The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-24

the Land of the Free, and to That
Mission It Must Be Forever True.
Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 23-Colonel Will
liam J. Bryan returned to Lincoln this
afternoon. and was tonight rendered a
reception at the Oliver theatre by tie
Wcman's Bimetallic League. The house
was crowded, and Colonel Bryan re-
ceived an ovation. He was introduced
by Governor Holcomb who formally
welcomed him home and complimented
him for his patriotism in enlisting in
the army.
After thanking his neighbors for their
cordial welcome and complimenting the
members of his regiment, he JUSTIFIED
his resignation as follows:
I had five months of peace in the
army. and resigned in order to take q
part in a fight. am as much inter
ested in the people OF the United States
as l am in the people of Cuba, and IN
less I am mistaken in judging. we are
called uDon to meet more important
problems in the United States just now
than win confront our army in Cuba.
Some of these problems We're under
discussion before hostilities began
others have been thrust upon US as
result OF the wan. Eet me improve
this, my Iirst opportunity, to assure
you that my zeal Tor the reforms ad-
Vocated q few months ago has not in
the least abated Vital questions can
not be killed or buried. and we were
dealing With vital questions when the
call to arms resounded through the
land.
THE American people have not ac-
Cepted the geld standard as final. 1t has
wrought more injustice in our country
during the last twenty-five years tnan
Spain has wrought in all her colonies,
and opposition TO it Will grow until Jl.4
gOio aLd silver coinage of the consritu-
ton is fully restored. The trusts which
now flourish in defiance of law are
more merciless than Weyler was. and
pthe new trust-the paper money trust,
which is seeking to obtain control of
al the paper money OF the naton-is d
greater menace to the counrry's wei
fare than any foreign foe.
NEW QUESTIONS.
There are however. two new ques
tions which demand immediate atten-
ton, because congress is asked to act
ommends that the regular army be
permanently increased to 100000 men.
This question must be met now, or not
at all'
Taking up the subject of imperialism
Dir. Bryan said that the president has
nisintcroreted the sentiments of the
people They are opposed to giving the
lat re islands back TO Spain, but
II -aTe .lor, as Yet, declared il favor
Ol = IIDOn q colonial pOlieV So
greii- ts uEe. he said, could not be
unae..t. t.--a without more Investigation
and CeilDSlati0n than the people had
yet given 10 the subject. The principal
part Of AR. Bryans Speech was de-
voted TO the Philippine question IN
this connection he referred to Presi-
dent McKinley's inquiry, Who will
haul down the fiag?" and replied:
The nag is national emblem, and
obedlent 20 the national will. It is
made for the people, not the people for
the flag. When the American people
want the flag raised they raise il: when
they want il hauled down, they haul il
down. The fiaS was raised upon Ca
madam soil during the war of 1912, and
II was hauled down when peace was
restored. The flag was planted upon
ChapUltepec during the war with Mex
icc, and il was hauled down when the
war was over. The morning papers an
. 2RCnce that General Lee ordered the
'Yfas hauled down in Cuba yesterday.
because it was raised too soon. The
flag VIII be raised in Cuba again on the
1st of January. but the president de-
clareS IN his message that it Will he
hauled down as soon as a stable GOV
ernment is established. Who viii deny
TO the people the right to haul the flag
down in the Philippines, if they so de-
sire, when stable government is es-
tabhshed there?
WHAT IT REPRESENTS.
~Our flag stands for an indissoluble
union OF indestructible states. Every
state is represented by a star. and
every territory sees in the constitution
a star OF hope that win some day take
its place in the constellation What is
there in the flag to awaken the zeal or
resent the aspirations of vassaI colonies
which are too good to cast away, but
not good enough to be admitted to the
sisterhoOd of states2
shall we keep the Philippines and
amend our fiag2 Shall we add a new
star--the blood star, Mars-to indicate
that we have entered upon a career of
conQuest2 Or shall we borrow the vel
low, which, in 1896, was the badge of
goli and greed and paint Saturn and
his rings, TO suggest a caIpet-bag gov
ernment, with its schemes of spoila-
tion2 Or shall we adorn our flag with
a milky way composed Of multitude
% minor stars, representing remote and
insignificant dependencies?
no. a thousand times better TO haul
down the stars and stripes and substi-
tute the flag Of an independent repub-
lie than TO surrender the doctrines that
give glory to Old Gloryr 1t was the
flag of our fathers in the years that are
gone: It is the flag of a reunited coun-
, try today; let It be she flag of our
nation in the years that are to come.
Its stripes of red tell of the blood that
was shed TO purchase liberty: itss
stripes Of white proclaim the pure and
heaven-born purpose Of A government
which derived its Just powers from the
consent of the governed. The mission
of that flag is to float, not over con-
glomeraTion OF commemorative, but
over the land of the free and the home
Of the brave, and to that mission it
must remain forever true-forever
true
Colonel Bryan's speech was the only
enc OF length at the reception