Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-07-20
BRYAN'S SILVER SPEECH.



the natural resources of this country
creates wealth, is as much a business
man as the man who goes upon the
board of trade and bets upon the price
of grain. The miners who go thou
| sand feet into the earth or climb 1000
feet upon the cliffs and bring forth from
their hiding places the precious metals
to be poured in the channels of trade
are as much business men as the few
financial magnates who in back room
corner the money of the world
We come to speak for this broader
class of business men. All, my friends,
we say not one word against those who
live upon the Atlantic coast; but those
hardy pioneers who braved all the dan
gers of the wilderness, who have made
the desert to blossom as the roSe-those
pioneers away out there, rearing their
| children near to natures heart, where
they can mingle their voices with the
voices of the birds; out there where
they have erected schooIhouses for the
education OF their young. and churches
where they praise their Creator, and
cemeteries where sleep the ashes of their
dead, are as deserving of the considera-
tion of this party as any people in this
country.
1t is for these that we speak. We do
not come as aggressors. Our war is not
war of conquest. We are fighting in
the defense of our homes, our families
and posterity. We have petitioned, and
our petitions have been scorned. We
have entrcatcd, and our entreatics have
been disregarded. We have begged and
they have mocked and our calamity
came. We beg no longer. We entreat
no more. We petition no more. We
defy them.
The gentleman from Wisconsin has
said he fears Robespierre. My friend,
in this land of the.free you need fear no
tyrant who will spring up from among
the people. What we need is an Andrew
jackson to stand as jackson stood
against the encroachments of aggran-
died wealth.
They tell us that this platform was
made to catch votes. We reply to them
that changing conditions make new is
sues; that the principles upon which
rest Democracy are us everlasting as the
hills, but that they must be applied to
new conditions as they arise. Cond-
tions have arisen, and we are attempt
ing to meet those conditions.
They tell us that the income tax
ought not to be brought in here. That
is new idea. They criticise us for our
criticism of the supreme court of the
United States. My friends, we have not
criticised; we have simply called attcn-
tion to what You know. If you want
criticism, read the dissenting opinions
of the court. That will give you criti-
cisms. They say we passed an unconsti-
tutional law, | deny 1.-THE income tax
was not unconstitutional when it was
passed. 1t was not unconstitutional
when it went before the supreme court
for the first time. 1t did not become un-
constitutional until one Judge changed
his mind; and we cannot be expected to
know when a Judge will change his
mind.
The income tax is just law. 1t sim
ply intends to put the burdens of gov
ernment justly upon the backs of the
people. | am in favor of an income tax.
When | find man who is not willing to
pay his share Of the burden Of the gov
ernment which protects him, l find a
man who is unworthy to enjoy the bles-
sings of government like ours.
He says we are opposing the national
bank currency. 1t is true. If you will
read what Thomas Benton said, you will
find that he said that in searching his
tory he could find but one parallel to
Andrew jackson. That was Cicero,
who destroyed the conspiracies of Cati-
line and saved Rome. He did for Rome
what Jackson did when he destroyed
the bank conspiracy and saved America.
We say in our platform that we be-
lieve that the right to coin money and
issue money is u function of government.
We believe it. We believe it is part
of sovereignty, and can no more, with
safety, be delegated to private individ-
uals than we could afford to delegate to
private individuals the power to make
penal statutes or to levy laws for taxa
tion.
Mr.. Jefferson, who was once regarded
as good Democratic authority, seems to
have different opinion from the gentle
man who has addressed us on the part
of the minority. Those who are OPP
posed to this proposition tell us that the
issue of paper money is function OF
the bank, and that the government
ought to 90 out of the banking business.
| stand with Jefferson. rather than with
thom, and tell them, as he did, that the
issue of money is a function of the gov
ernmcnt, and that the banks ought tc
go ont of the government business.
They complain about the plank which
declares against the life tenure in Office
They have tried to strain it to mean
that which it does not mean. What We
oppose in that plank is the life tenure
that is being built up in Washington
which excludes from participation in