The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-09-03
|F TEN
SILVER IN SOMERSET
Agriculturists Do Not En-
dorse the Chicago Plat
form Very Heartily.
SILENCE GREETs BRYAN's NAME
Farmer Marines Eloquence Fails
to Awake Enthusiasm for
the White Metal.
SILENCE GREETS BRYAN's NAME
sneofa1 to the jersey citp Mems.

SOMERyILLE, Sept. 8, 1S96.-From It's
contie,,itv with Hunterdon, which is now
acknowledged by all parties to be the nor
bed of BRYAN and Sewallism in this state,
il has been considered that Somerset mas
become infected with the free shver
views. Although that is to some extern
true. vt may be fairly said that the great
majority of the farmers of this county
are for sound money and from present
indications the county will give a ma
iority for Mckinley and Hobart.
Somerset has for many years been one
of the closest counties in the State. Up
to the great Republican sweep Of W
years ago it used to huctuate between
he two parties like a pendulum, going
either Republican or Democratic by small
majorities. In 1890 senator Keyes, Demo-
crat. was elected by a majority of 394,
and three years later Frank somers,
Republican, was sent to the Assembly
by sss.
TIT silver men have realized from this
fact that it will require only a few votes
comparatively to carry the county and
they have been bending all their energies
to convince the farmers that the free
and unlimited coinage of silver at the
ratio of 1e to l would cause old Somerset
TO flow with milk and honey, make wheat
a dollar a bushel and freight tolls almost
nothing. Somerset has those annual
gatherings called Farmers Picnics. such
as the Hunterdon men held at Packer
Island a week or two ago. 1t is held at
Chimney Rock, and like Packer Island,
the presiding genius is Dominic Opdyke.
There is a strong suspicion that the
Dominic is also infected with the free
silver poison. He has many symptoms of
the disease, and although he does not
exactly acknowledge he is tainted he at
times gives unmistakable evidences of
the poison that is insidously working its
way through his veins. Chimney rRock
ds far superior to Packer Island as a pic
mic ground. The grove Is about a mile
back of Bound Brook, at the foot of the
mountain, and takes its name from a
big perpendicular rock which rose straight
up the mountain side, looking like a big
factory chimney to those in front of 1t.
That was some time ago. OF late years
lightning has Clipped off huge chunks
of the rock and played such general
havoc with it's contour that now it re-
ouires some stretch of imagination to see
the chimney. The two days Farmers
Picnic began yesterday and had not been
going long before it became apparent
tina il was intended to be a free silver
meeting. Whether that or something else
was the cause, it is true that a decided
frost descended upon the gathering. The
peanut man who had a small mountain
of his fruit piled on the ground in vain
tried to induce the country swain to buy
his wares; to no purpose did the candy
man confdentially inform the girls that
all the best ladies liked his sugar plums
at only 10 cents a half pound, and the
reduction of ice cream to five and ten
cents per plate was equally Intellectual
in drawing the sheckels from the agri-
culturalists' pockets. At two o'clock a
make themselves look like farmers were
patent to all, sang a song about how the
man with hayseed in his hair was going
to rule the nation. This succeeded in
drawing to the covered shed an audience
of about three hundred
John Martine, Of Plainfeld Who likes
the. first speaker. His address was a
brilliant display OF oratorical pyrotechnics,
which We're as effective as blank car
tridges- His remarks about the good
times the free coinage Of silver would
bring about were greeted with faint APP
plause, while his eulogy Of William Jen-
nings Bryan was received with actual
Mr.. MARITIME, under ordinary cireum-
stances. would be a dangerous man be-
fore an audience which is not accustomed
TO think for itself and is carried away
by what it hears, especially since
he has the reputation of being an honest
man OF standing in the community. His
arguments, if the statements he made
can be called such, were, if not strictly
untrue, dishonest. One of his so-called
arguments is a good; criterion of the
others. He was talking about emigra-
ton to this country from the Old World.
He laid great stress on the fact that he
had obtained his statistics from the
Tribune" almanac, a Republican publiea-
ton He showed how many emigrants
came from England, ireland, Scotland.
Germany and other countries, which he
cdnea goid countries. and then quoted the
comparatively small number which came
from China, a silver country. From this
ne argued that silver China was more
prosperous than the gold countries of
Europe. While he was thus trying to
deceive the Somerset agriculturists, Ii
hung Chang, the Chinese mandarin, was
New York Of the Geary act, which for
bids Cinnamon to emigrate TO this country. \
Not once in his speech on this point did
good, honest Farmer MARITIME refer TO the
Chinese restriction law.
The crowd seemed more amused than
otherwise at Mr.. MARITIME. for he did say
some funny things. Especially was this|
SO when he toasted the Hon. Alvah Clark
over the slow fire OF his sarcasm and
r%idicule. Mr.. Clark is not over popular
with the plain farmers Of Somerset and
when they saw his fads and foibies parade
IN such d grotesque manner they shouted
IN their gIee.
Nj. Martins p-ompousness, his ex-
travasant remarks, his poetry. wild ges-
lures and bombastic mannerisms were
taken by the audience IN a humorous
manner and only once did anyone seem
to consider his address seriously. That
was when one intelligent looking farmer
took exception to one Of his mistate-
nents.
All" exclaimed Mr.. MARITIME In tri-
umphant tones, 'you are the only gold
pug IN the room; stand UP and let us look
The reply to this was so unexpected
that 1t astonished even Mr.. Martini. In
stead OF the gold man standing up several
proud of him"
MI. MARITIME did not PRESS his Invitation
20 the gold map to stand up What little