The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-04-26
THOUSANDS Hear.
w. J. Bryan Addresses Big
Audience at Clay Center.
introduced by Chairman Riddle
Of POpulist Committee.
HE SPEAKS AN HOUR.
Says the Fusion Forces Are In
Accord.
ssRepublican Party Has Placed
Capital Above Labor"
HE SPEAKS AN HOUR.

IN the park He arrived at 4:45 on the |
Rock Island and was escorted TO the |
city park by Senator George w. Hanna |
and Chairman Taylor Riddle, leading a |
procession headed by the Clay Center
hand. followed by the delegates to the
1oopulist state convention on foot. Mr.
Riddle introduced Mr.. Bryan. Col. H.
c. Little was unable to be present TO
nreside having been called to Wamego
to attend the funeral of a member OF
the Twentieth Kansas. Mr.. Riddle mace
no speech. He said: I'VE have with
as the greatest man on American SOIL.
All you need is sight OF MIN; ne heeoS
no introduction"
Mr.. Bryan was greeted with cheers.
He launched at once into his speech,
which was concluded at $780, having
continued an hour and half. In open
ing Mr.. Bryan said
you will find that the Democrats,
Topulists and Silver Republican plat I
forms, each will contain some Things
the others do not contain, but on the
questions which must be settled now,
they are in accord.
I'm Lincoln's day the man was first;
the dollar next.
..The party now puts the dollar first;
the man afterwards. In Lincoln's day
the party exercised human rights; IN
danuas day it exercises property
rights. This was an indication of grow
ing badness; it grew worse; the silver
Republicans left it followed by the cor
Doration Democrats who made it help
less The party is today the servant
and tool of the corporations. If the Re
publicans reWrote the Bible, the phrase
common people would not appear in it
Mr. Bryan said the Republican party
has placed capital above labor, and
now there is at the head of the ma
tional committee man who, on his re-
turn from Europe told the newspaper
boys in New York that the English gov
eminent is as good as ours and perhaps
better. This never could happen in the
early days.
Now there is not Republican or
ganization in this country which dareS
offer sympathy with the Beers who are
lighting for the right to govern them
selves. The last national Republican
convention adopted a resolution of sym
pathy with the Cuban patriots. They
were not afraid of making Spain mad,
but none of them are declaring against
England's oppression in South Africa"
Mr. Bryan discussed at length the in
come tax, and said: This is one pro-
position which should be sufficient to
hold the reform forces together"
He deplored the fact that farmers
wives are not able to take summer va
cations and charged that those who
speculate in what the farmers and Ia
boring men produce enjoy these privi-
leges while the producer struggles in a
life of poverty. Mr.. Bryan denied the
charge that his party seeks to array
one class against the other, but con-
tends that it is striving to administer
equal justice TO all classes or people. To
this contention he spoke as follows: IT
have never heard that we are to have
two heavens, but If we are, the policies
which our party advocates will serve to
introduce them and get them acQuaint-
ed before crossing the river The Re
publican party could not do this, be-
cause it makes money more precious
than blood. Under the Republican sys-
TEN, the government can draft the man
but not the dollar" Mr.. Bryan said a
political spectacle is presented when
middle of the road POpulists work with
Republicans to defeat the income tax.
when the middle of the readers in
1898 believed that we were going to get
what we were after, they ran off and
started a show of their own" said
Bryan.
Mr.. Bryan said United States senator's
should be elected by a direct vote of the
people. He commended the silver Dem
ocrats who overthrow Grover Cleveland.
on Populists must give our party
credit for doing that" This was the
only reference Bryan made to the fact
that he is a Democrat, but the Populist
convention had already instructed for
him for president.
THE battle for bimetallism is not
lost" he said. THE bimetallism plank
in the national Republican platform is
fraud. The leaders of that party
never intended to secure international
sanction of this proposition. England
spanked and sent the commission home
without action, and no Republicans of
want the gold standard; they want to
make the dollar dear. They have
passed a bill in favor of it, and while
that commission was abroad talking
blmetallism, the men who look UP to
Hanna and say, Give US this day our
daily opinion were talking for the gold
standard and now they've got it," Mr.
Bryan here again denied that he has
abandoned the silver question and re-
affirmed his opposition to banks OF
issue.
THE Republicans tell US the trusts
win do no harm in the long run. What
consolation is that to a short-winded
MANI Isn't 1t strange that Republican
farmers pay trust prices for wire an6
implements. yet stand out in the road
and hurrah for Mckinley and pros
perity2"
Mr.. Bryan charged that the Repub.
lican administration has permitted the
organization of trusts, by failure Il
enforce the laws. THE party dares no
destroy the trusts because they nut III
2O-million dollar campaign fund.- and
the party viii not kill the goose tina
lays the golden egg-the party woulC
not kill a goose that laid a silver egg
If it could get the egg"
AS a remedy for the trust Mr.. Bryal
suggests that congress enact laws:
"First-Squeeze water out Of tn
stock
Second-Permitting corporations t
do no business in the states until al
laws are complied with, and that
seeks by no means to accomplish
monopoly
'Third-Force compliance with stat
laws, and thereby cut off the oppor
tunity for these organizations to absor
smaller enterprises"
Thus was the trust question dis
missed, but Mr.. Bryan's views are no
in accord with the resolutions of tn
Populist state convention adopted here
Government ownership is therein de
manded, but Mr.. Bryan does not refe
20 this proposition. His remedy Is no
90 the Populists who heard hita say
much Of 2 change from present con