The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-10-21
CHICAGO PLATFORM GROWS STRONGER.
BRYAN STILL URGES BATTLE.

| BRYAN STILL URGES BATTLE
Democracy is Altogether on the
AggrcssiYe-Rcpub Are Now
Answering Their Own Arguments
Hon. WilliamJ. Bryan was the chief
speaker at the Nashville Exposition
on the Sth inst, which had been set
apart as Nebraska Day. He took the
position that the Chicago platform was
still the guide-book of the Democratic
party, which is much stronger than it
was u year ago, and he notified his
hearers at the outset that ho would
devote himself to an exposition Of tho,
evidences which showed that the
Chicago platform is being vindicated.
| The more striking parts Of the speech
are given in the following extracts:
~ wan; to say to you that events
platform is stronger to-day than it was
a year ago; and | prophesy that it
| will be stronger year from now than
it Is now. We are not apOlOgizing
We are not on the defensive. We are
on the aggrc ssive. We are still press
ing the battle along those lines and
our enemy OF last year is furnishing
us proof that we are right. Therefore,
to-nig ht, l am going to spend my time
laying down propositions for our op-
Onents to meet.
"In the first place, | assert that our
plank in regard to arbitra tion is
stronger now than it was last year,
and you can challenge any Republican
to dispute that proposition.
But that is only one plank. We
denounced government by injunction
and some said that we +. .lncted upon
the courts. We did not. We simply
Insist that even Judge is servant Of
the people, and the people have the
right to limit the jurisdiction of their
courts, Us they nave the right TO de-
| clare that q man charged with crime
shall be tried by a jury and not by
judge.
"It is for the people themselves to
say what jurisdiction their judges
shall exercise and what shall be the
methods of trial. The difficulties
growing out Of the coal strike have
called the attention of the people to
the dangers that lurk in government
by Injunction.
Let me call your attention TO an
other thing: We opposed the trus t
last year. We denounced the trust.
We insisted that it was hostile to the
genius ofDur institutions. We insisted
that a government like ours must be
great enough to suppress trust
organized to drive out competition and
then plundering the public after COM
petition had been destroyed. The op-
position to trusts Is stronger than it
was last year, because the people have
seen what it was to have the trust
draw tariff bill in the pretended in
terest of the rest of the people. That
tariff bill, moro than any bill that has
! .vor been drawn, was drawn by the trust
| and for the trust. One Of the members
of Congress called attention to a recent
decision in a German court in which
the court held that the trust was in
keeping with the idea of protection
! that if you gave a tariff to manu-
featuring industry, you expected the in
dustry to take advantage OF it, and II
it becomes necessary to form q trust in
order to get the advantage of that
tariff law, then the trust must have
been in contemplation of those who
framed the law. That Is not the exact
language, but if you will read the quo
tation from the German court you will
find that he sustains our contention,
that it is absurd to give a trust the
protective tariff and then complain
that they did not II can to take advant-
age of it.
my friends, the tariff bill has been
written. Congress met. Congress did
not have time to abolish government
by injunction, but Congress did have
time to turn over the taxing power OF
this nation to q syndicate Of the United
States.
"a Republican up in Nebraska was
asked last Monday whether he thought
the Dingley bill had anything to do
with the rise in wheat. WELL said
he, it was at least striking coin:
cidence.' Now, I don't know whether
you have anybody in this State who
sees a striking coincidence in the rise
Of wheat just about the time the Ding
ley bill was passed, but if there is !
want to call that persons attention to
another striking coincidence. Wheat
has fallen 10 cents from the highest
point t. reached. 1t was up to q dollar
one day in Chicago;, think it is down
now to something like 80 cents. 1t has
worries me is how can the Republi-
cans account for the fact that after the
Republican party raised wheat to a
dollar, it let it go down again u? 1t is
q striking coincidence. Now, If it Is d
good thing to have wheat at a dollar,
aud the Republican party put 1t there,
IN the first place, how can it excuse
itself for Letting it go down again B.? d.
Well, then, there is another thing
that, to my mind, is a striking coin
cidence. Now, the rise in wheat, un-
less it is followed by rise in other
things might not be universal
blessing. Take my own case. for in
stance. My farm Is in corn. l have
five acres near Lincoln which ] had
saved. / had savod the five acres Tor
a dumping ground for the world >
silver. Great applause.) Ihad some
Republican friends who seemed to be
afraid that If we had free coinage our
country would be, hsed as a dumping
ground for the worlds silver, and so
just saved that five acres, and If | had
been elected was going to surprise
my timid r publican friends by offer.
ing it as q dumping ground for all the
silver OF the world, so that it would
have held it also that the Republ-
cans would not have been bothered by
having IT.. But the election went
against us, and L saw that for four
years, at least, my land would not be
needed for a dumping ground, and so
put it in corn. But it Is just my luck.
/ am something like the man who,