The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-10-23

square it's name. During his
speech Mr.. Bryan made incidental ref
erence to Mr.. Seward. but he did SO
Wnlie speaking of a present resident of
.le Guy named Metcalf, who is the
heao OF a large agricultural implement
manufacturing company, located at
TINS place. Referring to Mr.. Metcalf
Mr.. Bryan said:
L have had my attention called to the
1act that you have here a great manu-
featuring plant and that at the head OF
1t stands a man by the name of Met
calf, reported in your republican pa
per as saying that in the event of nv
election the plant will be closed. r
want to tell you that today the argu-
ment of the republican party is not
based on human rights, but IL is based
mostly on commercialism and on bus
mess.
There" he said, pointing to the
statue Of Seward, stands the statue
OF the greatest man your city produced
until Mr.. Metcalf arose, and there is
the inquire pointing upward, and I be-
neVe on the pedestal you will find the
inscription: There is a Highter Law
NOW when our good friend who stands
at the head Of his great manufacture
ing concern is called to his fathers. I
propose that you erect a statue of him
nearby and have his finger pointing
doWnWards, and have il say: Their is
a Lower Law Lincoln said that the
republican party believed in the man
and the dollar, but in case of conflict
II believed in the man before the dol
lar Today the republican party be-
IeVeS in the dollar first and the man
afterwards, if at all; and today when
you confront the republican party with
the charge that il is abandoning the
Declaration of Independence; with the
charge that it is destroying the founda-
ton of free government; with the
charge that it is disregarding the doc
tr1ne that governments derive their
just powers from the consent of the
governed, what is their answer? 1t is
this: If you dare to vote the demo-
cratic ticket and manifest an interest
in the old principles we|will close down
our factories and destroy your town."
Later on in his speech Mr.. Bryan re-
verted to Mr.. Metcalf. and his insti-
tuition, saying:
This firm in your city threatens to
close it's dactory. Tha is an old trick.
They made the same threat in 1896, n
yet after the election many that had
threatened to close the mills if l was
elected cut down wag and made their
men suffer after Mckinley was elected.
IF this company tells you that it
cannot do business under a democratic
administration l want you to remem-
Der that we will have just as many
rme here under a democratic ad-
ministratiOn as We have under a repub-
lican administration, and they will
have to use agricultural implements
and somebody will have to max them;
and if these men tell you that they are
going to let other people do the work
and make the implements for the farm
er because they wont do work under a
democratic administration, / want you
to read their character and see if you
find in it anything hat authorizes
them to do business under a republican
administration but forbids doing bust
ness under a democratic administra-
tion."
He entered then upon the discussion
of the general trust question.
In his Auburn speech Mr.. Bryan
dwelt at considerable length upon his
theory that the republican party is
manifesting a tendency towards a
change of our form of government and
in this connection said:
Mr.. Hanna aid the other day that
you ought not to swap horses while
crossing a stream. What sacrilige for
Hanna to quot any word that Abra-
ham Lincoln ever uttered; but Hanna,
in applying Lincoln'S remark today has
mistaken the body of water. We are
not crossing a stream. The republican
party is trying to cross an ocean and
get back onto European ground where
it's ideas originated"
Mr.. Bryan also quoted an extract
from a local republican paper telling of
a farm which had been sold for $3.50
an acre while it had been assessed for
$500 an acre. Commenting upon this
extract. Mr.. Bryan said, derisively:
Farmers now vote to keep present
conditions. They are so satisfactory
that you cannot sell you land for half
what it is assessed for taxes. Go out
and find what per cent of taxation is
levied on your large factories n see
if they are assessed for more thar
twice what they will sell for at public
auction. If these conditions are salts
factory let every one who believes it
vote the republican tickle because all
republicans tell you that they maintain
present conditions"
The speech was apparently we'll re-
ceived.