The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-26
BRYAN ON THE PHILIPPINE QUESTION.

( done enough in that writing Of this one
| poem to give him claim to the conSid-
| GRAFTON of his fellow men. (Great APP
! plause.)
And from that day to this that great
| relic of revolutionary days has been
carried from state to state and from
| city to city, and eyes are filled with
| tears as they look upon 1t. Did our
| liberty bell will ring in vain? Shall its
| tones no more be heard? Was the dec
| laration a lie? Have we been false for
100 years in teaching that governments
come up from the people? Must we
turn to the old world again with the
|, penitent prodigal's cry? This nation
| is not a prodigal son.
This nation has not wasted its sub
| stance in riotous living. This nation is
| not ready to turn back and with tremb
| ling voice ask ITO be classed among the
| hired servants of royalty. This nation
| has not sinned against heaven, and
God grant that the crowned heads of
| the old world may never have occasion
| to kill the fatted calf to celebrate the
return of this republic from independ-
ence back to the creed of Cain. Uong
continued applause)
What should the democratic party
do? Why, there is but one thing that
it can do Sometimes hear the people
| say that if the party is not careful
about this question of imperialism 1t
is going to lose votes. My friends,
when the declaration of independence
is repealed there will never more be a
democratic party in this country, or a
| need for one. (Applause)
Let me quote the verse; although it
may be familiar ITO you:
did our liberty bell ring in vain was
the declaration lie?
Must we turn to the old world again.
with the penitent prodigals cry?
l To-
vein of Europe and barbaric pa
| And boom out a gun to open pathway
of trade?
Must we strut through the world and
bluster and brag?
That the dollar marks stamped on the
brave old flag?
II ask the question of you, did our
liberty bell ring in vain? Why, history
tells us that when the declaration was
about to be signed the people gathered
in the streets and waited for the signal
and finally when those immortal names
Were fixed to that immortal document.
| the old liberty bell rang out and the
people caught up the sound and cheered
and chaered again.
Our faith is built upon it and we
| cannot turn our backs upon the teach-
ings of the fathers. Every wrong to
| be rfghted finds its inspiration in that
document. We cannot ask for single
| reform without showing that all we
ask conforms to the principles of the
| declaratio of independence.
And so the democratic party must
| be true to the foundation principles of
| this government. 1t believes in the in
| dependence of the individual in indus
trial life and says to the trust, You
| shall not crush out the life of the
struggling manhood of this country
| (Great applause.) 1t believes din indie
pendence in the financial world and
| says to the foreign financier, You can
| not make the policy for 70OOO,OOO of
American citizens (Great applause.)
| 1t believes in the doctrine of liberty and
! independence everywhere, and when we
plead for the right of people to govern
themselves, although they differ from
| us in color and in race and in history,
we are not pleading for them. We are
pleading for the safety of our own in
| situations.
Lincoln said that the safety of this
| nation was not in its army or its navy,
but in the spirit of liberty, dn the spirit
| that prizes liberty as the heritage of
| all men in all lands everywhere, and
| he said that if we destroyed this spirit
of liberty we plant the seeds of despot-
| ism at our own doors.
You ask me why the democratic
party believes in giving independence
| to the Filipinos. l reply, because we
cannot destroy ef-government in the
| orient without endangering self-gov-
eminent in the United States. Cap
| plause) 1t is not for the Filipinos we
plead. 1t lis for 10000, 600 people, the
greatest in the world, and yet peo-
pie not great enough to do harm to the
humblest people in the world.
We are preparing for the campaign
of 1900 The national committee met
| to-day and prepared for it's work. We
are going out to fight. You ask me
whether we are going to win. I tell
| you believe we ought to win and there
is no way upon which you can predict
success except ITO deserve success. Gap
| plause) We are not going to ask Is
this thing POPULAR we are going to
ask is this thing right?' and If this
thing is right the democratic party
would rather go down as the champion
of the right, than to win as the cham
pion of the wrong.
Don't be afraid of defeat. I can
speak from experience. (Cries of
'Good,") and having met face to face
a large number of those who were kind
enough and generous enough to give
me their support in 1896, can say to
| you without flattery that having seen
| them, / would rather go down with
| them to eternal defeat than be preSi-
dent and have to ask England what to
do for my country"