Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-04-20
BRYAN At JEFFERSON CITY.
The Champion of Free Silver Speaks
at Missouri's Capitol to Five
Thousand People.
SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT TRUSTS.

Says He 10 Confident Missouri Legislator
Know Their Duty and VIII Do It-Ths
Income Tax Ouestion-A Letter from
Ex-Gov. william j. Stone. Giving Hii
Opinion of Gold Democrats.
Jefferson City, Mo-, April 12.-Wik
liam j. Bryan spoke from the eastern
entrance to the state capitol yester-
day afternoon to 5000 persons. The
hall of the house of representatives
would not hold one-third of the per-
sons who were clamoring for tickets
OF admission, and as the day was pleas
ant, it was decided to have outdoor
speaking.
The major part of Mr.. Bryan's
speech was devoted to national
finances, into which he occasionally
wove an arraignment of trusts and
monopolies, only to return after a
time to finances.
Missouri is great democratic state,
he said, and if the legislature does not
know how to apply democratic princl-
pies il such a state, less favored states
must expect something worse.
Il must assume" he continued,
that you, as Legislators, are prepared
at ali times to turn deaf ear to The
Influences which surround most legis-
latures, and l will not assume that the
legislature of Missouri will fall into
the custom of giving the corporations
an advantage over natural persons, l
deny that fictitious persons have
rights over natural persons, and you
l. l,a
rights the corporations already have.
Under laws enacted in the last 20
years the farmers have not had their
share of protection. The farmer is dis
eliminated against. His industry is a
perilous one. After his crop is planted
the frost may kill it, the floods destroy
it, or, lastly, the bugs eat it. But if he
makes crop and goes to the market
to sell it he must go down between the
bulls and bears, and if they don't horn
him or bite him, and he passes safely
through, he must then encounter the
gold bug, the worst of all. / am going
to assume, however, that in Missouii
the farmer will be protected"
Mr.. Bryan then said he was going to
apply an old democratic principle as
tie theme of the remainder of his re-
marks, and he quoted from Thomas
Jefferson:
Equality before the law; equal
rights to all and special privileges to
lone
Under this he first briefly discussed
taxation. He held that the best citi-
zens are those who contribute their
futl share toward the maintenance of
the government, but he said that while
land could not be hidden, vet personal
property, to a large extent evades tax
alton; that those who nave visible
property pay more in proportion than
those who have invisible property.
To-day" said the speaker, peace be-
tween this country and Spain is made.
We do not know whether history will
say it was a war for humanity or a
war for conquest. But one good thing
we know has been accomplished as a
result of the war, and that is it has
wipec out the last vestige of the civil
war. That good can not be undone.''
The income tax next came in for
consideration. After referring to it's
enactment and rejection by the United
States supreme court, Mr.. Bryan said
that in speaking of this matter he al
ways quoted some one else, so great
was his conservatism, and on this occa-
sion he would quote Judge Brown, of
the supreme court, a republican, who
would not be called an anarchist.
Judge Brown, in his dissenting opin-
ion, had said:
II fear that in some hour of peril
this decision will rise up and paralyze
the arm of the government"
''And the time did come during the
late war;" said Mr.. Bryan. ''When we
wanted money we had to look around
for any old thing to put stamp on.
Congress decided to stick Il one-cent
stamp on telegram and then so word
the law that the telegraph companies
W ould make the people pay the tax,
and yet the war increased the tele-
graph business. The government
found itself unlimited in it's means of
imposing tax on the common citizen,
but very much limited in dealing with
the wealth of the country. The gov
can take mans son and put
him up in line to be shot, but it can't |
to UGH wealth.; human life is nothing,
wealth is everything. Some day 1 |
hope to see an income tax which no |
court can hold to be uncon-
After lengthy discussion of bi- |
netallism Mr.. Bryan referred 10 |
trusts. He spoke quite briefly, and |
only in general terms. He pointed ont |
their growth as great danger and one
which the people would do well TO |
3uaro against. He told a story about |
an OLD granger in Nebraska, who felt |
iery happy when he heard that con-
fdencc had been restored after Nc
kinley's election. He heard the word |
lseC so much that he concluded to |
ook into the dictionary and SEQ xvb,t |