Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1896-09-19
REPUBLICAN MEETING.

stage were Messrs. Park Agnew, J. L.
Crupper, Thos. Burroughs, W. P.
Graves, Chas. King and S. n. Garwood.
The Third Regiment Drum Corps fur
nished music for the occasion. The
hall was by no means filled, and COM
paratively few colored men were pres
ent. In the audience were number
OF democrats who were present through
curiosity. The meeting was called TO
order by Mr.. Agnew, who, in few
appropriate remarks, introduced Gen.
King, who, he said, had been sent here
By the national committee. Gen. King
commenced by saying that this was not
his first visit to Alexandria, as during
the war he had held suburban resi-
dence," and that when he went out OF it
he usually met with warm reception.
He then alluded to the kind treatment
that had been shown him on his arrival
that evening by a democratic friend.
He then enl, ZION his discussion by
saying that no Gid not believe man
was knave or fool because he differ
ed with him on political matters; he
thought the one object of all the PEG.
pie was the prosperity of the country.
He predicted that New York would
give Mckinley 100000 majority and
said Maryland was sure for Mckinley.
He said the convention at Chicago
thought it had found panacea for all
the ills in free silver at 16 to l, and
without awaiting the consent Of any
other nation. This nation, he said,
had acted independently of all other
nations in all the important steps so
far taken, but that when it was propos-
ed to 60 into the free coinage Of silver
other nations would have to be con-
suited and as the business interests
of the whole country would be
affected, the consent of all in
terested in finance must be had.
Gen. King held that no country could
fix value of a metal by stamping it or
maintain its parity with more valu-
able metal; putting stamp on thing
did not make it of its stamped value.
The value of gold could not be shaken
while that of silver constantly fuctu-
ated; silver dollar was only worth a
dollar because the honor of the govern
ment was pledged to make it so, but
the free coinage of silver would elimi-
nate gold from this country. The crime
of '73, he said, WAS not to be compared
with the blunder of 1872, and he declar.
ed that the '73 demonstration act was
not surreptiously passed by Congress
and that the "crime" was discovered by
silver mine owners. He said that for
twenty years following '73 all was
prosperity and people had more com.
4, forts than ever before; the country did
more business than all the rest of the
world combined; people became e1-
travagant, the reaction was natural and
then came the panic and crash, but this
could not be crued by free silver The
people of this country know what an
irredeemable currency was, especially
the people of the South; it was curse
to the people who had it. With free
silver, he said, China and other coun.
tries would dump their silver here and
have it coined into dollars, and he ask
ed how long the United States could
keep up the value of such dollars, as
they could not make people Of other
nations take these dollars at their face
value. Gen. King said the Chicago
convention was not democratic con-
vention and good democrats would not
support tall honor to such demo.
Gratis. He would rather stand with
Carlisle, Palmer and Buckner, than with
Harden, Atlgeld, Coxey and Debs. he
denounced other planks in the Chicago
platform besides the money plank and
said these should awaken the interest
of the people. He condemned Gov.
Tillman for raking up sectional issues
and arraying one class of people
against another; deprecated the attack
in the Chicago platform on the Supreme
Court, and said if the presidency was to
be placed in the hands of men who adj
vocated the principles of the Chicago
convention then was it time to put
their houses in order.
Gen. King then explained how the
great grain crops of the world had
caused low prices; how the introduce
ton of cable and electric cars and Of BIZ
cycles had done away with horses and
caused feed to be lower, and said mort
cages on farms would not be renewed
if the debtors proposed to settle in de-
preciated money, as this would not be
fair. Many people he said were worse
off than the farmers, and he did not be-
lieve the farmers were going to carry
this country with their 16 to THE
craze was dying out.
Gen. King then deprecated the idea
held by some that the employer was
the natural enemy of the men they
employed and vice versa;one class, he
said, should not be arrayed against
, another, and he then told of what no.
BILE work Enoch Pratt, Johns Hopkins
and other rich men had done in estab-
fishing charities for their fellow men.
He said there were no such things as
classes and masses; deprecated the ef-
forts of Mr.. Bryan to array
people against each other, and
said with the money question
settled prosperity would follow by
the combination of labor and
capital-all might be millionaires ifthey
tried to be. Referring to the labor
riots in Chicago, Gen. King favored
the right of the government to sup
press riots and lawlessness, to stop the
interference with travel and the mails
and to maintain law and the liberty of
men. Gov. Altgeld, he said, was to blame
in his course during the riots, and MIR.
Cleveland, though he did not like him
and did not defend him, was right in
suppressing those riots, as he was right