The San Francisco call., 1896-07-24
THE WISDOM OF
THE CURBSTONE.
What the Small Street
Orators Say About
Silver.
A HOT DISCUSSION.
What Held the Crowd After
the Bulletins Stopped
Coming.
PROTECTION AND PROSPERITY.
1t Paid the War Debt and Put a
Value on Every Mans
Property.
AND PROSPERITY.
"Good- night. "

"G0od-n1ght.
The eager crowd in front of THE CALL
bulletin saw the words written at the end
of the story of the convention proceedings
in Chicago, which all afternoon and the
early hours of the night had been written
there in brief paragraphs. The orators
that had been dividing the interest with
the man on the trestle with his marking
pot all these hours now had it all their own
way.
That part of the crowd who did not care
for them broke away, but their places
were quickly filed by others who did care
more for the heated argument than for the
news from st. Louis, and who wanted to
help heat the argument.
"They'll be out of the road altogether
and safely landed in the Democratic camp
by this time tomorrow might" said one of
these, by way of melting to rebellion.
Sixteen to one they do nothing of the
kind,' said the man in the center of the
crowd, whose soft, white hat distinguishe
him.
There was a surge to and fro for q
minute and the debate was under full
swing.
"T6e Populist party is the party of the
people" said the man with the white hat.
The people want money, more money,
and they can't get any odt of either of the
old parties, and they're going to stick in
the middle of the road until they get it. !"
Where does the road lead?" asked a
! thin man with a thin voice from the outer
edge of the crowd.
ITO the White House, of course. 1t
leads to place where the fat of the Gov
eminent makes as good money as there is
il the world
"Can we buy English hops with it2"
mot an English hop-we don't need
em. We have hops TO sell, and better
beer, too, than they can make in London.
A man with long, white beard, who
was, nevertheless, not Populist, but a
| goldbug of the most pronounced character,
| edged his way through the crowd until he
| stood face to face with the man with the
white hat, and raising his hand full OF
silver half-dollars cried:
Here's the money you want. Will you
trade me tiver in gold for tive got
more silver than | want?"
Nobody else in the crowd has-you' re
| bluffing," said man who had been jostled
! by the bearded man into bad humor.
"That cry of silver is all a mistake.
What this country needs to bring back the
good old times is nothing more than a
protective tariff that will bring revenue
sufficient to run the Government and do
away with the necessity of issuing bonds.
| Interest-bearing bonds at the rate they
are plllng up on US Will bankrupt the
| Government in another four years.
LET us have Mckinley tariff and the
mills will start up, the people will be en-
ployed and prosperity will return"
'Oh, give the other man chance now"
said the thin voice from the thin man.
The crowd surged and shifted and the
white hat rose and fell until its rather
understood wearer got footing. Nv he
was it that burned the greenbacks after
the war and issued interest bearing bonds
in their placer 1t was the Republican
party" he said.
"And who was it that while returning
to sound money still paid off the tre
mendous National debt and paid the run.
ning expenses of the Government at the
same time? 1t was the Republican party, ,
saie the man with the gray beard, and The
crowd, which was Populist crowd eyi
IDENTIFY, still could not refrain from cheer
while keeping up q sem mbIance of Ma
tional credit, paying off the debt as it un
questionably did, the individual State:
were during all that time running in tC
debt hand over fist. issuing bonds a.
States and as cities and counties, and a:
towns, and l am here to prove it."
4ou are talking through your white
hat,' said the man with the white beard
"The difference between that time anc
this is that cities and counties cannot issue
| bonds. Nobody will buy them. The Re