Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-09-07
west vIRGINIA'S GREETING TO WILLIAM J. BRYAN.

uHo luO uOuOT u cOiuS ueTe tO-ulSuI
come for some better reason than
curiosity. "a voice: Here's one') l
am glad to know that there are Repub-
licans here, because l want to convert
them, and when l assume that it is
possible to convert a Republican, am
complimenting a Republican because
am assuming that he makes his
party affiliations suit his ideas,
and if l can change his ideas
l can change his party affilia-
tons. If there is a Republican here
who is not at liberty TO vote as he
pleases, there is no use for him to
stay, because if l convert him he will
only feel the worse because he cannot
come to the mourners' bench. Gap
plause.) Now, no man makes greater
mistake than the man who assumes
that any large proportion of the mem
bers of any party
Do Not Want Good Government.
| consider that the assumption that a
great majority of all parties earnestly
desire that government which is best
is correct. (Takes off coat
We ought to compare ideas in order
to see whose plan is the best, and |
want to present to you tonight some
reasons why you ought to vote with
us. care not what you may have done
in 1896; l care not what you may do
four years from now; | want to show
you that now you ought to act with
us. l take it for granted that those
reasons will commend themselves to
your Judgment.
Now, in every campaign there are
various questions presented to the peo-
pie. Every platform covers a number
OF issues; but there is always a differ
ence of opinion as to the relative i'm
portance of those issues. In this cam
paign the Republican platform spends
the larger part of its space in congratu-
lating the Republican party upon eX-
listing conditions. And
1t Has Not Clearly Defined
the party position upon any question,
except the question OF primary money,
and in taking its position in favor of
the gold standard | want to remind you
that your party in 1896, promised to
do what it could to get the double
standard by international agreement,
and / want you to ask your Republican
friends why no Republican speaker and
no Republican editor attempts to ex-
plain the failure of the Republican par
ty to get the double standard that you
promised to try to get by the aid of the
leading commercial nations of the
world. Great applause.) Whenever a
Republican tells you that the gold
standard is good, you ask him why the
President, after his Inauguration,
Sent Commission to Europe
to get rid of it. When a Republican
tells you that the gold standard is good,
you ask him why Republican Con-
gress appropriated 500, 900 to pay the
expenses of the commission while it
was in Europe trying to get rid of the
gold standard. If any Republican tells
you that the gold standard is good,
you tell him that within a year the
Republican Senate and House and Pres
ident acted favorably upon a bill, the
fourteenth section OF which declared
that the bill was not intended to stand
in the way of the restoration of the
double standard. So you see that the
only question upon which the Repub-
lican party does take a positive stand
is new position for the Republican
party.
On the question of paper money
the Republican party does not clearly
declare for the retirement of the green
back, although the currency bill, which
Is now law, provides for the retire
ment of the greenback and the substi-
tuition of the National bank notes. and
| want you to ask your Republican
friends
want Excuse They Can Give
Tor a bill which retires greenbacks
which draw no interest and substitute
bonds which draw interest, in order
that national banks may issue the
money and control the volume of ii. |
want you to ask your Republican
friends this question. how can you
have national bank currency, resting
on bonds, and have that currency as
permanent system, unless you have
permanent bonds for the currency 10
rest upon. want you to tell your Re
publican friends that until recently all
Republicans boosted that the Republi-
can party was retiring the debt, lessen
ing the debt. and vet to-day the Re-
publican party stands for a financial
Dill, for currency system that can
only be permanent on the theory that
the debt is to be perpetual. and I want
you 10 ask your Republican friends
why they do not openly advocate a
permanent national debt as a blessing
TO this country. That is what they
want, and they are not willing to argue
the statement publicly, and you will
read Republican papers in vain to find
a defense of the perpetual debt and
yet you could not have a national bank
currency, redeemable In bonds, unless
you
Have n Permanent Debt
20 furnish the bonds. (Applause.)
The Republican party does not dis
cuss the trust question. When the
Republican party brags about existing
conditions Just remember that the trust
condition is the main condition that it
brags about. (Applause) The Re
publican party has been in power for
nearly four years. You have Repub-
lican President; you have a Republic
can Attorney General; you have a Re
publican House and you have Repub-
lican Senate. and yet more trusts hare
been organized in the last three and
a half years than were organized In
all the previous history of che United
States. tAppsuse.l
If Republican says that trust is
a good thing. you tell that Republican
that the Republican platform denounc-