The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-21
BRYAN REvAMPS OLD IDEAS
REPEATS HIS ANCIENT DECLARE
TION OF INDEPENDENCE JOKE,
And Modestly Declares He Owes
Party-New Organization.


its full capacity, and which greeted him
and his remarks with the greatest enttiu-
siasm. The meeting was held under the
auspices of the Maryland Democratic As
ISOLATION, one of the free silver wings of
| the Democratic party of the State, and
was not encouraged in any manner by
the regular Democratic organization. In
| fact the latter held strictly aloof from the
affair. They made no effort to discourage
| 1t in any manner, but not one of the
Democratic leaders appeared on the plat
form and an offer of stage tickets was po-
| litely declined by the principal members
| of the Democratic central committee.
| Mr.. Bryan came over from Washington
| in a special car attached to the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad train which leaves Wash
ington at 5 p. m, accompanied by
committee under the leadership Of S. s.
Field, chairman of the committee of ar
| rangements. On reaching the city about
| 6:l5 p. m. the party drove to the Eutaw
House for supper. after which they went
| to Music Hall. After Bryan's address he
| was the guest at a banquet given In his
honor by his admirers in this city and Vi
cinity. With the party who came over
| from Washington were Senator Tillman,
| of South Carolina, Representatives Sulzer.
of New York, Richardson, of Tennessee.
Jones of Virginia and De Almond, of Mis-
souri,. 1t was nearly o'clock when the
party reached the hall. where the crowd
greeted Mr.. Bryan uproariously. Mr.. Bry-
| an said, in part:
81 want to assure you in the beginning
| that my happiness does not depend on
xr-nt oh thn ~
| ton can confer, neither do L believe that
| this Nations happiness or welfare depends
on any one person. AS In politics as In
| the army, the generals get the glory and
| the privateS do the work. And therefore
/ feel that owe 1t to those who for nearly
four years have been bearing the burden
| in the heat of the day; I owe it to them to
| say that what l have done is but an atom
| compared with what they have done.
THE CHICAGO PLATFORM.
I'm 1896 the voters proved that they
could control the policy of the party and
during the last three years they have
proven that they could hold what they
gained in 1896 in spite of newspapers, in
spite of railroads, in spite of banks and in
spite of every influence supposed to ob-
| tain, the plain people of the Democratic
| party have stood and now stand for the
Chicago platform. in all that it says.
want to begin with an accepted PROPOSE
| ton, that proposition which 1 consider
| most fundamental in government. / find it
in the Declaration of Independehce-if you
| will pardon me IOr quoting from that old
| and outworn document. as our Republican
| friends seem to think is.
| 1.-The Declaration of Independence was
once a highly respected document; II is
under a cloud just now, but 1 have con-
| fidence that in a few months the clouds
| will be rolled by and that old document
/ shine brightness.
| fundamental principal is that all men ere
| created equal. I do not mean to say that
| ali men are created equal III p-.ys4NsiI
| strength; do not mean to say that all men
| are created equal in mental ability or in
moral worth, or that under any just form
of government man will be equal in ca
pacity for enjoyment, or in the enjoyment
| that we have. What / mean to say is
| this: That whenever government comes
| into contact with the citizens when"ver tho
| citizen touches the government, then all
| must stand equal before the law anu the. e
| must be no high, no low, no rich, no poor
| That government must be administered ac-
cording to the maxim of Jefferson: Equal
rights to all and special privileges to
| none
81 am going to ask the Republicans here
/ to think for little while they go home of
| the income tax and to see if it is not in
line with that doctrine OF equal rights 10
/ all and special privileges to none. How do
| we collect our federal taxes to-day? Well,
before the Spanish war broke out, we col
L
/ sources-from internal revenue duties on
| liquor and tobacco and import duties on
/ what we eat and wear and use. In what
| proportion do the people pay these taxes?
/ In proportion to the benefits received from
the government? Not at all. In proper
ton to property? Not at all In proper
ton to income? Not at all. In what pro-
portion do people pay internal rev.
enue taxes? why. largely in pro-
| portion to the liquor and tobacco they use.
| They do not use those thing in proportion
| to their income, and far you collect
| taxes from liquor and tobacco, you make
| the poor man pay on all average larger
/ percentage of his income to support the
| government and the rich man smaller
| percentage on his income.
| w. j. SAYS WE PAY TaE TAX.
| when the Spanish war broke out We
had to have more taxes and the Republican
/ party looked around for any old thing to
put a stamp on, and you run across the
stamp taxes all the time. Every time I
send telegram. have to pay the regular
rate. and in addition thereto 1 cent Is
added for the beneficial assimilation Of the
Filipino. Why is it that the man who sends
the telegram has to pay the tax? Be-
| cause the telegraph company says so and
/ why was the law made that the tele-
| graph company could shift the burden
| on to the man who sends the telegram?
| Because the telegraph companies have
| more 1nTOence WIN the fNepuplCdn party
than all the poor Republicans who use
| the wires.
''In an hour of peril this government can
! take the from his mother, the husband
| from his wife, the father from his chill
| dren and stand them up in front of an
| enemy's guns. but in an hour Of dam
| ger this government cannot lay its hands
| on accumulated wealth and make that
wealth bear its share of the expenses.
| Why is 1t? 1t is because the Republican
party has made money more precious than
blood.
MY friends, you heard me denounce
| our income tax in 1896 / want to say IT
is stronger to-day than ii was then. And
II those who have been Sinking their
taxes think they have settled this ques-
| ton forever, want TO tell them that the
| income tax will be in the next campaign
| and IL Will be in the campaign until the
Constitution of the United States is so
| amended as 10 specifically authorize an
| income tax. that neither one judge nor
| nine judges can build bulwark around
| burdens of government on the poor.
But this is only one question l am
| going 10 speak of another question which
| shows how the Republican party is look
ing after the interests of wealth and neg
lectng the welfare OF the people. / am
| going to say a word the money ques-
ton. / know they say that the money
question is dead issue, but. my friends.
| silver has been buried often that a
US like 1t used to. When reverses In a war