The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-09-28
BRYAN'S REPLY
To Ro0sevelt's Criticism of His
Position ON the Army.


]. Bryan arrived here last night and
addressed a meeting in the court house
yard. He made three speeches during
the day, travelling almost forty miles by
carriage and one hundred and fifty
miles by rail. The weather was cold
and raw throughout, rain falling at in
tervals.
The entire day was devoted to the
Third congressional district, and it was
largely a canvass in behalf of Edgar
Howard's candidacy for congress. From
Papillion Mr.. Bryan drove to Blair IN
company with Mr.. Howard, a distance
of thirty miles, making two speeches. on
the way, one at Willard and the other at
Bennington. The drive consumed more
than four hours and it was almost
o'clock when Blair was reached Here
there was a large asSemblage OF people,
In a. half hour speech Mr.. Bryan Went
hurriedIy over the principal issues or the
campaign, giving special attention 70
trusts and Imperialism While MI
Bryan was talking about the price OF
oats, some one in the crowd asked him
about the price of hogs and he replleus
saying:
ssThe gentleman asks about hogs
had expected such a question The Re
publicans claim the credit for every rise
in price, no matter what the cause, ana
shirk the responsibility for every reduc-
ton, no matter how directly it may be
traced to the Republican party's 1nstru-
mentality. If wheat is up they point
L
iect of comment. So it is with hogs
The Republicans claim all the credit Tor
the rise as one of the blessings of a Re
publican administration, where IN the
very nature of things it could have
nothing to do with such an advance.
At the night meeting in Dakota City,
Mr. Bryan said that the Republican
party did not dare take its full dinner
pail argument into the anthracite coal
region of Pennsylvania, and declared
that, whether man was laDorlng
far 1nrNf n
see that opportunities are constantly mar
rowing under the trust system Discuss
ing the question of imperialism Mr..
Bryan asserted that the same power
which put the Porto Ricans outside the
constitution this year, next year mlght
put the people of Nebraska or any other
state outside the pale of the cOnstttu-
ton. Destroy the doctrine that all men
are created equal, and it Will soon be-
come necessary to carry your pedigree
around with you,'' he said. He declared
in the Paris treaty with Spain the United
States had not secured any title to the
Philippines but had secured only
license to hunt there
c1usion of his speech for Sioux City,
Iowa
day at PapilliOn, the county seat of
Sarpey county. In order to make the
point in time for the meeting Mr.. Bryan
left the Rock Island train at Richheld
and drove five miles across the country.
The county is strongly Democratic, and
the national candidate was cordially re-
ceived- He contended that the policies
promised by the Democratic party were
in the interest of the people throughout,
while those of the Republican parry
were antagonistic to the public welfare
Especially, he commended, was the DEM
ocratic plan of government in the in
terest of the farmer. He said:
you have had a Republican admins
tration for four years and now you are
to decide whether you are going to re-
employ the president You have had
Republican congressman in this district
and now you are to decide whether you
are going to re-employ him. You have
had had state officers and you are going
to decide whether you are going to re-
employ them. You are to decide Wheth-
er you you are going to re-employ SEN
ator Allen or some other man; whether I
YOU are going to employ two men to en-
force the doctrines wor which the fusion
forces stand, or whether you will en-
plOy some Republican senator TO leglS-
late for the corporations while he is in
the senate, and act as attorney for the
Standard Oil company while the senate
is not in session.
"The Republican party assumes that
it brings everything good, and refuses
to take the responsibility for anything
bad. 1t claims the blessings that are
given to us by the Almighty and shirks
the responsibility for everything that
Hanna. brings u.s.
Speaking of the trusts Mr.. Bryan re-
ferred to the meeting at Nebraska City,
Il was in Nebraska City last night.
They have a starch trust down there,
and when the attorney general of this
state begun to prosecute the starch
trust, they had a mass meeting to pro-
test against the enforcement of the law,
and the Republican district attorney
lutions, condemning the attorney gen.
eral for doing what he promised to do
when he took his oath Of office"
Along the same lines he continued:
Z Ia n ~,
which he said that there are no trusts in
the country. Are you going to start a
man out to destroy the trusts who says
there is none? You know there are
trusts and that they are able to raise
the price of what you buy, and if you
are producing raw material which they
have to buy, they are able to control the
price of what you sell them, and they
can control the wages they are to pay. |
You know of these trusts. Why doesn't
the Republican party destroy them2
You have had a Republican president
for three and a half years and you have
had three sessions of congress convened
and adjourned, and the Republican pres
ident has not recommended one specific |
measure for the destruction of the
trusts
In regard to the large standing army
issue he asid:
ST have been criticised because I sug-
gested that they wanted to tax the peo- |
pie to support an army of 100 900 in idle |
ness, and / am accused of saying that |
our army Is lule- Let me ask those VINO |
desire to criticise that statement, what |
does the army do? The Republicans |
say the Philippine war will soon be |
over. and what is the army going to do |
then2 1t simply kills people, that is ALL |
Tt is better to have an idle army than |
it is to have one shedding blood all the |
time You Republicans who do not like |
to have an idle standing army must find |
something for the army to do, and you |
had better take my view of it because |
when your army is employed it means |
war and bloodshed and the only excuse |
that it is not to be idle is that it must /
be engaged in the prosecution of war" 1
mAaunAv.mr-