which Rockefeller and
| Armour Sage and Huntington are types.
| The people already love him for the enc
| mics he has made. They recognize IN
him the personfication of democracy.
| and in his campaign the first frank and
manly revolt against plutoeracy the ma
| ton has seen since it's peril became ap-
parent. 1t is this that has stirred them
as never were the masses stirred before
| in political struggle. 1t Is this that has
| made the east, which has been depicted
| to the candidate as the enemy's country,
turn out to do him such honor as never
| has been outdone in behalf of any presi-
| DENTAL nominee. 1t is this conviction
| that the struggle of November is be-
| tween democracy and plutocacy-be-
tween the forces Of oppression and the
| forces of lberty-that must result in the
| triumph of the democratic ticket, unless
the theories at the very foundation of our
national existence are to be repudiated.'