Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-06-13

be accomplished finally through the re.
publican party. Nor is it a secret thai
the rank and file Of the republican
party In the Middle States. and in some
of the western states, were held in line
party was in truth the better friend OF
bimetallism.
| Now we are asked to believe that the
question was disposed of in the cam.
paign Of 1896, at time when the two
great parties posed as friends Of BIZ
metallism. Think of 1t, "a question
which has vexed politics for the past
thirty years is disposed of in one short
presidential campaign, during which
campaign the two great contending
parties were pledged in favor Of the
cause which they now declare to have
been defeated in that contest!
THE EAST CHALLENGED.
We challenge the authority whereby
you men of the east assume a monop-
oily OF the practical wisdom of the day.
We challenge your wisdom when you
label the pathway Of Inconsistency and
of hypocrisy as the pathway Of prac-
tical politics. That may have been
pSactical politics during periods when
fundamental questions did not disturb
the mind of the public and agitate the
| conscience of the individual, but it is so
NO longer. You may say that all of the
votes cast for Mckinley and interna-
tional bimetallism were and are in ia
vor of the single gold standard, and
that the few of the votes cast for Bry-
an and independent bimetallism were
actually in favor of that principle. In
truth, We may not now determine the
exact proportion, but you judge by the
returns Of 1896, coupled with the be-
trayal Of at least the implied pledges
of the successful party in that cam
paign. We insist upon judgment in ac-
cordance with the returns of 1885, cou-
pied with the platform pledges of all
parties. By that judgment and on that
basis we contend it is more fair for US
to insist that the only votes cast in
1896 for the gold standard were cast for
Palmer and Buckner than for you to
say that the principle of bimetallism
was destroyed in 1896 because a party
pretending to favor it was successful at
the polls.
Returning to the analysis Of the forces
that are pleading with Mr.. Bryan, some
insist that the money question is imma-
terial. These should not ask Mr.. Bryan
to abandon what he regards as a very
material question because they look
upon it as an immaterial one.
TRUSTS AND IMPERIALISM.
Some who believe bimetallism to be
wrong and the single gold standard to
be right are earnestly opposed to trusts
and Imperialism and to many other in
EQUITIES attaching to the Mckinley ad-
mhistration. These sincere men should
not find it difficult to choose between
Mckinley. who, in their opinion, is
wrong on every other question, and
Bryan, who, in their opinion, is wrong
on only one question.
Finally, there is another class urging
Mr.. Bryan to abandon this cause who
are neither sincere, ignorant nor indif-
ferent, but are, in fact, shrewd agents
of the money trust. In searching for O.
cere persons, one is involuntarily re-
disposition for these shrewd and insin-
minded Of the manner in which Stephen
A. Douglas dismissed Chicago crowd
speech. One Saturday night Mr.. Doug
las stood on the partico of a Chicago
hotel and sought to address a large
gathering of men. His political oppo-
nentS in the crowd endeavored to howl
him down. For several hours Mr.. Doug
las tried to make himself heard, and
finally the midnight bell tolled. Mr..
Douglas drew his watch from his
pocket and. holding 1t in his hand, by
motion admonished the crowd to silence.
For q moment quiet reigned With
great deliberation, Mr.. Douglas said:
For two hours and three-quarters
have stood here endeavoring to exercise
the right of free speech. You have
thwarted me in my lawful purpose. It
is now the sabbath day. am going to
church, and you may go to h-H."
In the campaign of 1900 the republic
an party will follow a man who has
been false to every principle to which
he has at one time given endorsement,
who has been consistent only in his in
consistencies, who has designated one
path as "plain duty" only to immedi-
ately follow the path of plain perfidy;
whose public utterances have been
platitudes and platitudes and platitudes
THE CHAMPION OF TRUTH.
In the campaign Of 1900 the democ-
racy will follow a man whose rise from
obscurity to position of eminence has
been due to his sincerity, his ability,
his firm adherence to truth and his con-
sistent attitude toward fundamental
principles. Against him are arrayed all
the forces that operate for class ad-
vantage On all questions but one ali
men OF the democratic party agree with
him. On that one question he repre-
sents the sentiment of 80 per cent OF
the democrats. On that question he
stands-as he has stood on all Ques-
tions-the uncompromising champion of
the truth as he has learned the truth.
Men may urge him to yield his convic-
tions. Men may plead with him to deal
in platitudeS, but the urging and the
pleading will be in vain.
So far as concerns the democrats who
sincerely advocate the single gold
standard, the choice will lie between
Mckinley, with whom they agree only
on one question, and Bryan, with whom
they disagree on sigle question. The
choice will lie between a man OF piati-
tudes and q man who says what he
means and means what he says, be-
tween a man whose ear is tuned to
catch the slightest pulsation of a pock-
etbook" and a man who listens to the
heartbeat of humanity" between a
man of whose policies none but the
trusts can be certain and a man whose
principles the world understands.
Those who choose Mckinley cannot
separate the man from his cant
Those who choose Bryan cannot sep