Birmingham state herald., 1896-10-13

the tariff question can be settled any time. (Applause) If he wants me to dis cuss tariff, I tell him to join me in a pro- hibitory duty on foreign financial poli- cies and then I will discuss the rest of the schedule. Great cheerlng). Or if he is not willing to discriminate against that foreign product by a prohibitory duty, will ask him to wait until he has settled the money question by international 1 agreement. I am not going to discuss the tariff question because am going to dis l cuss the paramount issue of this cam paign, made so by three political parties l and considered so by republicans, who | are afraid to discuss it, and try to dis cuSs the tariff question instead. (Ap- l plause). But there is part of this letter which think you ought to hear, and a m not going to deny you any good thing daughter). He says: The audiences will be composed, I presume, very largely of laboring men and wage earners of high order This class of people, like others dominated by human selfishness, so far as their own interests are concerned, probably prefer to receive their wages in dollars worth 100 cents rather than those worth only 53 cents Great applause). I shall take for my text the words like others dominated by human selfishness so far as their interests are concerned.' Driving It Home.
 "Laboring men, I want to ask you why it is that every goldbug says that you
 
 selfish considerations, while every gold | bug pretends to be a philanthropist, who l simply loves honest money because 1t will help other people? Daughter and cheers) l want to know why it is that these goldbugs are so sorry that every
 body else will be influenced by personal interests, and so positive that personal interest cannot affect them? Applause) Why is it? I will tell you why-if a man believes a thing is good for himself and fT.. O iyait hat is good for himself That is the rule tha5
 I lay down, and you can examine 1t and apply 1t to every day life"
 MT. Bryan then spoke of the reasons which laboring men, farmers and busi- ness men gave for wanting bimetallism, comparing their reasons with those of the advocates of the gold standard, and said:
 "But there is another thing I want you to notice about MT. Washburn's letter.
 I believe that MT. Washburn is large employer of labor Now, if he Is domi- mated by selfshness why is he worrying | so much about having to pay his em- | ployes in 5 cent dollars? If his employees | are so much afraid that they are going | to suffer personal loss because Of free Sli- ] yer, why does not Mir. Washburn re- l joice, if dominated by human selfishnessE l Gaughter)
 "Oh, no he desires to pose before his employes as one who is willing to deny
  dollars in order that his employees may not lose by free coinage.
 "What reason have you to believe that he is less dominated by human selnsh- ness than his employees are? MT Wash
 burn complains of the Wilson bill | ar
 rived late this afternoon and l received
 through the mail, or rather in an enve- lope, an extract from speech which MT.
 washburn delivered in the senate of the
 United States on July Il, 1892. l have not
 had time to compare this speech with the Record and tell you so because do not use authorities generally without comparing them and being sure that they are accurate But on this occasion tell you l got this extract and l will read it, and If Mr. Washburn is in the room I want him to say whether this is his speech or not, and if it is not I will not ask you to accept it. Is MT. Washburn in the room. GA voice: Hes dead. Now, am in earnest in this matter and l do not want to
 Do Any Man an Injustice. I have asked if he is here so he can verify now, and have heard no response. If he is not here, it cannot be verified un- til I am gone, but l want to say to you that if what I quote turns out not to be MT. Washburn's speech, then l want to ask you to withdraw it entirely and not consider it in connection With what l
 have been saying. Great cheersD In
 
 gives the price of wheat, beginning with 1865, and running down to 1890, and he uses these words: The hopes of the pro- ducer have been turned to ashes. The grain dealer, the miller and the business man have been disappointed. The bal ance of trade in favor of this country, that every one looked forward to with so much assurance, has been much be- low tine general estimate, probably from depreciation of prices in agriculture and
 lI, httV 1Tnd Valt1 Gold is still leaving the country and there
 is but little life or spirit in general busi-
 ness, while I think there is general
 disappointment, that, with the tariff of 1890, we do not see better times.' "Now if these words are correct then Senator Washburn tells you that there was general disappointment that the tariff of 1890 was not followed by better times, and again, he said: MT. President,
 the people of the country were startled, as our country certainly was, when the
 statement made in an article In one of the magazines a few weeks since that
 one-half of the property and wealth of
 this country was owned by 36,000 per sons And he says The mlllionaires, ten millionaires, forty millionaires, or the hundred millionaires, almost without ex- ception, have neither created or earned their wealth. The royal road to wealth has been through the illegitimate specu- lation, stock and grain gambling, mar ket working, railroad wreckipg, trusts and the whole family of iniquities that have been developed under the nefarious methods of the exchanges of this coun- try
 s'Now, my friends, Is this senator ex- pressing his alarm that half the property of the country was owned by 36,000 per- sons and that the semi-m milllonaires al- most without exception have neither ere ated nor earned their vA alth, and that the royal road to wealth has been developed under the nefarious methods of the exchanges of this country? Ought the senator to be surprised If we are alarmed at the same things that scared him four years ago"
 The remainder of MT. Bryan's speech was devoted to a reiteration of his former arguments on the money question.
 Will Not Comment on That Letter.
 Minneapolis, Minn., Oct 12.-Mr. Bryan declines to comment for publication on Archbishop Ireland's letter, holding that