The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-08-19


putlic sentiment has been drawn oat
since the Rebellion days.
One week age, coming this evening,
candidate BRYAN addressed his follow
citizens in Madison Square Garden in a
speech accepting the nomination OF the
Chicago convention. The speech was
carefully prepared and II was an express
sion, elueidation and confirmation OF the
tenets set forth in the Chicago platform.
1t was chiefly devoted to consideration of
the silver plank in that platform and
amounted to an argument in behalf of
the proposition for the tree unlimited
and independent coinage OF silver and
gold at ratio of 10 to by the United
States incidentally It was very dry
speech, and as a contribution to tn. liter
ature OF the controversy offered nothing
new, novel or more convincing than is
already available in the tons Of silver
literature scattered over the country.
To demonstrate 90 the country that
neither Candidate BRYAN nor his silver
argument represented the sentiments OF
all the Democrats OF New York to whom
direct appeal was made and OF whom
endorsement was asked for the Chicago
platform ana the Chicago candidate, the
sound money Democracy called the meet
ing of last evening, invited to it every be-
lever in sound money and asked 10 address
It ex-Congressman W. BoURKE COCHRAN
as being typical organization Democrat
as well as sound money advocate and n
speaker whose talents fit him To move
masses Of men by his platform elo-
quence. How widely and thoroughly
this meeting represented Democratic
sentiment may be judged from the
names OF the gentlemen who accepted
Invitations to act as vico-presidents of
the meeting and many of whom were
present This list includes men OF en-
inence outside partisan politics, like
Judge IIoRNBLowER, ex Governor
FLOWER, WILLIAM c. WHITNEY, CHARL rs
S. FAIRoHILD and CARL ScuURz, A. X.
MCCLURE and WILLIAM NJ. sINoERLY OF
Philadelphia, liberal Democrats like ex-
Mayor HEWITT, General SIcKLEs, IL. L..
GoDKIN, ex. Mayor MATTHEWS OF Boston
and such fighting partizaps as Mayor
"PAT" GLEASON of Lo ng Island City and
"1oM" WALLER Of Connecticut. The
whole range of Democracy appears TO
have been represented and united for
this big meeting. 1t was thus tar more
Democratic party gathering than
that of one week ago tonight, or of the
Chicago convention itself.
The task set for Mr.. COCHRAN was not
aljffiicult one. For a man of his legal at
tainments, political knowledge and ex-
perience, and splendid vocabulary, with
a cause to advocate that has been dem
onstrated by the experience OF the world
through centuries OF experiment, 1t was
no great job to answer the buncom be
to probe the stilted phraseology. to de-
molish again the tme-worn and talk
worn fallacies that pass for argument in
support OF the monstrous proposition
that chiefly distinguishes the Chicago
platform.
stripped OF all verbal disguise" says
Mr.. COCHRAN, "this Is IN issue OF COM
mon bonesty,a an issue between the honest
discharge and the dishonest reputation
of public and private obligations. 1t is
a question as 10 whether the powers OF
this government shall be used 10 protect
honest industry or to tempt the citizen to
dishonesty On this question honest men
cannot differ. II is one OF morals and OF
justice. II involves the existence of
social order. 1t Is the contest for civil
ization ITSELF"
On such a basis less eloquent cham
pion than Mr.. COCHRAN might well have
stirred an audience of intelligent Ameri-
can citizens.
MIR. COCHRAN, as we have had occasion
10 remark might be the case with a careful
reader OF the BRYAN speech, did not
fiud it easy to discover just what BRYAN
aimed at in his long drawn discourse
last Wednesday night lie was naturally
puzzled over the attempt TO discover just
what BRYAN really believes would follow
the application Of the silver proposition
TO the money policy OF the country.
BRYAN said hls pian Would tenpnt the