The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-10-28
IT IS STILL LIKE BANQUo'S GHOST
And Haunts the Goldocracy in
their Restless Sleep.
The NEBRASKAN ELECTS LAUGHTER
Gold Standard a Curse to the
Laborers of England.

In recent speech in San Francisco
VIM. ]. Bryan grew humorous on the
silver question and said in part:
There is another question that | al
most hate to mention before this en-
thusiastic audicnce-beforc an audience
that seems to be so good-natured. l
hate to drag i'll funeral question before
such an audience, and yet | must speak
OF the silver question. daughter and
applause) ! must speak for little
while, even ii it is not welcome. Gap
plause.) They say that the silver ques-
ton is dead Gaughtcr) WE'LL my
friends the fact is that the goldbug has
buried it so often that funeral has lost
all its terrors, and we have come almost
to exclaim, in the Bible language, 20
death, where is thy sting? o grave,
where is thy victory?' (LaugEter) l
remember that in 1902 my opponent for
Of the silver question after that election.
1t was less than year from that time
when the president called congress to-
gcther 10 repeal the Sherman law, and
buried it again. When the Sherman
law was repealed they said that it was
buried again, but it was up in 1894, and
had to be buried again, and some OF you
probably remember that it was up
again in 1896. daughter and ap-
rlausc.) But the republicans said that
they had it buried again. ! remember
reading about that myself; it was in
large print. Gauehtcr.) Then it was
up again in 1897 and had to be buried
again. 1t had to be buried again in
1893, and il you will read the republican
papers you will find that the obscquics
are still in progress have examined
very carefully this corpse and my can
did opinion is that it will last until 1000.
daughter and applausc) ....
Now why is it that they have to bury
it so often? Why don't they bury it
completely and be done with it? Be-
cause no tomb was ever made so strong
that it could imprison righteous cause.
(Appausc.) | am not going to enter
into discussion OF this question, but |
am going to call your attention to
few facts OF history and then pass on.
Why, you hear people talk as if free
coinage was something new. They
hold up their hands in horror at the
thought OF trying 10 experiment. The
fact is that we had the double standard
for cighty-onc years in this country,
from 1892 to 1873, and during all that
time no party, whatever the name, ever
declared against it. Isn't that strange?
What record! Now, | hear people
say that we never had the double stand
ard at all; that bimcta11ism was never
had; it was something else. l never
quarrel with them. When a man tells
me that we never had the double stand
ard or bimetal]ism simplyrcply to him,
Give lis what you had, and you can
name it." Naughtcr) What you
want is the law, the law that Andrew
Jackson signed, the law that stood until
in the night, and without warning, it
was stricken from the statute books.
We want the restoration OF that which
was, because we got the gold standard
without any party asking for it.
Tell me the gold standard is bless
ing, and ] ask you why it is that that
blessing was so mystcriously concealed
that no party found it out? Do you
tell me that the victory OF 1896 was a
victory for the gold standard? l point
out the fact that three parties united in
dcnouncing the gold standard as un-
American and anti-Amcrican. Three
parties pledged that the gold standard
should be driven out OF the United
States and back to England, whence it
came. But six millions and half OF
voters marched under the banner OF in
dependent bimctallism and not one OF
them was bought and not one of them
was intimidatcd (Applausc and
chccrs.) You tell me that the rcpub-
licans outvotcd us and I tell you ac-
cording to the returns they had seven
millions Of votes, but for what did those
seven millions vote? "Wty," you say,
they voted the republican ticket" But
that ticket ran upon platform, and
what did that platform say? That plat
form pledged the republican party to do
what it could to get rid OF the gold
standard by international agreement,