Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1900-09-13
Bryan as a Prophe,

Eight years ago William .Jen,;..
Bryan, then Just earning his proud sob,;
quet Of @Boy Orator d the Platte =.
IN the house Of representatives and =
clared:
protection has been U cannibal -.
and As one after another Of our farras
has been driven by the foree 81 &C.,
stances upon that tree, and has ~.
crushed within is folds. his comp.,;oa.
have stood around and shouted. E,ra.t; !,
Protectionr But the dream has nass.s
the night has gone, and in the east We -
more than the light Of coming day
marvellous change has taken place. ana
rising from the political nourners,
benches throughout the northwest. the,
faces radiant with q new-found ;oy. rnnt.
titudes are ready 10 declare their alIeg.
lance TO the cause Of tariff reforms
In part the prophecy came true. Turn.
ing their backs on assured prosperity. the
multitndes did face the mirage OF the
coming day, but the new found joy was
short, the morning never dawned. -Four
years of depression, panic, b~usiaess chaos
and failure followed. Tariff tinkerjng.
aided BY the growing agitation for free
silver, shut down the mills, cut oil en-.
! ployment, lowered wages and deprived
the farmer Of his markets.
Die the orater and prophet stick to hs
guns? No. The Chicago convention De.
ciared that free silver was the 4par.
amount" Issue, and the leader Of the new
demopopracy obediently discovered that
after all IL was the wicked gold STANDARD
which was e~nslaying the human race.
The tariff coEld wait. until this money
question is fully and finally settled be
wrote III his letter of acceptance, the
people will not consent TO the considers
ton of any other important question:
Then the line Of prophecy changed also
and is epitomized In the following from
one ofthe candidate's numerous speeches:
aIf You throw "A stone in the air You
know that il will come down. The law
upon which we base our fight is as sure
as the law of grayitation. II We hare
the gold standard prices are as certain to
fall as the stone thrown in the air.
This prophecy was uttered after is
falsity had been proved by sixty years Of
experience with the gold in the United
States and the people went ahead and
voted for the gold standard and congress
subsequently reafirmed the gold stand
ard. Did prices fall? No. They went
up. Farm produce went up. Manufse-
tured products went up. Wages went
up. Business revived. Employment IN
creased. Activity succeeded depression
and In the four years that have since
passed the United States has enioyedths
most marvellous prosperity in its histOrs.
And now, in 1900, the situation hs
changed again. Both the protection
boyle and the gold bcgie have outllgea
their usefulness and a new bogie nns'
be found. The Kansas City convention
said it was imperialism, and, naturally
enough, the oracle is therefore propne'
sying the destruction of the republic oe
cause Of the consistent application Oh
policy in the Philippines which he hn-
self made effective by Influencing sa'
ratification Of the Paris treaty.
II is just possible that a man who w
so grossly mistaken on the tariff ana y
the money question may be mistaken =
what ii pleases him TO call imperialism
New York Tribune.