Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1900-02-21
An Immense Gathering to Celebrate
The Return of the Prodi-
gal Sons.
SPEECH OF WILLIS SWEET,
The Silver Republican Leader Tells the
People How II Happened and
Why He Returns.

Close following upon the disbanding
OF the silver republican organizations in
Blaine and Fremont counties the republ.
cans OF the State capital prepared big
republican love feast to celebrate the re-
turn of the prodigals, and Ex.congress-
man Willis Sweet was the chief speaker
of the evening, The meeting was great
success; the Columbia opera house was
packed TO overflowing The interest of
the evening centered in the speech of
Mr.. Sweet, one of the great silver repub-
lican leaders. We make the following
excerpts from the speech, which was re-
ported at length in the columns of the
Boise Statesman:
| LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: This seems
awfully good to me, because while have
not been far from home feel that am
back home. am glad to find that all
the folks are at home Laughter And
see that you are all here tonight. Now
do not intend to make what is popu-
larly known as speech. NV purpose is,
| II the audience will submit to it, to talk
/ 1t all over, just sort of family under
standing about what we have done, why
we did it, and what we intend to do. It
is time we had it, and il is time we did it.
| was Tor time what is known as, and
what l do not intend to endeavor to de-
fine, fusionist. ! thought l was right
then; have no apologies to make for
what did, and think now was right
then, but the trouble was the rest of you
didn't think as did. [Laughter]
| AT the St. Louis convention this propo.
sition was taken into consideration, aud
beg of you TO understand that, so far as
am concerned, am not speaking for
anybody else on earth except myself
am not authorized, and If | were author
lied TO speak for somebody else should
resign the responsibility, But, so far as
am concerned, at the St. Louis ccnven-
ton we went into movement based upon
| this proposition--that the question OF BIZ
metallism or banking, or, in other words,
that the question of banking and sys.
TEN of currency in the United Sta es was
of such Importance to the people of the
United States that they would make a
political issue of it; and that all who
favored the reinstatement of gold and
silver upon fixed ratio and the estab-
lishment Of a banking system that would
be satisfactory to the people--althougll
| regret to say that nobody ever stated
what that banking system should be, bu,
some satisfactory system--would organize
into political party that would be op
posed to that political organization which
believed in single gold standard as the
unit of value in the United States Now
that was the issue.
| am frank to say to you that believed
that issue was of such Importance thai
the people of the United States woulf
make a national question Of it, and
thought that a majority of the people o
the United States believed to the sam,
effect. Now my father had been an abo
litionist, and before that he was whig
and 1856 came and he joined with tn
anti slavery democrats and anti. SLAYER
wings and barn-burners and know moth
ings and any old thing that came alon,
to make up the republican party; and
thought that the time had come in tn
history of the United States when tn
people of the country attached sufficien
importance to the money question, tn
question of bimetallism, of banking, {
our currency, to make il political ISSUE
just as our fathers believed that the que,
tion Of slavery was of sufficient impor
ance to make that political issue i'll til
United States, and the whig party and
portion of the democratic party were di
banded and came into one organizatio
and crystalized as the republican part
and made the fight. | was born al
reared and believed in all this, and it vi
not without a sore heart, not witho
very great regret, that felt under son
i'pllSoAAph w Jcii "iifit d ''tltSfth Nou
be a new organization, to make what
believed to be a righteous fight for VIII
believed to be bimetallisn, for fna
,ial system in which then believed an
in which believe now. applause
Now, at St. Louis we met quite a nun
ber of democrats and quite a number
populists, and they said so, too. Th'
said that that was their theory. v
were the first to act and We did act. r.
democrats met at Chicago and they acte
and they never acted worse in their liv'
lIaughter They adopted absolute
the worst platform they have adopt
since 1864; but it was too late then. !
no matter about that. This propositi
and scheme, you understand, involy
J the organization. or, perhaps ] ought
say cfystallizatiou, into one comps