The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-25
A NIGHT OF WEIGHING
KERN, SMITH AND HOFFMAN TRY
TO EXPLAIN THEMSELVES,
Amusing Exhibition of Patriotism as
She Flops-The Tomiinson Hall
Popocratic Meeting.

bench in the Tomlinson Hall meeting las
| night. They not only occupied it by invita-
| ton. but by right, for after having beer
| told that the price of their future affiia
| ton with the silver Democracy would b.
| open declaration to the people that they
were sorry for their sins of the past ant
repented of their advocacy of the golC
standard and sound money, it was found
that the committee having the meeting il
/ charge did not have sufficient silver TO pay
| the rent of the hall. and therefore the
| speakers were called upon to furnish the
money necessary to allow them to occupy
the mourners' bench. To a certain degree
they all bowed down to the terms of theil
| future affiliation with the party, but John
| w. Hoffman did not do so fully. He clev-
| erly avoided making any statement that
would compromise his personal opinions in
| the matter.
There was also a laughable incident In
| the introduction Of Mr. Hoffman as the
first speaker. The meeting was under the
auspices of Camp Gray's fifteen members
and W. w. Robbins, president of the camp
and Popocratic candidate for the State
Senate. in making a few opening remarks,
finally came to the point of introducing the
chairman of the evening. LAS Camp Gray
is the hostage of this OCCASION" he said,
I'VE have thought it proper to place man
not a member of the camp in the chair
for the evening" and he then introduced
John w. Hoffman for that purpose. There
was an audible litter passed around the
hall after this malaprop remark but the
speaker either did not hear it or could not
understand what he had said to cause it.
Mr.. Hoffman had come prepared to
make his confession and repent. He would
not trust himself to talk without manu-
script. a thing he seldom uses in political
talk. for fear he might make a slight mis-
take, and he wanted to go just SO far and
no farther In a number of statements he
showed that he did not believe in the Chi
cago platform, but would support it be-
cause he could see no other way for him to
remain in the good graces of his party.
81 have not reached the point" he said,
where am ready to sever my connection
with the Democratic party. While 1 am
not fully in accord with the Chicago plat
form, I am not going to vote against it
because it did not follow my individual
idea. My Democracy is too deep rooted
and too rock-ribbed to be so easily shaken.
l will not take my dolls and rattle box and
go away when the game does not progress
entirely to my liking
A STRING TO HIS REPENTANCE.
1t is somewhat doubtful if Mr.. Holtz-
mans confession and repentance will en-
title him to full connection with his party,
for throughout there was that strain of in
sincerity that was occasionally emphasized
by the remark: while 1 am not fully in
accord with my party and its platform"
etc. He brought in this expression often
enough to let his listeners know that his
was simply confession of error and not
a repentance and promise to do better in
the future. He justified his decision to vote
against what he believes in peculiar man
ner. He first stated the position of the
Republican party on the financial and tariff
questions. He charged that the Republican
press had buried the tariff question and
compelled Mr.. Mckinley to hide his little
tariff lamp under bushel and bear aloft
the golden torch of Wall street" In stat
ing the position of the two parties the
financial question he said the Republican
party was for the single gold standard to
the exclusion of silver and that the Demo-
cratic party was for bimetallism.. Then
came his reason for voting against his con-
victions. While / do not fully agre with
my party" he reiterated, ''on the plan
adopted by 1t for relief, consider it better
to get out and work for the party that
comes nearest to meeting my views than
to remain inactive.
He said the Democratic party seeks to
remedy the depression in business by the
free coinage of silver, thus giving a safe,
sound and stable currency. las strange as
it may SEEM he continued sit is said that
General Palmer the head of the boilers
ticket, once voted for the free coinage of
silver" but he did not conclude with the
remark: las strange as it may seem John
w. Hoffman, the repentant sinner stand
ing before you, once used his power of
eloquence in favor of the single gold stand
ard
Alonzo Greene Smith also spoke. After
a few preliminary remarks he threw out
ID firebrand with the remark that the Ma
tional Democracy is organized to assist
in the election of that red-handed Anareh-
ict
net get a chance to complete the sentence
for he was interrupted with such a ire
intended to finish the sentence before quiet
was restored. He thus did not get an OPP
portunity to explain wherein Mr. Mckinley
is 'red-handed Anarchist
SMITHS RIDICULOUS FLOP.
1.-THE power to coin money is in Congress
and is without limitation" he said If the
people declare for the free coinage of sill
yer the Nation must bow to their will. If
they choose to delay till other nations do
so, it is the duty of the people to bow to
that will. The people are most likely to be
right on all public questions and if they
want free coinage of silver I am willing to
trust them"
Those are the views of Mr.. Smith as ex-
pressed last night. They are not materially
Opera House May %, 1886, but at that time
he did not clothe his language in words
that would mean something his hearers
would not fully understand. AT that time
he said:
so the question is reduced to the single
Shall we resort to the free
and unlimited coinage of silver, or adhere
to the present gold standard? Free coin
age leads to certain results, loss of con-
fidence financial disorders and,s finally,
1t will at once unsettle values.
1t will depreciate values 1t will give us
money and nothing else
Continuing, Mr.. Smith quoted from the
recent letters of Secretary Carlisle, in
which It was explained how the present sill
yer dollar has been maintained at parity
with gold. IF the government can make
433 900 600 silver dollars worth one dollar
each the argument against free silver
amounts to nothing. What the govern
ment can do with that amount of silver it
who is parading around with two Mexican
silver dollars should have d justice OF the
peace sit on his sanity.
Here is what Mr.. Smith said in that Eng
lish Opera House speech: Nowhere in that
matchless chart of liberty, the Constitution
of the United States did the fathers of the
Republic declare that government pos
of value into fifty cents worth OF silver
any more than into five cents worth of
iron TO give TO the people dollar not
worth hundred cents. "
At another time, in his speech last night
Mr. Smith said: While my views have not
been along this channel (the free-silver
plank of the Chicago PLATFORM, l Will
ing to accept it, knowing that 1T will affect
all alike
In his English Opera House speech he
said: ''As loyal Democrats. loving our par
ty because we love our country, ever