The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-07-29
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
Sage of Barlow Predicts Democratic
Success In November.
atlanta Constitution.

atlanta Constitution.
Never in our recollection has ma
tional politics been in such tangle as
it is now. Never such bitterness and
irreconcilatle differences in the press
concerning platform and candidate.
Some of their utterances are shameful,
intolerant, disgusting. They speak of
the Chicago platform as born of anarchy
and reputation and use all the odious
adjectives they can find in the die
tionary. The New York World is
especially bitter against both platform
and candidate and because it cannot
find a blemish in Mr.. Bryan's life or
record tries to belittle him as the boy
orator. When Job s three aged friends
charged him with self conceit and
rebellion against his Maker young
man listened and at last ventured to
speak. He apologized for his youth
but added. "Great men are not always
wise nor does old age always under
stand judgment. The Lord was
wroth against Jobs three aged friends,
but had no word Of condemnation for
Elihu.
Idon 'tknow how old these belligerent
editors are who denounce Mr.. Bryan
for his youth, but they seem to have
forgotten that Jefferson was only
thirty-three years old when he wrote
the declaration of independence, Mad
ison was only forty when he and
Hamilton wrote and published the
Federalist, which is still said to be
the greatest treatise on political science
that has ever appeared in the world.
John Marshall was only thirty-nine
when appointed attorney general by
Washington, Patrick Henry was but
twenty-nine when he made the speech
that first made him famous, and was
thirty-nine when George Mason said
of him, "He is by far the most power
full speaker I ever heard. Your pas
sions are nc longer your own when
he addresses them. He is the first
man upon this continent as we'll in
abilities as public virtues. James
Monroe was sent to congress when he
was but twenty-eight years old, and
when he was but twenty-three Bancroft
says he was the most conspicuous
representative upon the floor of the
house. Henry Clay was sent to the
United States Senate when he was
twenty nine. John Randolph was
leader of the house in 1900 when he
was only twenty-eight years old.
One thing is certain. Bryan is old
enough to capture and lead the old
and the young who are so fortunate as
to hear him; and Alfred Lewis, of
the New York Journal, who has heard
all his speeches, says he has never
made failure or mistake; that he
is student of all history and burns
the midnight oil. Every newspaper
correspondent at Chicago accords to
him extraordinary abilities and have
dared to say so even to the disgust OF
the old stays who stayed at home.
As to the platform I cannot see
anything in it that should arouse such
dcnunciation. One platform is for
gold and the other for silver and gold.
Great and good men differ honestly
about that and they have a right to
differ. The best editorial I have seen
from gold standard paper was in the
Richmond Dispatch under the caption
of Don't Exaggerate''-the spirit of
which was "Don't try to alarm the
people with predictions Of ruin and
panic and national distress should
silver be restored to it's former con-
dition. While we are for single
gold standard yet we cannot pr dict
any such evils. The transition will
come gradually if it comes at all and
our bankers and commercial men are
smart enough to prepare for it and let
it.come by degrees. Don't e1aggerate
the situation. -
That is the way to talk and to write.
Let everybody do like my friend
Larramore, who has all the time been
a goldbug but says he shall support
Bryan and the platform. tried, said
be, to keep them from putting that
silver plank in the platform, but they
would do it, and now I am going to
stand on it until it breaks down, and
then 1 can tell the boys, Il told you
so." And then he whispered to me,
"and besides bei' democrat from
away back. my mother was a Bryan
and her father was from Culpepper
county, in old Virginia, don't you
see. -" "Of course, of course said
I, "you are right; you are always
right"
There are bigger thin' LIN the
currency and the country has ~rvlved
them. I haven't seen ten dollars IN
gold in FIVE years and have survived
that. 1t surely has ceased to be the
common currency of the country. In
two years more my wife and / are to
have golden wedding, if we live,
and T. m afraid there won t be enough
gold in the country to make the event
respectable. The bankers keep it all
locked up and out Of sight, except
when they have to ship it to England
to pay our gold coupons. History
tells of the time in this country when
coonskins and deerskins and tobacco
was the currency, and the people got
along-and there is still some remains
of the continental money that circu-
lated during the revolutionary war
and kept on getting worse and worse
Just like our confederate money did.
But we got along finely with confede'
rate money as long as there was any
thing to trade on. The higher the
price of things the more money there
was to buy with and a man felt sorter
rich with big roll of it in his pocket,
even if it did take 5000 to buy pair
of cotton cards. In times Of trouble
the people have to get used to things,
you know, and coffee made Of parched
rye or goobers was better than no
coffee. 1t is all in getting used to
49,, TIL wow roc On rr,1nh worse