The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-08-13

of independence and by the provisions of
the constitution which is based upon
that declaration. We simply mean this:
That when we go to legislate, the gov
ernment shall know no distinction, that
! there shall be known by the government
no difference of men because of birth,
because OF position in society or because
of the manner in which they worship
God (Long and continued applause)
THAT is the substance of that decla-
| ration; that is the substance of the con-
stitution, and those principles must
underlle our government while it con-
tinues i'll its present form. You, as citi-
zens, have right to speak upon this sub
Ject. L care not what your past party
connections may have been. Party is
but an instrument by which the citizen
serves his country. You tell me you
owe something to your party: | tell you
your party owes a higher duty to YOU
than you can owe to it. (Applause) |
would not say one word to lessen the
| esteem W -lich any of you may have for
the party to which you belong but
say parties can not live upon the past.
Parties must face the present. Parties
| must be prepared to meet and solve
every issue as it arises and the party
that does not care enough to meet an
issue is not great enough to govern the
United States. Great applause.D Par
ties do not make issues. Issues make
and unmake parties. applause and
cries of right you are.)
AN issue has arisen Il was forced
upon this people. For twenty years it
has been growing and during the last six
years its growth has been more rapid
than in any three years before. This
ISSUE, was presented to the American
people. The republican party met in
convention. 1t had its opportunity.
When Abraham Lincoln was the idol of
the republican party that party was will
ing to meet the issues of the day.
Great applause.) The republican party
at st. Louis was willing TO meet the
great issue of the day. (Applause.)
The people are suffering from the gold
standard. The leaders of the party
knew it; In the platform they declared
the gold standard was bad thing be-
cause they said they wanted to get rid
of it as soon as they could. (Applause.)
If any republican tells you the gold stan
dard is a good thing yell him to look at
Ms PLATFORM applause and laughter.)
His platform says that the republican
party will substitute bmctallism for
gold monometallism whenever some
other nation will help us to do it. Cap
plause and laughter) / have said. and
L expect to keep on saying. that there
"i' tNo 'lutSilullS WHICH VIII uflNp Inn
republican party from the field The
first Isl If the gold standard is good
thing, why not keep it? If it is bad
thing, why should we keep it? Great
applause.) If it is II good thing why
try to get other nations to help deny our
people the benefits of it? (Applause.)
If it is bad thing who dares to say the
American people should suffer for bad
thing! Great applause0
Now, my friends. did not intend to
make speech. (Cries of go on, 20 on)
l must stop now."
4 voice-"Tell MS about 1G to l."
Mr.. Bryan-'There are several dcfni-
tions Of 1G to 1. | will give YOU some
of them. Some think that the govern
ment will coin sixteen silver dollars
every time il coins one gold dollar.
some think it means that the govern
ment will give sixteen silver dollars for
every gold dollar. QIaughter.) 1t does
not mean that. Uaughter.) Some
thlnk that it means, under free coinage,
IL VIII be as easy to get sixteen dollars
as 1t is to get one dollar under the gold
standard Iaughter) That may ap-
plause) Some think that according to
law the debt-paying power of sixteen
ounces of gold, when coined, shall be
equal to the debt-paying power of sixteen
ounces of silver when coined. If simplv
means that the silver dollar is sixteen
tunes as large as the gold dollar. That
Is what l6 to l means. And when we
say that we are in favor of the present
legal ratio of 16 to / we simply saw
that we are in favor of having the silver
dollar remain the same size as it is
now and have the gold dollar re-
main the same size as it is now. That
Is what we mean. (ADplause) We
mean that is the ratio it has been SO
since the days of Andrew Jackson: that
1t shall be the ratio at which the mints
shall be opened to the free and unlimited
coinage of silver. (Applause.) 1t means
that il you owe Il debt you can 90 out
coined and use that silver to pay your
debts. Already you can go out into the
market and buy gold and pay your debts
after it is coined, but when YOU have tbe
right to use either one, if they attempt
TO corner one metal you can use the
other Qong and continued applause).
whereas if you have but one metal,
which you can convert into money that
metal is at the mercy of those who man
age to corner it. (Applause)
"NOw, just one word more. I heard
people talk about the great advantage it
would be if we had the free coinage laws
so that men could go out and buy silver
for so cents and have it coined into n
dollar and make the difference. | have
known men to spend time Specializing
how much could be made under such
system. L am going to illustrate that
proposition by a story told of Ignatius
DOnnelly. Mr.. Donnely observed two
men discussing the question in car, and
one gentleman said to the other free
coinage. man: Don't you think it is
wrong for the government to say by law
that any man could go and buy silver for
30 cents and after it was coined could
sell it for 100 cents and make the differ
ence? and the advocate of free coinage
said to the gold person: Under free
coinage any person who holds 412 1-2
grains of standard silver can take that
silver to the mint and have it coined into
gold at any time. Now, if that is true
who, he asked, under the free coinage of
silver would sell his silver for 80 cents.
Great applause.) If that be the case,
can not see where the profit is going to
be. But yet there are people who are
speculating as to the amount that can be
made by buying it at half price. ZAP
plause)
A voice-Would not the silver mine
owners have monopoly?
Mr.. Bryan-The mine owners are the
only people who produce silver. Just as
the gold men are the only ones who pro-
6ucn gold Silver is nf M ,ISa IN tho