The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-04-16

standard would be maintained until other
nations came to our relief, was the most
absurd plank that any party ever put into
a platform. Think of It!
Let me make speech such as a man
would have to make to carry out that pro-
gramme II the republican party had
delegated its representatives TO present this
subject TO the financiers of Europe along
the line of that senseless platform the
spokesman OF the committee would have
had to make a speech about like this
Gentlemen, We have had the gold stand
ard for twenty three years, and do not
| like it; the American people have tried 1t
and suffered from 1t, and they have sent us
over here TO ask you TO help us TO gee
| rid of 1t; they recognize that you have
made money while they have lost, and,
! therefore, we ask you TO join us In restor-
| ing the state by which we won't lose SO
much and by which you won't make SO
much"
| But then candor would have compelled
the spokesman to have added another sem
tence He would have said: But while
we suffered a good deal, we can suffer
more II necessary While we have had a
hard time, we have not reached tho limit
4 Of endurance; and II you people would
rather go on pundering Us indednitSy
we will stand by you while the world
lasts"
That Is the republican platform. That
is what It says-that while trying still to
get along on national blmetallism, yet II
we get the leading commercial nations OF
Europe to join with us we Will maintain
this thing which they want.
My friends, our plan was different We
would not have sent a man over TO beg,
because we, read in history when we were
children that more than Il hundred years
ago our people by their hlend bought the
right TO icgislate for themselves. AccordA
tt.rr ala han IN m
over there 1t Wi not be to ask
a man to help us, hut 10 an
nounco TO them what wo are going 10
do II will be 10 say to them, seVenty-lve
millions of people have as much righ~ TO
protect their property from despollatlon
as a handful Of foreign tlnanciers have to
leEislnte values into their bands, And
our ambassadors would have said to them.
THE people OF tho United States have
decided TO restore Independent biuetal
Ism NJ the ratio OF 16 10 !. We believe
we can maintain tho parity but you have
good many investments over there and
If you have any doubt about our doing so,
you would better join u.s. because If any
body suffers ii will be you-~not us,
tIIong continued applsuse.)
Now my friends. an argument like that
would have some effect; yes, and as an
argument that would have effect | re-
cali an item that crossed the ocean whilo
like this
THAT while there was good deal OF
sentiment over there, yet the financial in
terests were solidly opposed to making
any concessions to bimetallism and that
there was only one argument We had
which had any weight with them and
that was ~ they did not do something to
hhelp restore international bimetallsm free
silver would win In the United States
and restore blmetalbism by independent
action and that British investments would
suffer"
And 1t was said In this dispatch that
that argument was being made by one of
the commissioners. I could not but ap-
paud the common sense of the commits
sion who abandoned the republican plat
| form and got onto common sense plat
form aud appealed to them by an argu-
Iluent they would understand. But, my
friends why have not we international
bimetallism2 Ia IL because there Is no
sentiment in Europeg On the contrary,
there is sentiment there, and the senti-
ment Is so strong that the French govern
meat Joined with us In sending an ann
the sentiment was so strong that pe,i-
tlon was sent to the English government
Signed by the leading labor organs of
England asking for International bm5aal-
lism--so strong that representative pre-
/ scented while our commission was there q
report signed by ten out OF fourteen mem
bers OF commission appointed 10 inves
tigate the condition Of agriculture, and
the ten out OF fourteen declared that tho
the gold standard was destructive TO Eng
llsh agriculture and pointed to bimetal-
llsm as the only relief for the English
farmer tApplause)
But why, my friends did the English
government refuse to listen TO the iaborers
and the farmers Because on the pend day
OF September, 1897, the bankers Of London
\ met at the clearing house behind closed
doors and, pledged to secrecy, declared that
the gold standard was all right. The Eng
lish bankers. so few in number that they
can meet in the clearing house, determined
the policy OF England. and England do.
termlned the policy OF Europe and Europe
win determine the policy OF the United
States as long as the republican, party Is
In power
| Mr. Bryan continued 10 discuss the
money question at length, and after re-
! ferring to the bank bill nov pending be-
fore congress, passed to the phllvpines
saying that the democratic party Is on.
posed 10 militariem N the United States
I Mr.. Bryan's reference 10 the United
/ States as bully for striking down the
\ Filipino natives created the ereatast en
| thukiasru AZ tina ntght. There WAS n rnivh.x