The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-04-01

present to you one who is worthy
of the success of Jefferson and Jack
son in the leadership of the eternal
democracy, IL foremost citizen of
our great republic, VIM. j. Bryan"
WILDLY ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD.
Instantly the name of Bryan was ut
tered the auriencc clamDered upon the
the seats and vociferously shouted
and clapped their hands. ''Bryan" and
"onr next president We're neck and
neck for first place in the cries that
followed the rising of the orator. AS
he advanced towards the speakers ia
BILE the shouting and applause seemed
to intensity. Such frantic demonstru-
ton has never been witnessed here
before. Overcome with the spontu-
niety of the ovation, Mr.. Bryan was
unable to proceed for many IL moment.
He tried to wave the crowd into their
seats. but it seemed impossible. All
of them wanted to see Mr.. Bryan. In
the excitement several ladies in the
crush to the right of the stage tainted
Hats were thrust on canes and tossed
skyWard, and the ladies Haunted their
kerchiefs in admiration.
MI. Bryans eye was quick to notice
the prOstrations among the women
and he sent several glasses of water
to revive them. He would first walk
to one side of the rostrum and then
to the other. gcsturing to the audi
cnce to seat itself. At length several
or the vice-presitlents had to come to
his rescue, and, after much effort com
parative silence obtained.
Mr. Bryan then began his address.
Though his voice at first showed the
effects Of his labors in the educational
campaign among the masses it grad
ually improved as he warmed up to
his subject. Among other things he
said:
MIR. BRYAN'S WORDS.
I'VE have free coinage of gold now
We simply want silver restored. We
ask for it without waiting for the aid
or consent of any other nation | look
back to Il time when we had what we
wanted without the aid or consent of
any other nation. We simply want to
restore, in the broad. open daylight.
hours of the night. (Applause.)
Il repeat that this is not q; new
proposition. We had double stand
ard for eighty-one years. Eighty-one
years of successful operation; eighty
one years, without Il political party
opposing it. Did ever any question
have such universal sanction?'
For eighty-one years no political
party ever denounced bimetallism.
England adopted the gold standard in
1916, and down to 1873 we had bimet-
allism. No party ever demanded that
we must abandon bimetallism and
adopt the gold standard because Eng
land did so. Yet America changed her
financial system without discussion and
without any political party ever ask
ing for it. Read their prophesies now
on the disaster to result on going back
to bimetallism. Yet we went so long
without u change and the change
came without discussion. 1t was made
in 1878. and congress itself did not
know it. You may think it strange
that bill should pass congress with
out it's contents being known. You
can read the records and find where
Speaker Blaine and other prominent
men said they did not know it would
demonetize silver
THE 1896 PLATFORM.
Mr.. Bryan then declared that during
the twenty-three years the gold stand
ard had been in vogue no party had
ever dared to declare for it. In 1896
the democrats declared the gold stand
ard un-American and anti-American
and pledged themselves to drive it ont
and re-establish the money of the con
stitution. The populists and free sill
yer republicans adopted similar plat
forms. Six and a half millions of peo-
pie voted under the banner of bimetal-
lism, more than ever supported one
banner in the history OF the United
States. Some will say seven millions
voted against us. What platform did
they vote under? 1t pledged itself to
international himetallism. Thirteen
and half millions voted for bimetal-
lism only differing as to the means of
securing it.
'"There was party, said Mr.. Bryan,
with some irony, (which adopted the
gold standard" (Applause.)
II call them boiling democrats, be-
cause l never felt justified in calling
them national democrats. They tried
to undo all jackson and Jefferson had
done, didn't expect to carry county
in the union, yet they called them
selves national democrats. These bolt
ing democrats did not discover the
good qualities of the gold standard
until they got out of the Chicago con-
vention.
ACTION OF THE BOLTERs.
"They signed minority report in
i the convention, setting forth that they
were afraid of free coinage because it
would injure the prospects of inter-
! national bimetallism and declared for
gold They have the honor or the in
fanny of being the only party in 100
years to declare for gold. (Applause.)
II don't mean to say that every man
who believed in the gold standard
i nctad with tho holfarS l,anaus.o so.,.x,