The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-10-26
HIT BRYAN HARD.
Gov. Roosevelt Answers Bryan's Ques-
lions and Asks One or Two of Him.

tons and Asks One or TWO OF him.
Friday night last at Evansville,
Ind, Gov Roosevelt took occasion to
answer several questions which Bryan
had asked, and asked that gentleman
two or three in return Roosevelt's
questions are straight hits but it is
not likely Bryan will answer them as
fairly as Roosevelt answered him.
Roosevelt sadi:
Mr.. Bryan yesterday attempted to
answer what l said about his attacks
on the United States army. He says
that the president in his message of
December, 1898, asked for an army of
100. 900 men two months before there
was any war in the Philippines is
lands. He asks: ''Does Mr.. Roose
welt know this2' OF course l know
it; and let me also add that Mr.
Bryan ought to know, what every
well-instructed school boy knows,
that at that very time in December
the Philippine insurgent army was
threateningg our Outposts and col
lision was imminent any moment.
Aguinaldo at that time was trying to
organize the remnants of the Spanish
army in conjunction with his own
followers in a war against us.
The bill in which the increase in
the army was provided for itself ex-
plicitly set forth the conditions in
the Philippines as reason for keeping
the army up. Every intelligent OBJ
server knew there would be trouble
in the Philippines if the treaty was
confirmed The bill for the temporary
increase which Mr.. Bryan apparently
seeks to persuade his hearers is per-
manent increase was introduced by
Senator Cockrel of Missouri. Demo
crate supporter of Mr.. Bryan, and the
bulk of the patriotic Democrats in
both houses voted for it-for at that
time the Kansas City platform had
not sought to make the dishonor of the
flag a national issue, and the Demo
cratic conventions in Colorado and
California were in their platforms
calling for the retention of the Philip
pine islands This present temporary
army of Co. 900 regulars and 30, 600
volunteers was called for in December
because of the threatened trouble in
the Philippines.
Now l have answered Mr.. Bryan's
question on this point, as l would
gladly any question he should put to
DlC. NO" H1LLl 641O" OH1oA 14eNLIA
ness and readiness in answering these
questions:
First-If elected, Mr.. Bryan, will
you pay the obligations of the nation
in gold or in silver2
Second-Will you refuse to accept
the electoral votes of North Carolina
because obtained without the consent
of the governed and will you now at
once denounce the action of your party
associates who helped to nominate
you for establishing by the constitu-
tion in North Carolina the doctrine
that one man is good enough to govern
another without his consent?
Third-Wil you denounce your party
associates in congress who voted on
June 1 last that the national govern
ment should not be given the power to
control trustsY You say that all trusts
are bad; will you denounce as hypo-
citic your party associates who sup
port you on that platform and yet
themselves are beneiciaries of the
cotton bale, whisky and ice trusts?
This question is not to be met by say
ing that there are trusts in which Re-
publicans are interested. The point is
a question of good faith, of hypocrisy.
If some trusts are as bad as you repre-
sent, then what right have you to be
supported and accepting the support
of Senator Jones and Mr.. Croker, who
to public denunciation of trusts add
private membership in them.
Yesterday at Nashville, Mich, Mr..
Bryan propounded certain questions
to the Republican party as follows
First-Q. eff a trust is good
thing, why did the Republican plat
form denounce trusts?"
A. THE Republican party de-
nOunces the evils of trusts and points
out the way those evils could be con-
trolled and minimized. Any sensible
man knows that there may be evils
which need corrections, and yet that
this may not mean general and sense
less destruction of all corporations and
the conditions of our modern indus
trail developments.
Second-Q. 'If the trusts are
bad thing. why did the Republican
administration allow more trusts to
be organized than during all previous
history of the country"
A. The Republican administration
did not allow more trusts to be or
ganized than during all previous his
tory of the country. Incidentally, the
Standard Oil company, the American
Sugar Refining company and the
other more important trusts came into
existence, long before the present adj
ministration. Moreover, Mr.. Bryan
knows perfectly well that the national
government cannot prevent with its
present powers the organizations of
these trusts, and that it was the &C
ton of his own party associates in con-
1 loo oh faI
the passage by congress of the consti-
tutional amendment which would have
given the national government the
power sought for.
Third-Q. "If some trusts are good
and some bad, can you tell the differ
ence between a good one and bad
one?"
Fourth-Q. "Do you know of any
good monopoly in private hands2"
Fifth-Q. 'sDo you know any man
monopoly and determine the price of
that which others are to use2"
A stMr. Bryan's Technology is
here so loose that it is difficult to
know what he means If he uses
trust in the sense of large corpora
tions, any intelligent man must know
that there are good corporations and
bad corporations, and the difference
between them can be told as readily as
the difference between two wealthy
private individuals. As for monopolies
in private hands, patents are such
monopolies, and if Mr.. Bryan means
that all monopolies are bad, he means
that patent laws should be abolished
outright. Does he really mean this9
If not. his words mean nothing.