The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-09-03
SHERMAN ANSWERED.
THE RETORT COURTEOUS BY
GEORGE FRED WILLIAMS,

sberman's own Arguments for silver
Turned Against Him-No Remedy
for Financial Distress IL offered
by the Goldbugs.
At Bryan and Sewall ratification meet
ing In Everett, Mass, Hon. George FREQ
Williams spoke as follows:
Mr.. CHAIRMEN AND FELLOW CITIZENS
OF EVERETT thank you very heartily for
your cordial reception tonight and that
you have done me the honor, together with
the other speakers Of the evening, TO come
here in such large numbers that you press
upon the hall without for hearing.
have no doubt that there are some men in
this audience who come here in an honest
spirit of inquiry. hope there are such,
for, II there has ever been campaign in
which fair minded men owed 1t TO cause
to give IT a fair hearing, 1t Is now, when
we approach u question which has been
discussed In New England upon one side
only for the last quarter of o century.
am surprised Mt the boldness with
which some men approach this question,
who know little or nothing about It, Some
of the severest criticisms that have re-
ceived personally during this campaign
bGee como from men who, am inclined
70 think, If they were asked what bimetal-
lism Is would answer that IL is something
to eat. And notice 1t is the most igno-
rant or uninformed who arc the most posi-
tive In their opinions, and would also
caution those who espouse tho cause which
/ represent here tonight not to be too dog
matical in their argument, not to treat
their opponents as If they could not under
stand If they do not, but to place them
selves above the level of the Republican
and once Democratic press Of New Eng.
land and be patient and earnest in their
discussions of this question.
Abuse Versus Argument.
You may we'll afford to admit that 1t Is
| question for fair argument when so dis.
| tinguished man as the chancellor of the
| English exchequer said but few months
ago that the more no studied this difficult
question the more complex and difficult OF
solution it seemed to him. And am sur.
prised more and more at the temper with
| which our cause has been received by the
| gold press and the personal Representatives
of the gold cause. l cannot understand It,
1t is mystery to me that out Of ques.
ton upon which the whole intelligent
world is now making eager inquiry In
this civilized country of ours one side
should be met by such abuse as has beer
showered upon us since the Chicago con
vention.
/ cannot understand, for example, the
temper of man who talks as did New
York gentleman few days ago, Genera,
| Horatio G. King, who was last year the
| Democratic candidate for secretary Of state
Listen to his remarkable languages; "Al
| good citizens should unite to resist and re
pei the wave of repudiation and revolu
tion and to overwhelm the misguided, tn,
thoughtless and the reckless who expect
to ride into power on It's angry crest. TIL,
Populists, whose support Mr. Bryan glad
ly accepts, threaten the sword If they fai
by the ballot. They can have 1t In full
measure If they force tie issue"
Now, that gentleman has lost his tenn
per. That is the trouble with him, ant
apparently the whole gold press has los
its temper. 1t is time they looked abou
them and understood the spirit of tn,
American people In a political campaign
1t is time that they recognized that no
only do we not threaten the sword, bu
that we have conducted this campaign
from the Chicago convention down to tn,
present as peaceably, as honorably and a
mildly as ever campaign was waged II
the United States of America
And / take it that the reason temper in
creases on their part is that we receive IL
our calm and American spirit the harsl
epithets with which they expect in vain t,
turn us TO anger. We believe that we ar
here in the interests of the American peo
pie; that we are here for the improvement
of American business, to start again tn
| xuha ~ A ind uCt,. tS.h ha IN
tive benefit to every man, woman an,
child within the confines of this republic.
That is our belief. Certainly that end 1
good one, and we are entitled to a fair an,
patient hearing for the arguments pu
forth. l may inadequately represent tn
cause which present, but certainly hav
one great advantage over the majority o
men-I have seen both sides of it. And
Is for that reason, because l honestly hel,
convictions different from those ! nov
have, that appeal with confidence to mel
whose minds are open to argument.
i believe that was as hard a custome
TO convince as there is in the state of Mas
sachusetts today, for L admit that holt
my opinions strongly, and that 1t Is diff
cult for me to change my mind. But tn
man who has not received some new ligh
on the financial condition of this countr,
In the last few months Is indeed blind +
his country's history.
am waiting patiently now for som
one on the other side to answer in som
manner the one question which Is upper
most in tho minds of the people of tn
United States, How do you propose b.
continuing the existing monetary system
to improve upon the conditions or the pol
icy of the last four years.
Sherman Offers No Remedy.
Two Of the greatest statesmen In the Re
publican party, men eminent and honor
able and able, have already addresse,
themselves to this question, but withou
making the slightest pretense to answer II
Mr.. Reed and now at last Senator Sher
man have delivered themselves upon thi
great issue of the day, and 1 am disappoint
cd that Senator Sherman has not even a
tempted to show by what means tho indus
trial conditions of this country are to b
revived II the cause he advocates is to b
successful Yes, he has made an answer a
which am surprised-not an answer II
defepD of his party's gold standard plat
form, but an answer which practically con
cedes tho position that we are occupying
in this campaign. He does not pretend t,
declare--and to his credit be 1t said-tha
the existing gold system is satisfactor,
even to him, but his final answer Is this
"Let us maintain silver and gold at pa
with each other at the legal ratio of 10 B,
until a conference among the nation
can prescribe common standard OF val
ue." After laboring through six columns