The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1900-04-12
Conclusion of William Jennings
Bryan's Great Speech.
MILITARISM AND IMPERIALISM
Bryan Makes an Earnest Plea for Justice as
Against Aggression and CONNER
cial Greed.

| know in discussing any economic
question 1t is difficult to get eve rybody
interested. You take an economic ques.
ton and you must take some principle
and apply that principle to the question /;
but there is in politics today a question
that is simpler than any economic ques-
ton, and want to dwell for the remain
der of my time on one question, or rather
double question; plain question that
has come into the arena Of politics since
'96. l want to ask you, republicans,
whether you have made up your minds
about the size of our standing army.
How many soldiers did we have in the
standing army in SO? twenty-five
thousand. In December, 1898, the presi-
dent asked for hundred thousand-four
times as many. Is it possible that any
republican farmer, or laborerer, or mer.
chant, can be indifferent to this enor-
nous increase in the military establish.
ment? My friends, 1t only cost us about
twenty-five millions year to take care
costs us oyer hundred millions. When
We have an army multiplied by four we
have to take seventy.five thousand pro-
ducers of wealth from the ranks of those
who toll and add them as an extra bur-
den upon the remaining toiers, and that
means that every man who tolls must
toll little longer, work a little harder,
sacrifice little more in order to carry
this burden. Some people profit by the
policy. The army contractor does, and
it gives to men who want their sons ap.
pointed as officers for life chance to find
soft berth; but what about the great
mass of people? Do they believe in q
big army, will they profit by it? can.
not believe they will, and yet my friends
have been amazed that the republicans
who toll; republicans who have no direct
interest in large standing army should
so many of them apparently be indiffer.
ent to this multiplication of the expenses
of our army. Heretofore We have de-
pended upon the volunteer. Now we
have the professional soldier Heretofore
we have had the citizen soldier who
fought when the country needed soldiers
and then went back to work when the
country needed workers but now we are
to have the European idea OF u big stand
ing army, and if this goes on the time
will come when we shall be as they are
IN Europe-when each man who tolls
will have to carry on his shoulder an
army soldier. Is it possible that the
plain people OF the republican party can
be Indifferent to the danger, and yet, my
friends, if We have Imperialism we will
have militarsm. II we reach out into
another hemisphere and seize people by
force and drag them under our flag by
force and then deny them the guarantees
OF our institutions; if we govern them
without their consent and tax them with
out representation. it will require large
army now and always to keep them from
making faces at us while they swallow
the benefits. You will never have
smaller army than you have now, and
the spirit that leads you to seize the
Philippine islands will lead you to seize
part of China and will lead you to seize
everything you can get your hands on
and every step you take in that direction
will add new burdens to the taxpayer.
Reaching out throughout the world, we
Awill do as empires have done in olden
hines, break of our own weight. NY