The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-10-08

|ouhViJ WulCn VIC are wiling TO con-
cede TO the gold standard. (Applause
ana chcers.} There is no State in
this Union which will be benefited by
the maintenance of the present iinan-
cial policy, and If in some portions OF
the Union the silver sentiment is not
as strong rs in other portions, it is be-
cause those portions where the silver
| sentiment Is weakest are the portions
where there has been the least agita-
tlon and discussion and study of tho
money question. Applause and cries
or You're right.~ You not only
have lacked the opportunity of investi-
eating this question which some other
portions of the country have had, but
your papers have denounced it as u
matter unworthy of study, even if they
have not insultcd the intelligence Of
the voters by telling them that only a
few people were able to understand
the question anyhow. (Applause.) J
Some of the Republican platforms OF
the Eastern States have not only de-
| clared against silver, but have de-
clarcd against agitation. When | find
a man who is opposed to tho discus
sion OF public question | find man
who would feel more at homo under Il
| monarchy than he would in a. Republic
| (ApplauseO
Agitation is nothing but discussion.
| (Appausc and cries OF That's soy
And discussion is the only means by
| which tho people can find out what is
| best and remedy wrong. (Applauso.)
n man who denounces agitation, a
man who opposes public discussion of
| pnpllc questions, would have you suffer
and not permit you to secure the ONLY
| means by which relief can come. My
| friends, our opponents think that they
can destroy agitation by commanding
it TO keep still. They might as we'll
try to sweep back the waves of the
ocean. (Applausc.) You cannot speak
agitation into silence. You cannot
command it to be still and expect it to
obey. Agitation is result, not a
cause. 1t is a result of q condition,
and that result must remain while the
condition remains. You have a con-
dition; agitation follows as q con-
sequence aud reform comes as a con-
cluslon, and that is the only way that
agitation can be stopped my friends.
What does the gold standard do for
the merchant? 1t has driven down
| the value OF the goods upon his shelves.
| while it left his debts as big as they
| ever were. (Applause.) 1t has de-
| stroycd the ability OF people TO buv
goods, although the merchants goods
have been bought and are awaiting
| the coming OF the customer. The gold
standard has multiplied the number of
failures and the gold standard is put
| ting the merchant under the complete
domination Of the man who holds his
| note, and he can close his store at anv
moment ii he desires to exercise his
rlghI as an American free man to vote
| us nc wishes on the money question.
(Applause.) | want to lay down this
proposition, that when you borrow
| money OF q bank tho banker has nc
business interfering with your politi.
cal rights, and the banker that does it
ought not to be permitted to engage in
the banking business. (Applauso.) Is
tnerc a banker who will dispute that ?
| II there Is, then he must bo a man who
oei1eves that the right of voting goes
not with the citizens, but with the
money loaned; and the man who as
serts that asserts that this is not a
Democracy, not Republic, hut "a plu-
tocracy In which money, and not brains
or heart, rule in this country. Great
! applause.)
a voice-Where will we be when we
get free silver?
Mr.. Bryan1Are you in favor of a
| gold standard?
| The voice. am.
Mr.. Bryan-Tell mo WHY?
! The voicc-Because | believe it is
best for tho country. Every nation
will accept gold dollar for dollar.
| Mr.. Bryan-Why? | will toll YOU.
Because Of it's value. The reason why
our gold dollar and gold bullion are
worth the same is because the law Saws
that you can convert bullion into
dollar at the mint.
The voce-Well, how about silver?
Mr.. Bryan-When tho laws are so,
undcr the free coinage OF silver, that
the holder of silver bullion can CON
vert his silver bullion into dollars at
| the mint. that will fix a mint price
| for silver then, as we have mint price
! Tor gold now and' silver dollars will
be worth as much abroad as our gold
| dollar. (Grnat applause and cheering
Now, my friends, | do not object to
having questions asked. because if | am
wrong ON this question, there is no.
body more anxious to ind it out than
| am. But if am right and my friend
Is wrong, hope he will be as anxious
to get right as am. Great applauso.)
| Questions do not hurt, my friends. We
are glad to answer questions, because
there is not q question that can bo
asked by an advocate Of the gold stan
dard that cannot be answered by ad-
vocates Of free coinage. (hpplause
and cries of "Why don't Mckinley
como out and answer some Of them 2"
| N voice: Pcople hcro have the i'm
preston that whom the free coinage OF
silver is brought into effect they can
take their silver teapots and coin them
into money"
Mr.. Bryan---Thc gentleman says
that the people have the impression
here that under FREQ coinage the pco-
plo can take silver tcapots and their
silvorwaro and have it converted into
money. 1t is true that under free
coinage that any man can melt up II
dollar and ha,fs worth OF spoons ana
have the silver coined into ono dollar
and twcnty-ninc cents, il you have a
man who is fool enough to do it. Great
applause.)
Now, why will people refuse to mclt
up their silver plato? Because it will
be worth more as silver plato than it
Will be worth rs silver dollars under
irce coinage. (Appansc.) And: my
friends, you can depend upon it that
people will not do things that are
going to hurt them If they know it,.