Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-09-20
LOVES SILVER.
Bryan Betrays His True Self
in His Letter.
RESTORE l6 TO 1.
Awaits Only an Opportunity to Des-
troy the Gold Standard-chairman
Weaver Talks About Stay-at-Home
votes-situation in This District.

Des Moines, Sept. 19.-(Special) )-l
Chairman Weaver, when asked in re-
gard to the letter of acceptance of Mr..
Bryan called attention to the fact. that
for the first time since his nomination
the Bryanite candidate had given ex-
preston to his real sentiments on the
silver question.
In all his speeches accepting the
numerous boquets that have been
handed him by the demopops, silver re-
publicans. long-haired pops, and other
brands of political aggregations which
have nominated him, he has failed to
say anything yet as to his position up
on l6 to L. said Mr.. Weaver. Until
now he has studiously attempted to
make the false issues which his Kan
sas City convention raised the promi-
nent ones, but in this which may be
taken as his official utterance, Candi-
date Bryan shows his hand and takes
the position which we have all along
said was his real one in support of 16
to l, pure and simple. He does more
than this. He substantiates what we
have said in regard to the intentions
OF his party to destroy the gold stan
dard at the earliest possible moment.
Read what he says upon these ques-
tions in his letter of acceptance
After referring to what he desig-
mates as an American financial sys-
tem,' he says, And in order that there
may be no uncertainty as to the meth
ods or restoring blmetallism the
specific declaration in favor
OF free and unlimited coinage at
the existing ratio of 16 to l independ-
ent of the action of other nations is
repeated
Gould any declaration of the pur-
pose OF any party to destroy the gold
standard be more plainly made?
That Bryan proposes to follow the
lead which he took in his Nashville
speech in 1896, when he said that any
one who wished the gold standard to
remain should not vote for him be-
cause he would destroy it as soon as
possible, is apparent. On this ques-
ton Mr.. Bryan says in his letter of ac-
ceptance:
Whether the senate, now hostile
to bimetallism, can be changed during
this campaign or the campaign of 1902,
can only be determined after the votes
are counted, but neither the present
nor the future political complexion of
congress has prevented or should pre-
vent an announcement of the party's
position upon this subject in uneQuivo-
cal terms
The republican party has all along
claimed that the attempt to make i'm
perialism the so-called paramount is
sue, was simply to cloak the real pur-
to repeal the gold standard law as
soon as they were able to muster a
free silver majority in congress. am
glad that Mr.. Bryan has decided to
thow off the mask and admit the pos
sibility of our claims that the senate
was in danger and by indirection, at
least, acknowledge their purpose to
capture the senate which is, as Mr..
Bryan says, hostile to bimetallism.
''The people of Iowa should certainly
realize that by this official letter from
Mr.. Bryan he has proven absolutely
just what we have been claiming that
as soon as he is elected and has be-
hind him a free silver congress, the
gold standard must go.
Duty of Republicans.
"This utterance makes it more than
ever the duty of every republican to
go to the polls in November and work
and vote for the success of the ticket.
1t makes it especially the duty of the
republicans in the close districts in
this state, to work without ceasing
| from now until election day for the re-
turn of a solid republican delegation.
This can only be done by hard and
earnest work. and the party workers
everywhere should realize this fact"
| Chairman Weaver has in mind a
practical illustration of the danger
from the stay-at-home votes. In 1890
John j. Seerley, of Burlington, was
elected member of congress from the
| first district over Hon. John H. Gear
by plurality of 1,O71 votes. 1t was
| found when too late, that this plurality
represented exactly eight stay-at-home
votes in each precinct in the district.
| 1t was also found that the stay-at-
home republican votes in the district
| LlidI year dNSIdSSu ~ " tliC PlCSihSt,
so that had the republican vote been
polled as it should have been, Mr..
Gear would have been elected by a
handsome margin. 1t was no change
of sentiment on the part of the people
of the district, but simply condition
of over-confidence, a belief that it
would be all right anyhow and thus
| the democrat won.
| Danger of over-confdence.
The state committee feels that it is
possible there is similar feeling of
oyer-confidence in certain of the clos
er districts in Iowa this year. In the
second district the republican plurali-
ty four years ago was 1920. In 1898
it was 1882, while last year it was but
As. In 1898 the republican ticket in
1 that district suffered loss over 1896
of 4,412 votes, and in 1899 only 221 of
these votes were regained. The dem
ocratic loss in 1898 over 1896 was q,