The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-03-02
WILLIAM J. BRYAN.
The Silver Champion, the
Foe of Trusts,
THE TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE,
Speaks Words of Hope and Cheer
and Common Sense at the Taber-
nacle in Nashville Last Saturday
Night.

The speech of William Jennings
Bryan in Nashville last Saturday
night was Bryanesque. When that
is said, all Is said. No other man
has the magnetism that Bryan has.
No other man has the depth and
reach and power 10 discuss aud
elucidate political questions. No
other man clings so lenacinusly to
the doctrines our fathers taught; no
other inan can plead so eloquently
and earnestly for the rights of the
masses, no other man loves his fel
low man like William Jennings
Bryau.
In his Nashville speech Mr.. Bryan
said in part:
II am here because / like to come
TO Nashville, and not because the
people Cf Tennessee need elucida-
ton on any question. If there is any
State whose public men are in
hearty sympathy with the people
and cooperate with them, that
State is Tennessee. | know the peo-
pie and politics of this State.
Il am going to talk TO you for a
little while about those questions
which | believe will be prominent
in this years campaign. [ have not
time TO talk of all those question:
which might be discussed, anu
have not time to discuss any of them
elabOrately; but We are going t0 en-
ter upou national campaign sOon-
it is "a campaign that /. going to stir
the hearts of the people even more
than the campaign of 1896. In 1896
there was more interest taken IN
this country than had been in a re-
cent campaign for quarter OF a
century; and our campaign was
watched by the people of Europe
with more interest than any
campaign in recent years. We
kept the Republicans busy in
1896 with the Chicago platform,
but the industry they were com
PEELED to manifest then was
Dothing compared with the interest
they will have to manifest this year
when we add something to the
Chicago platform.
I'VE are going to have eUorythlng
we had in 1896 and some more be-
sides. We are going to Lave that
platform without the loss OF d plank,
a line or syllable. The platform
was not written for one year or for
one campaign. It was written for
generation. 1t was the beginning
of the fight betW cen Democracy and
plutocracy. Some Democrats left US
In 1896, and | was sorry they left.
knew most of them would come
back, because [ knew that most OF
them left us because they did not
realize the character of the struggl .
In which we were engaged. | knew
some left who would not come back,
and [ would not want them to come
back unless they come back as
Democrats acting with us and not to
be tied to the corporate and monopo-
listic interests OF the country. 1t p
man is going to be a slave OIL cor,
poration, want him to be- a Repub-
lican slave and not Democratic
slave. (Applause But the great
ma iority of those who left Us in 1896
are returning, will return, because
they did not understand the char
acttr of the struggle. The struggle
of 1896 was not contest against ac-
cumulatiun. 1t was the beginning
of the contest between honest wealth
and territorial wealth. 1t was the
beginning OF the contest between
those who wanted to eat the bread
they earned and those who wanted
to eat the bread that somebody else
earned without giving a recompense
for 1t. applause
) Gold Standard Not Accepted.
"It any man thinks that the gold
standard was accepted in 1896,
4 I,S . hot Oh J.
licans were not able TO secure from
the CongI ess elected in 1896 a gold
standard bill. They a to wait un-
til 1898, and then the people were
engaged IN war, aud before the
treaty of peace was signed the elec-
ton was held, aud during the cam
paign the Republican speakers went
np and down the land, and with
perspiril patriotism, they appealed
TO the people to hold up the hands
of tie President until the treaty
was signed, and while the people
were holding up his hands, the
fiunancers were preparing to hold
up the people. (Applause.)
L want to assert here with empha-
sis that the gold standard never won
lanopen fight IN all its life. They
have never made al open attack on
bimetallism. Ii has always done its
work behind mask OF burglary,
graspiug ia its hand the knife of the
assassin, and those who stand be-
hind the gold standard know it is
dishonest and dare not meet the
people.
IF this nation chains itself to the
golden chariot Of Europe. then every
time they have trouble there we
will have trouble here. What do
we fluid now? We find finauciers
who in their hearts love liberty who
are afraid that If England got whip
ped in this war there would be a
/ panie there, and because Of the
/ threat or the panic here men who
ought 90 express their sympathy for
the Beers are compelled to be silent
and 10 pray that a Kingdom NAV
destroy a republic. tApplause.) 1
want a financial system resting up.
,r votd ard silver 10th. / want a