The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-10-21

my nVe acres In wheat, part In corn
part in oats, and a part in potatoes
and then Hanna can't have u famine
anywhere but what l will be on top.
" But let mo pass to another subject.
We said last year that the gold stand.
ard was bad and we denounced the
gold standard, said 1t was anti-Ameri.
can saiu 1T was un-American, de-
clareo war against it, and announced
to the world that 1t WAS wal
which would not end until that golu
standard was driven from the United
States back to England. You heard
Republican speakers say that the gold
sta. dard was the standard of cigiliZa
tiOn. You heard them praise 1T, and
yet, my friends, the first act OF the
Republicans present administration
was to ask for an appointment Of q
commission to 60 to Europe and try tC
get rid Of the gold standard, which the
Republicans praised last fall.
Republicans, you think high
tariff is good thing. Don't you know
that whenever you have u high tariff
you always have some party denounc-
ing it? Democrats, you think u low
tariff u good thing. Don't you know
that whenever you have q low tariff
you generally find some party dcnouEc.
ing it? And yet we had bimetallism
for eighty one years, and no party ever
denounced it. That 10 a record which
any party can be proud Of. Ask your
Republican friends what they have to
say against SO unanimous an indol So
ment of bimetallism.
but there is u harder proposition
than that. We have abandoned bimet
allism and adopted the gold standard
without any party in the United States
asking for it. What do you think Of
that? Change the financial policy ol
| u nation, go from u system universally
commended for eighty-one years to an
experiment, and no party asking tina,
1t be done. ! affirm that the Ameri
can people never adopted the GOLD
standard. 1t was adopt, q for them by
| Congress. | Affirm, next that Congress-
lid not know that it was adopting the
gold standard when it did it. Why,
| the Speaker, as MIR. Gaines has sug-
gested, did not know it when he signed
| the bill. Senators and members stated
| that after 1t was found out that they
did not know that the bill changed the
| monetary system OF the nation.
Well, now, for twenty years we
have had people say that it was i'm
possible to get a bill through Congress
| containing an important provision
| without the knowledge of Congress.
Republicans, did you know that events
had robbed you Of this argument that
you have been making for twenty
years ? If any Republican tells you
that it is impossible to get a bill
through Congress containing provi-
sion OF which congress is ignorant, you
ask him who put section % into the
Dingley bill.
4" Let me lay down another PROPOSE
ton, and, Republicans, this is the
hardest Of the Lnree. We had the
gold standard for twenty-three years
and in all that time no political party
in national convention praised it
What do you think of that? Do you
know of any other policy that was ever
50 bad that the people endured it for
twenty three years when it had no
party defending it? 1t is true of the
gold standard. Will any advocate of
the gold standard explain why the
blessings OF the gold standard were SO
! those blessings for twenty three years?
| My friends, this is not fiction this is
history. | want ask your gold stand
ard friends why it was that for
twenty three years every party held
out the promise of abandoning the
gold standard ?
"lf you doubt that we were On the
Democratic side last fall, read what
some Of the leading Democrats said
after we had instructed a majority.
They went to Chicago boasting that
when the delegates found out how the
delegates from New York felt about it
that they would disobey their instruc-
tions-actually boosted that in spite
of Instructions to the contrary they
would still carry the convention; but
they did not do it. My friends, it is
bad to have those leave us who have
worked with us, but OF all the Demo
cratic conventions to leave, | would
rather have any pretended Democrat
leave that convention than any other
convention tho party ever held, be-
cause he cannot go out and say he was
q Democrat.
According to the returns, seven
millions and q little more favored the
Republican platform. But did you
ever read the Republican platform
That was not q gold standard platform,
believe, that it carried out. 1t is the
same as a gold-standard platform, but
it does not declare for the gold stand
double standard. 1t pledged the Re
secure international bimetallism, and
Mr.. Mckinley, in his letter of accep-
tancc, renewed the pledge, and when
he was elected he started to carry out
the pledge and recommend the ap-
pcintmeLt Of q commission. DO you
mean to say that it is victory jor the
gold standard to elect a party pledged
to get rid Of it? And yet, my friends,.
that is just what the American people
did. Six and q half millions of people
voted for Independent bimetallism !;
seven millions for international bimet-
allism thirteen millions and one
half people voted to condemn the gold
standard after twenty-throe years Of
trial.
"There was another platform vote.
The bOlting Democrats adopted plat
form In which they declared at,the
gold standard was good. We'll, my
friends, II anybody wanted to vote for
the gold standard there was plat
form that expressed his ideas. They
nominated their ticket, they went out
and made their fight and they polled
1872, 900 votes, or a little less than per
cent Of tho votes Of the United States.
I'm that minority report you will
| find that the boiling Democrats do