The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-09-21

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The Hon. William J. Bryan, Lincoln,
IA Neb!:: ~ * I,l!s ~ :. Il
stR:-As voted TIE Democratic
ticket. for every presidential candidate
from the candidacy OF Horatlo sey-
mour until your nomination, in 1895, I
& think myself entitled to address you as
q Democrat and from that point OF view
5 I venture TO ask you to tell me what
Z good reason you can suggest why. as a
Democrat. 4 should vote for you.
& IN 1886, ] voted; like thousands Of 9TH
er Democrats. for your opponent then
and your opponent now; and as an
American citizen must in candor as
sert have found nothing in the ad-
Immigration OF Mr.. Mckinley to make
me, regret having voted for him. =
In fact President Mckinley has sur
prised me by the general ability he has
displayed In circumstances wholly un-
z anticipated at the time of his election;
1t may be. that you would have sur
passed him. but must confess I have
searched your public utterances in vain
for any proof that there Is In your com
position any such ability as would have
enabled you to do so. y..@ IA q
Ivpted against you in 1896 because Of
your advocacy OF 1.-THE free and uniimit-
ed coinage Of silver at the ration Of JIG
TO - because I believed then, as be-
s lieye now, that any man who asserted
z that such q measure would result in
permanently raising the bullion value
OF raw silver to an equality with Its
.tdat' value as coin. was either knave
sor q foil: and did not believe then,
nor do now that you are q foot.
believed then. as, l do now. that any
one who advocated such q measure
4 committed a crime against the welfare
Of all who work for wages or receive n
fixed income OF any kind or from any
source. /, have searched I'm vain for
any evidence that you now Withdraw
any utterance or disnvow any opinion
In regard to free silver" which You ex-
pressed tn the presidential campaign OF
1896. II you have done SO II has escnp-
ed my, notice, ~
Hide Under Another Blanket.
You and your followers have endeay-
ored to conceal your adherence to this
worst Of all economic decisions by rails
ing other. Issues, but you will find that
the American people, though they may
not be all deeply versed in the science
OF politics, have sagacity enough to
know political trimmer when he en-
deayors 10 hide himself under a cloud
{ Of feIgned Issues. No amount OF plaus-
fbIe talk about paramount issues" VIII
succeed in dece!ving any large number
OF American voters. They know an
4 honest politician when they see one.
8 and they will find you out for what yon
area shifty, vote-seeking and hypo-
critical demagogue.
The name OF William j.. Bryan means
free silver" as surely as the name OF
Susan B. Anthony means woman SUI
( frage." II Is as useless for you to at
tempt to corral the "hard money Dem
ocracy by saying nothing about "i6 TO
s 1" as It would be for Miss Anthony to
run for the presidency upon any other
issue which 4 political party might
frame for her to catch votes with by
suppressing that paramount Issue"
which we all know TO be nearest her
sincere and feminine heart.
You and the fragments OF the Demo-
7CTGLlE parry Which SuppOI Soui S.tHdi-
dacy, with the assistance OF the hetero-
geneous mob OF Populists and cS-
Greenbaekers with which temporary
fusion has been patched up, tell Arneri-
can citizens with sober, face that
trusts" and imperialism are the
paramount issues" before the people.
Neither you nor they have ever yet sue
ceeded In defining the word trust so
that the world might get 4 clear notion
OF what the thing was against which
your Nominations were directed.
Others Tried the Same Game.
Sixty years and more ago politicians
OF your description were de!udiug their
followers by similar outbursts OF un!n-
telligeu passion against banks md
bankers. Yet to-day there ls scarcely q
backwoodsman so ignorant OF the
financial factors making for progress
and development rs not to know thai
banking facilities are a necessity In
every community.
You surely would not pretcnd that
( every corporation for the conduct nf
any kind OF business was a rust" In It's
essential nature. yet you do not tell ,is
what kind Of corporations are "trusts''
and which kind are not. II you mean
by trusts large corporations. how