Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1896-09-08
BRYAN At CHICAGO.
SPEAKS AT A LABOR PICNIC AT
SHARPsHOOTERS' PARK.
AVOIDS PARTISAN POLITICS.
EXPLAINS THE ORIGIN OF THE ONLY
NEW IDEA HE HAS HAD LATELY.
Says One of the Duties of Government
Is to Put Rings in the Noses of
Hogs-He Urges Employees
to Vote as They
Please.


to Vote They
Please.
Chicago, Sept. THE crowd gathered at
| Sharpshooters' park, the spot selected Tor
| to-day's labor picnic, very slowly. AT
o'clock there were probably not to exceed
| 1000 people around the speakers stand.
Many of them were ladies. After that
| time there was a steady stream of people
| flowing into the grounds and the available
| places We're soon occupied. At 2:3O
| mighty shout went up from the outskirts
| of the crowd and there was great rush
| for the carriage occupied by Mr.. Bryan,
which had just then arrived within the in
| closure of the park. Hundreds OF people
pressed forward, seeking to shake Mr..
Bryan by the hand, and the passage of
| the carriage through the crowd was some
| what slow. in consequence. He finally
| reached the speakers stand, where he was
received with prolonged applause. On the
| stand were seated Judge Mcconnell, Judge
| Prentiss and large number of represent
atives of the trades unions of Chicago.
At $50 Mr.. Bryan began his speech, being
introduced by Edward Carroll, president of
the Building Council, in brief and ap-
propriate address. Mr.. Bryan said, in
part:
Two Duties of Government.
'"There are two things to be considered in
government: The first is that in the en-,
actment of legislation you shall be careful
to give no advantage to one person over
another, If that advantage can be prevent
ed In other words, it is the duty of gov
ernment to avoid acts of affirmative injus-
tice but that is only part OF, the business
the other half of it. He says that govern
| ment must restrain men from injuring one
| another. That is one of the important du-
ties of government to restrain men from
injuring one another, and the government
that fails to restrain the strongest arm
that can be lifted from injuring the weak
est citizen in all the land is government
which fails to do its whole duty. Gap
ulause)
months ago, and l got an idea from some
| hcgs. Gaughter) An idea is the most i'm
portant thing, that a person can get into
his head. and We gather. our ideas from
ticed these hogs roofing in field and they
were tearing up the ground, and the first
We're destroying a good deal of property,
and that carried me back to the :lme when
as boy lived on a farm, and l remem-
bered that when We had hogs we used to
put rings in the noses of the hogs: and
then the thought came to me, Why did we
do it,? Not to keep the hogs from getting
fat. We were more interested in their
The sooner they got fat the sooner we
Killed them, the longer tIley were Ill Sel-
ting fat the longer they lived But why
were the rings put in the noses of those
hogs? So that while they were getting fat
they would not destroy more property than
they were worth. daughter and applause)
The Application.
came to me, that one of the duties of gov
ernment, one of the important duties of
government is the putting & Of rings In the
do not consider this a reflection on your
neighbor. We are all hosgtsh. We are all
selfish my friends and we must not o,ss apply
you tell me that you are not selfish 1 can
prove by your neighbor that you are. Gap
he is selfish, I can prove BY you that he is
(Applause) We are all selfish.
"And when say that one of the duties
| of government is to put rings in the noses
of hogs. 1 simply mean this. that while
society is interested in having every cti-
zen become Independent, become self-sup-
every citizen secure enough of this worlds
goods not only to supply his own wants, but
to educate his children and leave him some
thing for the declining days. But while
society is interested in this, society is also
| interested in having laws that will pre-
vent him destroying more than he is worth
while he is securing his own independence.
| Applause)
There are some who would silence every
| criticism Of existing law. There are those
| who would denounce everyone who advo-
Gates a change as a distufber of the public
| peace. There are those who would call him
a disturber, one who breeds discomfort I
want to say to you that discomfort lies at
| the foundation of all progress. lApplause.)
| So long as you are satisfied you never go
forward. 1t is only when you are dissat-
| isfied with your conditions that you try to-
| improve those conditions.
The Australian Ballot.
| 'I am not going to violate the proprie-
| ties of this occasion by entering into dis
cussion of partisan questions. but desire
questions which cannot be confined by
party lines The ballot is the means by
| which the people of this country must
not the independence, If they have not
the intelligence to right their wrongs at
the ballot box. they have not the courage
| to secure their rights in any other way.
(Applause.( But. my friends, conditions
arose in this country, which made it i'm
which they had. "a Voice: "That's right.S5
! There We're certain influences so strong. SO
powerful. that men We're afraid to exercise
| political rights given them under our in
stitutions; What did they do? honor
the laboring men Of this country. and or
laboring men (applause), because they Sc
cured 70 the people of this Country an an
come down to you from above: that ballot
Is the result of your own demand. It is
the result of your own influence. The Ia
| of an Australian ballot because the labor
| ing men of this country compelled the
adoption of Australian ballot laws. (Ap-
| plause.)
Now, when you come to the ballot.
| want you to remember that that ballot was
given to you, not by any man who em-
! ploys you. Uong and continued applause.
| A voice. 1--WE will remember you.'5 That
ballot was given to you by law. You had
when your employment ceases. You do
| not tell him that if he does not vote ac-
| cording to your opinion you will quit work
ing for him daughter, and applause and
| right to say to him as he has to you that
| you have got to quit working for him if
| you do not vote the way he wants you to,
| (Applause)
Every Man Owns His Own Vote.
'.My friends, when I say this, I am not
| afraid of offending anybody, because If
| there is an employer in this country who
| believes that he gains the right by paying
| wages to control the vote of those to whom
50 The