Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-07-04

Vi wi tobAh'f ''hs ''. ~ WI
use only one of these two metals. If tn,
American people are In favor of that,
have nothing to say. must submit I,
the majority vote and majority voice II
this country of ours.
This proposed financial plank Is a de
claration that the republican party in
tends to maintain low prices and strln
gent business for all time to come.
Mr.. President, there is a beautiful
provision in this platform about tn,
tariff. / subscribe to It. 1 believe In
protective tariff and have advocated /
for forty years.
Il do not believe It. I do not believ,
that the people are in favor of a singh
gold standard. ] believe that 80 per cen
Of the American people are In favor o
himetalllsm in the old fashioned mean
ing Of the word up till 1873. ] want {,
say two things which may seem to yol
TO be personal, and that ought not to b,
introduced in an audience like this
But J must beg your indulgence II
seem transcend the proprieties Of thli
occasion in saying something persona
to myself. | have formed my conclu
sions OF this great question after twenty
years OF study, after twenty years O
careful thought and careful reading.
have been trained In a school which ii
seems to mel ought 10 hit me fairly wei
for reaching just conclusions from estab
lished facts. j have formed my conclu
slons to such an extent that they hav,
become binding on my conscience. ! be
lleve that the adoption of the golC
standard in the United States will worl
great hardshipsi that II will increase tn,
distress. and that no legislation touch
ing the tariff can relieve the d%ificultle,
which tall now admiO prevail in thi,
land l believe hat the whole welfaSc
OF my race is dependent upon a rightfu
solution of the question; that the moral
ity, the civilization; nay he religion OF
my country is at stake. know and you
know thatmenIn distress are never pa
triotic nor brave. You and | know thai
hunger and distress Will destroy pa
triotism and love Of country. / say to
you now, with the solemn conviction
upon me that this plank means disaster
and distress to my fellow men, ! cannot
subscribe to it and | must, as an
honest man, sever my connec-
ION with "A political organization
which makes that one of the articles Of
its faith. ] repeat here what ! sail yes
tcrday to the committee. ! would not
on my " judgment carefully as i
have attempted to prepare IL take This
step alone. But my friends. ] an rus-
tanned In my views of the danger mat
is coming to us and coming to the world
by the adoption of the gold STANDARD. !
as sustained in it by the intelligence Of
the entire world and ! would be rcCre-
ant to my trust given to me by the peo-
pie Of my state if ] came here to protest
and if | failed when the republican PARTY
makes n single gold standard one # the
tenets OF its faith to sever my connec-
ton from that party"
Cries of NO! No. all over the hall.)
do you suppose that myself and my
associates who hold with me. and who
take the same view of this that | take
do you suppose hat we can take This
step without distress? Do you suppose
we can take IL for any personal a.d-
vantage or for any honors hat can be
conferred upon us? With us IL is a dues-
ton of duty. You may nominate in this
convention any man you choose, If you
viii put him on the right
kind Of a platform will
vote for him. You may take any
to nominate him which you
hin proper. ! will defer to your iudg-
and will support him If your plat
'orm is the right one But when you ask
to surrender my conscience as an
honest man, cannot do 1t. (Appiause).
realize what 1t will cost us; / realize
he jibes and sneers hat will contin-
tally be heaped upon us. But oh, my
elbow citizens, l have been there beforI
.heers). have been there before till
party to which you belong haa
pdfpAns. ss.oro -
thai the silver cause. I~sNte.
OF the doctrine of free men, free homes
and free speech. tCheers). DO you
think that we a sever our connection
with a party like this unless 1t be rs a
of duty, a duty not to our "
alone but a duty to all the people
Of this great land. Mr.. President.
there are few men In the republi-
can party that have been more
honored than | have been. There are
few men in this convention or anywhere
else who have been longer connected
with this organization than |. There are
few men i'm it who have been more active
and none i'm ii, no not one, that is more
attached to the great principles of the
party than | have been. And / cannot
out OF 1t without heartburnings, and
yet | cannot, before my country. and my
God, agree to the provision that will
put upon this country a gold standard,
and | will not. loud applause).
Thanking o for your kind atten-
ton, retiring from you as | do, perhaps
never again to have an opportunity tt
address a republican convention, / can
not do it without saying hat / have in
my heart the hope, the expectation, tina,
better counsels will prevail and that il
you shall be foolish enough 10 adopt thi.
platform and force us TO leave the re
publican party. better counsels Will pre-
vail and that Ultimately, upon a tfue re
publican platform. l shall have the In
estimable privilege of again addressint
you. loud continued applause.)
Senator Teller retired from the stag,
at 1l:45. There were cries for Mr.. For
aker 10 reply, but he merely moves tina
the Teller substitute be laid on the table
Colorado asked for a roll call. and Mon
tana and Nevada seconded 1t.
The calling of the roll was often greet
ed with applause when on a poll o
states being demanded, some wei
known delegate recorded his vote. Thi
was particularly the case when u. 5
Grant in the California delegation, fol
lowing after l.. A. Sheldon Garfield,
chum), and ]. B.. %Spreckles, voted in ia
vor of silver by recording a nay on tn
motion to lay Mr.. Teller's substitute ~
the table.
The Free Silver Protest.
Senator Cannon Of Utah read the fire.
silver protest to the gold platform, a.
follows:
On announcing the purpose asserte'
in this paper. Ii is due to our constitu
ents and to ourselves that there shall y
a public showing OF indicating facts.
The sole authorized expression of ma
tional republican faith from June, 1883;
until the present date has been the plat
form adopted In the national convent.o
at Minneapolis. Neither the utterance
of state conventions nor the attitude O
individuals could change the tenor @
that platform or abate the sanctity @
it's binding force. Every delegate to thi
convention was elected as It's adhcren
and its advocate. True, one Of its mos
important paragraphs has been subject
ed to such a divergence of constructi6
as to make Its language unsatisfactor
in the intervening time. and dangerou
IL continued in the future; but Of the In
ter contained within that languag
there has never been a doubt.
1t Is the rightful province Of this cor
vention to revise the party tenets and I
announce anew the party purpose. TIL
majority Of this convention In the excl
else Of such authority has this day mad
official e~nunciat.on Of republican La