The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-10-09
REEDS H0MELY TRUTHS
4 VAST AUDIENCE AT
 BRIDGEPORT.

With Quaintly Expressed Axioms-Sena-
 tors Hawley and Platt Also Speak.
 Bridgeport, Oct. S.-The greatest political demonstration ever witnessed here was the reception accorded Thom- AS B. Reed tonight. Five thousand men crowded into the state armory to hear the man from Maine, and over three thousand more attended the over flow meeting in Sailors hall. Speaker Feed was the guest of William D. Bish- op, a lifelong democrat and ex-con- gressman from this district and MT. Bishop was one of the speakers at the Neeting. While Speaker Reed was ad- dressing the armory meeting Senators Joseph R. Hawley and Orville H. Platt were enthusing the Sailors hall meet ing,
 The platform In the armory was crowded with prominent republicans from all over the state, and the gall lery, which had been reserved, was oc- cupied by several hundred people from Norwalk, the home of Congressman Hill. The demonstration when MT. Reed mounted the platform was wildly enthusiastic and it was many minutes before he could begin. His address was devoted entirely to the money question. It was logical, clear and a powerful appeal to the wage earners not to be deceived by the silver shouters of the west. After tndorsing the candidacy of F. J. Hill for representative from the ct,iOt Mr.,
 ''The republican party moves as the earth moves. It, gets more sense day by day. No one knows all about the currency question. When Adam was alone on earth there was not much complication to society. Thinge were uncommonly simple. If there had been railroads he could have gone forth, made innumerable speeches and come home unanimous on the subject When Eve was placed there was complication at once and from that time to the pres ent affairs of society life have become more complicated.
 'Tt is not necessary to imply that mo- body knows anything about this sub ject, however. Nobody knows all about the ocean. but men of good sense keep out of the middle of the road. Some orators are so wrapped up in admira- / ton of the beauties of the several coun- tries that they don't live in that they entirely ignore the history and exper- fence of their own. These men would initiate the highly civilized and enlight- ened nations of Mexico, China and the far east. As for me, I prefer to look at home and judge American people by facts in American history.
 eff there is anything in this silver question, 1t is because it is a disaster to the whole world. If it is a disease, s it is a world disease. I defy anyone to present an argument upon it that ap- plies to the United States that does not also apply to every other nation They say we are big country and should go it alone. We are great, but not a boasting people. A boosting na- tion is like a man whistling in a grave yard in the dead of night. It is not because he is cheerful, but scared These orators appeal to pride. They don't want to take lessons from any, body. I have but contempt for such, but want to take lessons from anybody who can teach me. This proposition to shoulder it alone they make because they say they believe if we should un- dertake the free and unlimited coinage of silver it would lift all the silver in the world as high as gold, and there would be not ripple. They do not say what the foundation is for those words i've believe These words are a good thing in theology, because no one can dispute them. but not in the point at issue
 s"These orators ask us to initiate the civilized nation of Mexico, whose sil- yer dollar is bigger than ours and worth one-half. have no faith in the argument that silver will meet gold and produce a marriage of love and harmony We say that the mine own CT is going to produce silver and re- ceive one dollar for what is worth ceive a dollar for what is worth fifty cents, and then when it gets into the laboring mans pocket its value will be but half dollar. If it is this particular form of grief should it come, the silver mine owner will be the gain CT in the Beginning and all of us losers in the end. Whether it would be. suc- ,;essful if the whole world banded to- gether in bimetallism is @ great ques- ton for future settlement.
 "In 1873 there was not a dollar Of silver in the United States except curiosity or a. hoard. Since then we have coined or stored for coinage six hundred millions and yet that tremen- dous purchase has not lifted 1t up. It went down. It is like everything else, increased demand means increased quantity and lower price. If we buy all the rest of the silver of the world will we do any better? You are sim ply fooling with your own profits. We may tamper and waste the profits Of etbers, but I do not dare use the de scriptive expression which belongs to him who would ruin his own pronts. What we want is low prices, but never so low as to be inconsistency with fair profit and a wage which will increase to keep pace with our reasonable re- quirements.
 q never saw question discussed in politics during twenty years that seem ed to have less foundation than the main proposition on which this election depends-a proposition to substitute a fluctuating currency which will lessen the wages of 70 per cent of the people for that proportion are salary or wage earners. The truth is We are so blend cd together that it is impossible to in-