Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-06-24
Hon. Win. ]. Bryan in StaultDl.
An Immense Audience to Hear Him

on visit to his seat-mate in Con-
gress and friend, Hon. H. st. Geo. Tucker
His coming had only been known short
time and the telephone wires in the county
were in such condition as to render com-
to all parts difficult. Yet IN the
afternoon people began to pour in and when
the train arrived at 7.05 a vast crowd had
collected at the station to receive him.
W hitch was done with shout. and it fol-
lowed his carriage and cheered him loudly
as he drove away.
At about half past eight he arrived at the
point fixed from which he was to speak near
the Fair Grounds gate, and an immense as
sembly of people had gathered to hear him.
He was introduced by Mr.. Tucker amid
wild cheering. He said he had been sick
for some days, and for this reason would sit
whilst speaking. He then went boldly and
straight at his subject. He took up bimet-
allism in all of its phases and discussed 1t
with freedom and an intelligence never
before heard by our people. He showed
that there never was a country which had
gold standad rhioh had reached that condi-
iinanciers, the money holders, had brought
it about, and in no case was in done except
for their individual benefit. He explained
the causes which were now driving Japan
to gold standard. Japan has had he war,
just as Germany had, and as the United
States had, and as result large indebted
ness had accumulated against the govern
ment which the people must pay. This debt
is now owed to the financiers Of that coun-
try, they control legislation there as the
fnanciers did in Germany and the United
States, at the close of their wars. and that
the obligations held by them against the
government will be more valuable when
the country is put upon a gold standard,
because money will be scarcer, these finan-
ciers are doing the old trick of causing
those debts to be paid in gold. 1t is simply
another case of grinding the people. He
said he was not precocious child, but he
did not remember the day that he did not
know when one end of teeter board went
up the other went down, that when money
was scarce property was down, and when
money was plenty property was up. He
said that he liked selfishness in people, he
liked to hear man say he wanted blmetal-
lism because it was good for him, but he had
learned somewhat to despise the man who
worked for the gold standard because it was
| to be such great benefit to the laboring
| man. There never was banker who work
ed for the maintenance of the gold standard
| who did not proclaim that he was doing il
| to benefit suffering humanity.
| He said there has been change in many
bankers on this question. 1t had been the
belief that every banker was gold bug
This, if ever, is not now so. Bankers have
| told him that the gold standard has filled
their vaults with bad debts, that it has 81
DEPRECATED the value OF their assets tina
they have lost more that way than they
could possibly gain by an increase in thu
value of currency. A Failure to realize
on assets" is the placard usually posted OF
the front door of a defunct bank. Thos'
assets are based on property, and there il
just as much property in this country a
there ever was. not an acre of ground less
but it has been shrunken in value until tn
owner finding his taxes and other fixe'
charges greater than his income, had moth
ing left him but bankruptcy.
He said there were many people who de
MED that the law made money, this he sal
was ignorance, and he showed how ever
dollar was the result of a statute. He sal
many people thought gold was the onl
metal out Of which money ought to be mad
because they thought it lost nothing in coin
ling. One fellow is said to have argued tia
if you have gold and silver and paper nor
ey in your house and the house burns, you
paper money is burned up and lost, you
|, silver is melted and worth only one hall
but your gold is just as good melted as if
had never had any fire on it. Yes, SAID al
other, but if you had them in boat and til
boat upset your silver would go to the BIO
| tom of the sea, and your gold would sink
| the bottom of the sea, but your paper none
would float, therefore paper money in
boat is better than eli Their gold or silver.
q He explained why metal which cou]
. lbe taken to the mint and coined free, ;
f gold is, commands higher market va1l
!. | than metal which has not been so favore
. Some people objected to the free coinage
II silver because there was danger of foo
~ Of it. He said there was a vast difTerent
# between the possibility of flood and Il
!. probability of one. Did the people new
n want it to rain because when it began
d rain it was possible that it might nev
G. stop? There had been but one flood of ra
r. to his knowledge in 5000 years, and as the
Il never had been flood of silver anywhe
# he would take his chances of there bel
one this time, as there was no probabili
of one, even if there was possibility.
He said he had been accused Of disturb
l. the harmony of the party, and as an tilt
s. tration told an anecdote of boy W
e. had hold of a cats tail. Johnny" Sc
III his mother, ''quit pulling that cats tai
in 81 am not pulling the cats tail ma, l
If only holding her tail and she's doing
Of pulling" He was not driving men out
the party, he was holding on, they w
It. doing the driving.
Or He referred to that movement of demOcr
Mt which put up ticket and framed pl
rs form and which polled in the United Sta
m only 100, 900 votes, and did not carry but {
20 precinct and in that precinct there W
a. only six votes, Mckinley and hims
~ got three between them, and the other tn
IL went for the candidates Of that refo
Ill moyem emit. He said it had been predic
on that the silver craze would blow over,
IS. the blowing over left 1t like fel 10
'e, fence out west who had built it wider I'll
high, and when it blew over it was higl
vi than before.
" He gave as the definition of an hon
~ dollar, a dollar whose purchasing pc
~ is the same yesterday, today and fore'
20 He said that stream with two sources
w always more uniform in volume tina
81 stream with only one source, when
source was swollen by rains the other pc
IS bly, was at its normal height, and vicev
So currency with two metals was m
49,, likely to be uniform in volume.
| uo ridiaulod the offOrtS Of the RpnuhII