The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-15

denounced a traitor to the South and a
radical IN disguise. The scheme itself
Gals. 1t helped them to make their case
against the loyalty of the South and to
sohdlfy the North. 1t confused and per-
verted Democratic counsels. 1t delayed the
day of deLiverance. But no sooner had II
vanished from the scene, an exploded bomb,
than II was succeeded by another device
This was plan for paying the national
debt IN greenbacks and for flooding the
country with an irredeemable paper cur
rency. There being nothing back of it,
however, except fallacy and noise, it speed
lily came to an end. Yet it held its own
long enough to consolidate the Republican &,
to divide the Democrats, and to retard the
coming of that better understanding be-
tween the sections of the Union which good
men were so earnestly seeking. Whilst 1t
lasted its Votaries stigmatiZed every one
who opposed 1t as bloated bondhOlder and
an enemy OF the people. FInaIly, pFouSmt
elements, the Democratic party had to face
the responsibilities of government. But the
impracticables who had done their utter
most to keep it out of power forever and
had greatly INSTRUCTED it's progress, We're
neither extinguished nor subdued They
memberment. They defeated the party 5
declared tariff policy They defeated its
conservative fiscal policy. Then, fully or
ganiZed, they devised a scheme having all
the evil advantages of the two which had
preceded it, with something to spare. This
was nothing Jess than the abandonment of
party had always occupied in fighting the
battles of the people and the concentration
upon lower level of all the disaftected
elements of society.
1T was something more than a new de-
parture. 1t vas to all intents and purposes
a revolution. 1t took no account of the
party's origin and nature. its orderly ante
cedents and deliberative character. Pre-
cipitating national convention into a tu-
multi. it proceeded in a frenzy of excite
ment TO adopt a platform subversive of
Democratic incipleS-cOnStructed to meet
the requirements of the silver protection
lists on the one hand and the POpuliStS on
the other-and nominated a ticket which
depended wholly for it's election on the sue
cess of its appeals to class hatred. Then
followed such campaign as patriotic men
may well wish never to see again. And to
what purpose? To this simply-that over a
divided Democracy the Republicans might
march to easy victory; that the revolution
arranged carefully and forced with such
a high hand was a failure; that the CON-
bination of Populism and free-silver RepuD-
HcantSm and reactiOnary Democracy was
not strong enough to carry the country; in
one word, that these oversanguine gentle
men had perpetrated a dreadful miscalcula-
ton, splitting their party wide open to
make a futile fusion with the winds. and,
in point of fact, selling their birthrght for
promised mess of potage they failed to
get. [ leave it to any fair-minded, intelli-
gent Democrat to say whether this is not
truthful report of the proceeding down to
the, occasion which has brought US to-
THE ANARCHY CROWD.
For thirty years the men VINO headed this
disastrous movement have been seeking in
effectually to defect the party policy from
the higher to the lower plane of political
thought and action. During the sixties they
were shouting down with the constitution
al amendments During the seventies they
were shouting down with the bloated bond
holders In the saddle at last, it was
down with the courts of law-dOwn with
the money of Ahe people and the credit of
the Nation-ahd up with the red banner of
reputation and anarchy.
Il would do man injustice I would
misstate the position of no set of men. But
| submit that the whole warp and wool
both of the organization and the argu-
ment of the Bryan-SeWall-W Watson cam
paign of last year led to this conclusion,
and nowhere else; and L contend that,
If there be not enough of enlightened con-
serVatism in the people to lnterpose be-
tween the warning extremes of agrarianism
and rapacity the strong arm of demOc-
racy, unterritied and undefled-still true
to the spirit of the fathers and the tradi-
tions of the past-the country will pres
emily be reduced to a condition where the
to the will of the few. and it will matter
little which of the extremes the few may
in reality represent. As good Democrats-as
men, who love their country and their
party, and would fain do something to res
cue the one from destruction and TO pre-
serve the credit and order of the other-we
are here this day We are here to appeal
it may be for the last time, to the serious
sense and judgment of our fellow-Demo-
vagaries of a body of Incompetent leaders.
who have prOstitutsd the name and the
principles of the party, and who seem more
than ever bent upon pursuing the course
which has wrecked US, yet who can pre-
sent no claim to the party confidence ex-
cept such as may be allowed two defeats
in hand with the deluge yet to come.
las political issue the free and indie
pendent coinage of silver at the ratio of
n ny hnfs fif 6raA
the institution of African slavery. After
the wretched experience the Democratic
party has had of it there would be no
thought of keeping it longer before the peo-
pie, even to vindicate those who are re-
sponsble for the evil it has done US except
that back of it still stand the silver kings
of the rotten boroughs and the stock iobbers
of the Senate of the United States These
represent millions of present and specula-
tive wealth, supplying the needed SneWs of
war, and WILTSHIRE agitation lastS-no mat
ter what comes of it or who SufferS-it can
be made to serve the ends, sometimes po-
htlcal and sometimes pecuniary, of those
who have it in their special keeping and
who never mean to let it go until forced
to do so by public opinion. In Gods name
l ask, shall the great historic Democratic
party, with all its glorious achievements
and noble possibilities, be scuttled and sunk
sea and safe harbor? 1t is with the rank
and file of the party to say To the rank
and file, therefore, we turn with eager, but
with confident, hope. We as{; them, in sober
truth, as friends and brothers, to look
about them, to stop and think and see
ing whittier we are being hurried by pas
sion and error, to help us reverse the en-
gines before it IS too late
FREE SILER NO Relief.
II am not unmindful of the circumstance
that many honest Democrats have been
honestly, deluded into the belief that there
is something in the free-silver suggestion
Gentlemen, there is nothing; absolutely
nothing. 1t is the most barren of barren
localities. l but quote from a speech made
by myself some seven years ago when l say
that, if the skies should rain silver-if the
creeks and the coves should overflow with
silver-so that the farmer could come and
fill his baskets and sacks with it, and cart
it oft would yield him no permanent re-
lief, but, under the theories and methods
of taxation, both national and domestic, TO
which he tamely submits, it would quickly
finds its way back to where all his earn
lngS and accreuonS go; that is, into the
pockets of persons named by law to rob
when the mortgage is lifted shall own a
farm, l may claim to be something of a
farmer myself; and | speak from the stand
point of immediate. practical, personal
ly is the farmer robbed by the tariff
pricing all that he has to sell in a free-trade
market and taxing all he has to buy to
enrich a favored few-but that in every
possible way, through a vast establishment
of useless officials, through the public
charities and corrections, through every
public appropriation and expenditure, he
is made to pay excessive tribute and to
OF, sharing with him every common inter-
est, | certainly am equally his friend and
neigbOr, and not his enemy; l could not
do him an injury without doing myself
,i,tyx rN,I y ~ r-~,ft