The silver blade. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1895-1903, 1899-12-09

the conference committee sitting
in Boise during the summer of
1898. While sitting upon this
committee it became plain to me
that there were those in our party
who were opposed to:the uniting Of
the silver forces Of the state, the
only means by which we can ever
expect to carry the cause of bimet-
allism to victory, both in our state
and nation; and through which
yourself and other state officials
hold your respective Offices today.
If you have erred and wish to
return to your first love, the bet
ter it will be--for your individual
interests. This is matter
which interests you and not me.
AS for myself l am perfectly salts
fed with the brand which the So
called republicans placed upon me
in 1896, that of silver republican.
l am perfectly in accord with the
teachings Of the silver republican
party and l surely expect to see
the day when you will admit that
the republican party in which you
and | were educated, is far differ
ent from the republican party of
today.
You call the country prosperous;
but has not it occurred to you
that when you and | reached our
majority, there were no combines
no trusts 10 encounter, the world
was full of opportunities, and it
mattered little whether or not we
had education so hong as we had
health. We were strictly in it, SO
to speak. The boys who rode the
range secured as good salary as
those who were bookkeepers and
clerks, money was easy and we
never heard of such thing as this
country being obliged to advance
money to Wall street money sharks
in order to save the credit of this
nation. But you say conditions
have changed. Well, l should say
they have. A man who starts out
in life at this stage, with no pull,
political or otherwise, is in mighty
hard luck. You and l have seen
the time when the labores upon
the railroads of the country re-
ceived two dollars per day and the
president of such road $4,000 per
year for his salary. Today the la
borer works for the miserable sum
$1.1o per day or be replaced by a
Jap, while the president of the
road receives as great a salary as
that of the president of our coun-
try. Is there justice in this7
Looks we'll, doesn't it7
do not think you will deny that
the wealth Of the country has COM
bined to take an unfair advantage
of the people. l do not think you
can deny that the combined wealth
of the country has taken hold of
the machinery of the gold republi-
can party and through it proposes
to accomplish its ends, squeeze
the life blood out of the poor, un-
fortunate masses. This has been
fully demonstrated in the past year
during which the combines have
been allowed to consolidate for the
purpose of protecting and estab
fishing their individual prices, and
the farmer must be content to dis
pose of his wheat at the paltry
price Of "a cents per bushel in or
der that he may secure the neces-
saries of life.
So far as the expansion question
is concerned, do not consider it a
political one. l look upon the
deal as does one of the most emf
nent OF the gold republican sena-
tors, when he says that we are to
deal with the question upon the
basis of dollars and cents. That
if the Amarican people believe the
Philippines are going to help us
they will never let the islands go.