Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-10-30
Samples of His Representations
and Their Fulfllment.
FACTS SEARCHLIGHl DESTROYS THEM
His Famous Prophecy as to the Ger
tainty of Prices Falling Under a
Gold Standard, and How 1t Didn't
Come True.


respondence.) -When Mr.. Bryan was
in congress l heard his speeches, and
realized that he was a forceful man.
aphone everybody has heard his
speeches. He is marvellous phrase
maker, and an interesting character.
Eight years ago, Mr.. Bryan, then
just earning his proud sobriquet Of
boy Orator of the Platte" rose in
the house of representatives and de-
clared
Protection has been our cannibal
tree, and as one after another of our
farmers has been driven by the force
of circumstances upon that tree, and
| has been crushed within it's folds, his
companions have stood around and
shouted, Great is protection But the
dream is past, the night has gone
and in the east we see more than
the light of the coming day. A mar
velous change has taken place, and,
rising from the political mourners'
benches thruout the northwest,
their faces radiant with new-found
joy multitudes are ready to declare
their allegiance to the cause of tariff
reform"
In part, the prophecy came true.
Turning their backs on assured pros
perity, the multitudes did face the mir
age of the coming day, but the new
found joy was short, the morning
never dawned. Four years of depres-
sion, panic, business c..aos, and failure
followed. Tariff tinkering, aided by
the growing agitation for free silver,
shut down the mills, cut off employ
ment, lowered wages and deprived the
farmer OF his markets.
Did the orator and prophet stick to
to his guns? No. The Chicago con-
vention declared that free silver was
the paramount" issue, and the leader
of the new demopopracy discovered
that after all it was the wicked gold
standard which was enslaving the hui
man race. The tariff could wait
Until this money question is fully
and finally settled" he wrote in his
letter of acceptance, "the people will
not consent to the consideration of
any other important question
Then the line of prophecy changed
also, and is epitomized in the follow
ing, from one of the candidate S
speeches:
"If you throw a stone in the air you
you know that it will come down.
The law upon which we base our fight
. is as sure as the law of gravitation
If we have the gold standard, prices
are as certain to fall as the stone
thrown in the air"
: This prophecy was uttered after Its
!; falsity had been proved by sixty years
of experience with the gold standard
3 in the United States, and the people
went ahead and voted for the gold
= standard, and congress subsequently
z reaffirmed the gold standard. Die
,, prices fall? No. They went up
i Wages went up. Business revived
}. Employment increased. Activity sue
ceeded depression, and in the foul
years that have since passed the
United States has enjoyed the mos
marvellous prosperity in it's history.
And now, in 1900, the situation has
changed again. Both the protection
boyle and the gold bogie have outlivet
J, their usefulness, and new bogie' mus
). be found. The Kansas City conven
9 ton said it was imperialism. and
d naturally enough the oracle is there
S foro prophesying the destruction Q
e the republic because of the consisten
It application of policy in the Philip
e pines which he himself made effectiv
o ny luuu6uCluS Iuc loeAASe]sioh VI III
Paris treaty.
If 1t is just possible that man VIII
n was SO grossly mistaken on the tart
It and on the money question may b
e mistaken on what it pleases to ca
n Imperialism.
@ Mr.. Bryan wants to be president, n
1t ma ter what issue he may inven
d His orators substantially say: "Neve
t. mind about your country or its pro-
If perity. Never mind about yoursel
e. or your own prosperity. Won
j. you please, dear people, jus
1T vote for Mr.. Bryan on any old sort {
b. an issue and let him be president for
Of years? Oh, dear people! Please Il
IS us have four years of Bryan, just
le make him happy. He is very anxiou
ID No matter what the issue, let us hay
Of Bryan even if we go hungry Oh
k. selves and our wives and childre
"a starve."
f. ------
IL AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY.